16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?”2 Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread3 and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.”4
tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (véhallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (uléhallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.