| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with umephiboshet {וּמְפִיבֹּשֶׁת | wə-mə-pî-bō-šêṯ} ‘and Mephibosheth’, where the prefixed conjunction vav introduces the subject. The appositive ben-sha’ul {בֶּן־שָׁאוּל | ben-šā’ûl} ‘son of Saul’ clarifies his lineage. The verb yarad {יָרַד | yā-rəḏ} ‘he went down’ with the infinitive construct likrat {לִקְרַאת | li-qə-rāṯ} ‘to meet’ forms a purpose clause directed at ha-melech {הַמֶּלֶךְ | ham-mé-leḵ} ‘the king’. The repeated velo-asah {וְלֹא־עָשָׂה | wə-lō-‘ā-sâh} ‘and he did not’ introduces a triadic list of neglected tasks: raglav {רַגְלָיו | ra-ḡə-lāyw} ‘his feet’, sefamo {שְׂפָמוֹ | sə-pā-mō} ‘his beard’, and begadav {בְּגָדָיו | bə-ḡā-dāyw} ‘his clothes’, the latter marked by direct object ve-et {וְאֶת | wə-’eṯ}. Temporal framing appears in the prepositional phrases min-hayom-lēkhet-hammelech {מִן־הַיּוֹם לֵכֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ | min-hayom lē-kheth-ham-mé-lekh} ‘from the day of the king’s departure’ and ad-hayom-asher-ba {עַד־הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר־בָּא | ’aḏ-hayom ’a-šer-bā} ‘until the day he came’ plus be-shalom {בְּשָׁלוֹם | bə-šā-lōm} ‘in peace’. The paratactic negations and parallel temporal clauses convey the prolonged duration of Mephibosheth’s mourning and loyalty. |