| 32. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prefixed conjunction in uvarzillai {וּבַרְזִלַּי | u-var-zil-lai} ‘and Barzillai’, marking narrative continuity. The predicative phrase zaken me’od {זָקֵן מְאֹד | za-qen me-'od} ‘very old’ describes the subject. The resumptive pronoun vehu {וְהוּא | ve-hu} ‘and he’ resumes the subject before the verb natan {נָתַן | na-tan} ‘gave’, which takes peret {פֶּרֶת | pe-ret} ‘provision’ and hamelekh {הַמֶּלֶךְ | ha-me-lekh} ‘the king’ as its direct object. The locative phrases beshivto {בְּשִׁיבְתוֹ | be-shiv-to} ‘in his stay’ and bemachanayim {בְּמַחֲנַיִם | be-ma-cha-na-yim} ‘in Mahanaim’ specify time and place. The conjunction ki {כִּי | ki} ‘for’ introduces a causal verbless clause in which ish gadol hu me’od {אִישׁ גָּדוֹל הוּא מְאֹד | ish ga-dol hu me-'od} ‘he was a very great man’ employs ish {אִישׁ | ish} ‘man’ as a predicate nominal. The repetition of me’od {מְאֹד | me-'od} intensifies both age and stature. English renders the Hebrew verb-first and verbless clauses into subject–verb order and uses ‘for’ to preserve the causal relation. |