| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew begins with the coordinating conjunction ki linking two clauses, first stating the universal guilt of “kol-beit avi” (“all the house of my father”) and then contrasting it with the king’s gracious act. The construct chain “anshei mavet” (“men of death”) functions idiomatically as “those deserving death.” The verb va-tasem with vav-consecutive shifts to a narrative imperfect describing the king’s action, placing the servant “be-okhlei shulchan” (“among eaters of the table”), an image of communal privilege and royal favor. The repeated adverb od with ve-liz’ok frames the speaker’s rhetorical question, underscoring humility and sufficiency. English translation moves from the Hebrew VSO word order to SVO for clarity, foregrounding the contrast with “but you set your servant…,” and resolving in the question at the close. |