| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew narrative opens with the verb vattehi {וַתְּהִי | vat-te-hî} ‘and it became’, employing the vav consecutive to shift the discourse mood. The subject hattəshua {הַתְּשׁוּעָה | ha-ṯə-šû-ʿâ} ‘the salvation or victory’ is situated temporally by bayyom hahû {בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא | ba-yyôm ha-hû} ‘on that day’. The prepositional phrase laʾăvel ləkolhaam {לְאָבֶל לְכָל־הָעָם | lə-ʾă-vél lə-kōl-hā-ʿām} ‘for mourning for all the people’ marks a communal reversal of mood. The causal conjunction kî {כִּי | kî} introduces the reason clause, followed by the verb-object pairing šāmaʿ haʿām {שָׁמַע הָעָם | šā-maʿ hā-ʿām} ‘the people heard’. The infinitive construct lēʾemor {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾê-môr} ‘saying’ introduces reported speech. The Niphal perfect verb neʿeṣav {נֶעֱצַב | ne-ʿe-ṣab} ‘was grieved’ centers the emotional state of the agent in the clause ʿalbenô {עַל־בְּנוֹ | ʿal-bə-nô} ‘over his son’. This structure preserves the Hebrew result–cause–statement pattern, conveying both the communal and personal dimensions of the narrative. |