| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the independent pronoun hu {הוּא | hūʾ} ‘he’ followed by the Qal perfect ba {בָּא | bāʾ} ‘came’, establishing the subject and action. The prepositional phrase ʿad leḥî {עַד־לֶחִי | ʿad leḥî} ‘up to Lehi’ indicates movement. The Hifil perfect hēriʿû {הֵרִיעוּ | hēriʿû} ‘they shouted’ governs the infinitive construct liqrāʾō {לִקְרָאתוֹ | liqrāʾō} ‘to meet him’, expressing intent. The narrative shifts to divine intervention with the vav-consecutive imperfect vattiṣlaḥ {וַתִּצְלַח | vattiṣlaḥ} joined to ʿālāw rûaḥ Yahweh {עָלָיו רוּחַ יְהוָה | ʿālāw rûaḥ Yahweh}, marking the Spirit’s sudden descent. The relative clause hā-ʿăvôṯîm ka-pištîm {הָעֲבֹתִים כַּפִּשְׁתִּים | hā-ʿăvôṯîm ka-pištîm} ‘the ropes like flax’, modified by ʾăšer bāʿărû ba-ʾēš {אֲשֶׁר בָּעֲרוּ בָאֵשׁ | ʾăšer bāʿărû ba-ʾēš} ‘that had burned in the fire’, employs simile to depict fragility, culminating in vayyimassû ʾăsūrāw mêʿal yādāw {וַיִּמַּסּוּ אֱסוּרָיו מֵעַל יָדָיו | vayyimassû ʾăsūrāw mêʿal yādāw} ‘they melted his bonds from upon his hands’, illustrating complete liberation. The structure contrasts Philistine aggression with divine deliverance through sequential verb forms and layered clauses. |