| 34. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayomer {וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | wayyōʾmer} ‘and he said’, a vav-consecutive qal imperfect that propels the narrative forward. Barzillai’s address is marked by the prepositional phrase ʾel-hammeleḵ {אֶל־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | ʾel-hammeleḵ} ‘to the king’. The interrogative kammāʾ {כַּמָּ֞ה | kammāʾ} ‘how many’ introduces the construct chain yemēy šənēy ḥayyay {יְמֵ֣י שְׁנֵ֗י חַיַּי֙ | yemēy šənēy ḥayyay} ‘days of the years of my life’, an idiom expressing the measurement of lifespan. The conjunction kī {כִּ֣י | kī} ‘that’ leads into the subordinate clause of inquiry, which hinges on the imperfect ʾeʿaleh {אֶעֱלֶ֔ה | ʾeʿaleh} ‘should I go up’, conveying a cohortative-subjunctive nuance. The direct object marker ʾet {אֶת־ | ʾet-} precedes hammeleḵ {הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hammeleḵ} ‘the king’, and the goal is expressed by the place name yerûšālayim {יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם | yerûšālayim} ‘Jerusalem’. In translation, the Hebraic construct is smoothed for clarity while maintaining the rhetorical force of the original question. |