| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with a vav-consecutive verb vayetseu {וַיֵּצְא֤וּ | wayyēṣēʾû} ‘and they went out’, repeated to underscore mobilization. The construct phrase anshei Yoav {אַנְשֵׁ֣י יוֹאָ֔ב | ʾănšê yō’āḇ} ‘men of Joab’, followed by the gentilic titles Kerethites and Pelethites and the collective kol-ha-gibborim {כָל־הַגִּבֹּרִים | kōl-hă-ḡibbōrîm} ‘all the mighty men’, delineates the pursuers’ composition. A shift to origin is marked by mi-Yerushalayim {מִירוּשָׁלִַם | mî-Yə-ru-šālayim} ‘from Jerusalem’, and the infinitive lirḏōp̄ {לִרְדֹּף | lirḏōp̄} ‘to pursue’ introduces the purpose clause. The preposition acharei {אַחֲרֵי | ʾăḥărê} ‘after’ governs Sheba ben-Bikhri {שְׁבַע בֶּן-בִּכְרִי | šēḇāʿ ben-bixrî}, specifying the target. English reorders for clarity but preserves Hebrew parataxis of agent–origin–action. |