| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav consecutive vayya‘ăzar-lō {וַיַּֽעֲזָר־לוֹ֙ | wayya‘ăzar-lō} ‘and he came to help’, marking continuation. The construct phrase ’ăvîšay ben Tsərûyāh {אֲבִישַׁי בֶּן־צְרוּיָ֔ה | ’ăvîšay ben tsərûyāh} specifies the agent. The marker ’et-ha-pəlišṭî {אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי | ’et-ha-pəlišṭî} indicates the direct object. The Hiphil stem in wayyəmîṯēhû {וַיְמִיתֵהוּ | wayyəmîṯēhû} conveys causative killing. The adverb ’āz {אָז | ’āז} shifts to the oath context. Direct speech is framed by the Niphal perfect nišbə‘û {נִשְׁבְּעוּ | nišbə‘û} plus infinitive lēmôr {לֵאמֹר | lēmôr}. The dual prohibition uses lō-teṣē’ {לֹא־תֵצֵא | lō-teṣē’} and the Piel imperfect təḵabbēh {תְּכַבֶּה | təḵabbēh} under negation particles lō {לֹא | lō} and wə-lō {וְלֹא | wə-lō}. The phrase nēr Yiśrā’ēל {נֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל | nēr yiśrā’ēl} ‘lamp of Israel’ functions as a metaphor for leadership continuity. The translation preserves Hebrew verbal sequencing, stem distinctions, and the lamp image to convey theological weight. |