| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayikkakh {וַיִּקַּח֙ | wayyiqqaḥ} ‘and he took,’ a vav-consecutive Qal wayyiqtol verb indicating sequential narrative action. The construct phrase mizra hammelukhah {מִזֶּ֣רַע הַמְּלוּכָ֔ה | miẓze-raʿ ham-mĕlûḵâh} ‘from the seed of the kingdom’ specifies extraction of an individual of royal lineage. The following vav-consecutive verb vayikrot {וַיִּכְרֹת | wayyikroṯ} ‘and he made/cut’ routinely introduces covenant-making, here with berit {בְּרִ֑ית | berît} ‘covenant’ as its object. The preposition itto {אִתּ֖וֹ | ʾittō} ‘with him’ marks the bilateral aspect of the covenant. Then vayyave oto bealah {וַיָּבֵ֤א אֹתוֹ֙ בְּאָלָ֔ה | wayyāvē ʾōtō bəʾālāh} ‘and he brought him under oath’ portrays formal commitment via oath. The final clause veet-eilei haaretz lakach {וְאֶת־אֵילֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ לָקָֽח | wəʾet-ʾēlê hā-ʾāreṣ lāqaḥ} ‘and he took the mighty ones of the land’ combines the direct-object marker et with the noun eielei ‘mighty ones,’ emphasizing the removal of key leaders. The repetition of the verb ‘took’ frames the decisive extraction of power, highlighting the strategic political maneuver conveyed in the narrative. |