| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the waw-consecutive verb vayyiqtberû {וַיִּקְבְּרוּ | wayyiqtberû} ‘and they buried,’ marking sequential past. The direct object marker ʾet {אֶת־ | ʾet} introduces ʿatsmôt Šāʾûl wə-Yəhōnāṯān bə-nô {עַצְמוֹת־שָׁאוּל וִיהוֹנָתָן־בְּנוֹ} as “the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son,” highlighting family honor. Three nested prepositional phrases (bə-ʾereṣ Bin-yāmîn | bə-ṣēlāʿ | bə-qēḇer Qīš ʾāvîw) locate the burial precisely. The clause wə-yaʿăšû kôl ʾăšer ṣiwâh ha-méleḵ {וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּה הַמֶּלֶךְ} ‘and they did all that the king commanded’ is a subordinate completion clause linking obedience to royal command. Finally, wayyêʿāṯer ʾĕlōhîm lā-ʾāreṣ ʾaḥărêy-ḵēn {וַיֵּעָתֵר אֱלֹהִים לָאָרֶץ אַחֲרֵי־כֵן} uses a nifal imperfect passive ‘and God was entreated for the land after this,’ emphasizing divine response following human action. |