Hebrew Form Guide

אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֑ךָּ (’ă·šal·lə·ḥe·kā) in 2 Samuel 11:12: Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular

אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֑ךָּ (’ă·šal·lə·ḥe·kā) in 2 Samuel 11:12

Source Word

אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֑ךָּ’ă·šal·lə·ḥe·kāVerb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular

Second Samuel 11:12 row 10 aligns the H7971 form with I will send you back in David's promise to Uriah.

How The Form Affects Interpretation

I will send you back sounds routine within David's speech, but the first-person agent and suffix-marked recipient become ominous as the next verses disclose the king's scheme. I directly represents the first-person subject, you represents Uriah's suffix, and back makes explicit the return to Joab and the campaign anticipated by the scene.

How To Communicate It

Mark the first-person king and second-person soldier, follow tomorrow into the next actions, and let verses 13-15 expose the purpose hidden from Uriah.

What Not To Say

  • Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
  • Do not moralize the stem or sanitize the scene; grammar identifies who sends whom, while the narrative reveals the corrupt intention.
  • The imperfect receives straightforward future force from tomorrow in the direct speech.
  • The form does not make the sending honorable, reveal David's concealed purpose to Uriah, or imply that Piel morphology itself carries deception.

What Does The Label Mean?

Profile

Hebrew-verb

Part of Speech

Verb

Form Label

Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular

Stem

Piel

Aspect

Imperf

Person

First

Gender

Common

Number

Singular

State

Not applicable

Suffix

Second person masculine singular

Aspect Note

The Piel imperfect carries a first-person common singular subject in David's direct speech and a second-person masculine singular suffix for Uriah. Tomorrow supplies the future time, while back reflects the destination understood from David's plan to return him to the army.

Verse Role

The form presents David as the sender and Uriah as the person he promises to dispatch after a further delay.

What The Form Does In This Verse

Attached To

David's instruction that Uriah remain in Jerusalem one more day

Governed By

The king's escalating attempt to conceal his adultery after Uriah refuses to go home while Israel's forces remain in the field

Role In The Phrase

The form presents David as the sender and Uriah as the person he promises to dispatch after a further delay.

What It Is Not Doing

The form does not make the sending honorable, reveal David's concealed purpose to Uriah, or imply that Piel morphology itself carries deception.

How Much The Form Matters Here

Interpretive Weight

High: The form gives David direct agency over Uriah's movement at the moment the king's concealment turns toward lethal abuse.

Syntax Profile

The Piel imperfect carries a first-person common singular subject in David's direct speech and a second-person masculine singular suffix for Uriah. Tomorrow supplies the future time, while back reflects the destination understood from David's plan to return him to the army.. The form presents David as the sender and Uriah as the person he promises to dispatch after a further delay.. Attached to David's instruction that Uriah remain in Jerusalem one more day. Governed by the king's escalating attempt to conceal his adultery after Uriah refuses to go home while Israel's forces remain in the field. The form does not make the sending honorable, reveal David's concealed purpose to Uriah, or imply that Piel morphology itself carries deception.

Reader Question

Why is I will send you back morally charged in 2 Samuel 11:12? David is the sender and Uriah the recipient, but the surrounding narrative reveals that the delay and return are parts of David's effort to conceal sin.

Translation Effect

Direct: I directly represents the first-person subject, you represents Uriah's suffix, and back makes explicit the return to Joab and the campaign anticipated by the scene.

Where Caution Is Needed

The imperfect receives straightforward future force from tomorrow in the direct speech. Back is supplied from the narrative destination; the token marks sending and the participants without encoding David's motive.

Fallacies To Avoid

The Piel stem blamed for the deceitful force that comes from David's purpose and the surrounding narrative: Do not moralize the stem or sanitize the scene; grammar identifies who sends whom, while the narrative reveals the corrupt intention. I will send you back treated as neutral administration without reading David's failed concealment and the death order that follows: Keep "I will send you back" connected to אֲשַׁלְּחֶ֑ךָּ, row 10, and the full 2 Samuel 11:12 clause.

How The Interpretation Is Derived

Textual Witness

Second Samuel 11:12 row 10 aligns the H7971 form with I will send you back in David's promise to Uriah.

Lexical Identity

This row 10 H7971 witness concerns David's planned dispatch of Uriah, distinct from Isaiah's volunteered send me and other missions shaped by different agents and purposes.

Grammar In Context

The Piel imperfect carries a first-person common singular subject in David's direct speech and a second-person masculine singular suffix for Uriah. Tomorrow supplies the future time, while back reflects the destination understood from David's plan to return him to the army.

Passage Meaning

Second Samuel 11:11-15 contrasts Uriah's solidarity with the troops against David's manipulation, moving from delay and intoxication to the lethal letter Uriah unknowingly carries.

Canonical Fit

The promise belongs to the narrative exposure of David's sin and abuse of royal power; it should be read with the chapter's moral trajectory rather than as ordinary travel logistics.

Communication Use

Mark the first-person king and second-person soldier, follow tomorrow into the next actions, and let verses 13-15 expose the purpose hidden from Uriah.

Do Not Derive

Do not moralize the stem or sanitize the scene; grammar identifies who sends whom, while the narrative reveals the corrupt intention.