| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive perfect ve’avrah {וְעָבְרָה | wə-ʿā-vrāh} ‘and crossed’, immediately followed by the noun ha’avarah {הָעֲבָרָה | hā-ʿă-vā-rāh} ‘the crossing place’, creating an inversion that foregrounds the crossing locus. The Hiphil infinitive construct la’avir {לַעֲבִיר | la-ʿă-vîr} ‘to cause to cross over’ introduces a purpose clause with et + beit hamelekh {אֶת־בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ | ʾet-bêyt hā-me-leḵ} ‘the king’s household’ as its object. The paired infinitive ve-laʿasot {וְלַעֲשֹׂת | wə-la-ʿă-śôt} ‘and to do’ links with hatov {הַטּוֹב | ha-ṭôḇ} ‘the good’ to express a secondary purpose. The narrative then shifts focus with ve-Shimei ben-Gera {וְשִׁמְעִי בֶּן־גֵּרָא | wə-šim-ʿê-yî ben-ġê-rā} ‘and Shimei son of Gera’, followed by nafal lifnei hamelekh {נָפַל לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ | nā-p̄al li-fnê hā-me-leḵ} ‘fell before the king’. The temporal clause be’avro bayarden {בְּעָבְרוֹ בַּיַּרְדֵּן | bə-ʿā-vrô ba-yăr-də̆n} ‘as he was crossing the Jordan’ specifies the timing. This chain of consecutive purpose clauses culminating in a narrative perfect underscores the fulfillment of intent and the submissive action of Shimei at the critical moment of the king’s crossing. |