| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew narrative begins with the vav-consecutive form vatehi-od {וַתְּהִי־עוֹד | vaṯ-te-hî-ʿōḏ} ‘and it happened again’, which signals a new episode following prior conflicts. The prepositional phrase la-pelishtim {לַּפְלִשְׁתִּים | la-pə-lîš-tîm} is used with the noun milchamah {מִלְחָמָה | mil-ḥā-māh} to denote the adversaries, ‘battle against the Philistines’. The direct object marker et in et-yisra’el {אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʾēt-yiś-rā-ʾēl} marks Israel as the recipient of the action. The subsequent vav-consecutive vayyēred {וַיֵּרֶד | way-yā-reḏ} introduces the main subject David and is followed by the noun phrase va-avadav {וַעֲבָדָיו | wa-ʿă-vā-ḏāw} ‘his servants’, emphasizing joint participation. The plural imperfect vayillachamu {וַיִלָּחֲמוּ | vay-il-lā-ḥă-mû} ‘and they fought’ underscores collective action. Finally, the vav-consecutive vaya‘af {וַיָּעַף | way-yā-ʿăp̄} ‘and he grew weary’ closes the verse, with its terminal position heightening the sense of exhaustion. English translations reflect the order of these clauses and preserve the emphatic narrative sequence of war, engagement, and fatigue. |