| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with vayhi {וַיְהִ֕י | wā·yō·hî} ‘and it was’, introducing a shift. The phrase kol ha-ʿam {כָּל־הָעָ֔ם | kāl hā·ʿām} ‘all the people’ forms the unified subject, while nadon {נָדוֹ֖ן | nā·ḏōn} ‘disputing’ as a Nifal participle underscores ongoing debate. The construct chain b’khol šivtei Yisraʾel {בְּכָל־שִׁבְטֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | bə·ḵāl šib·ṭê yis·rə·ʾêl} ‘in all the tribes of Israel’ frames the social context. Lēmôr {לֵאמֹ֗ר | lê·ʾā·môr} ‘saying’ introduces the content clause, with hamelekh {הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ | ham·mê·lēḵ} ‘the king’ then characterized by two deliverance verbs: ḥiṣîlānû {הִצִּילָ֙נוּ | ḥit·ṣî·lā·nû} ‘delivered us’ and milat {מִלַּ֣ט | mi·laṭ} ‘rescued’ from two different foes. The adversative wə-ʿattāh {וְעַתָּ֥ה | wə·ʿatt·āh} ‘and now’ signals contrast, and the clause bāraḥ min-hā-ʾāreṣ mē·ʿal Avshalom {בָּרַ֛ח מִן־הָאָ֥רֶץ מֵעַל־אָבְשָׁלֽוֹם | bā·raḥ min hā·ʾā·reṣ mē·ʿal ʾav·šā·lôm} ‘he has fled from the land because of Absalom’ presents the crisis. The English rendering retains Hebrew thematic repetition and construct order while smoothing idioms. |