| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with lo-khen {לֹא־כֵ֣ן | lō-kên} ‘not so,’ an emphatic negation. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for’ introduces the explanatory clause. The noun ish {אִישׁ | ’îš} ‘man’ is located by me-ha-har {מֵהַר | mê-hār} ‘from the hill country’ of efrayim {אֶפְרַיִם | ’e-phray-îm} and further defined by sheva ben-bikhri {שֶׁבַע בֶּן־בִּכְרִי | še-ḇāʿ ben-bikhrî} ‘Sheba son of Bichri.’ The idiom nasa yado {נָשָׂא יָדוֹ | nā-sāʾ yā-dō} ‘has lifted his hand’ functions as an idiom denoting rebellion, reinforced by the parallel phrases ba-melekh {בַּמֶּלֶךְ | ba-me-lekḥ} ‘against the king’ and be-David {בְּדָוִד | bə-dā-wîd} ‘against David.’ The imperative tenu-oto {תְּנוּ־אֹת֣וֹ | tə-nû-’ō-tô} ‘hand him over’ demands singular surrender, and the cohortative ve-’elkha {וְאֵלְכָ֖ה | wə-’êl-kā} ‘and I will withdraw’ promises removal of siege. The narrative shifts with va-tomer {וַתֹּאמֶר | wat-tō-mer} ‘and she said,’ where ha-ishah {הָאִשָּׁה | hā-’iš-šāh} ‘the woman’ addresses ’el-Yo’av {אֶל־יוֹאָ֔ב | ’el-Yō-’āḇ} ‘to Joab.’ The interjection hinneh {הִנֵּה | hinnêh} ‘behold’ introduces rosho mushlakh ’elekha be-‘ad ha-chomah {רֹאשׁוֹ מֻשְׁלָךְ אֵלֶיךָ בְּעַד הַחוֹמָה | rō-šô mūš-lā-kh ’ê-lê-kā bə-‘aḏ ha-ḥō-māh} ‘his head will be thrown to you over the wall,’ preserving the vivid resolution. |