Commentaire sur Samuel 2 2:27
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יוֹאָ֔ב חַ֚י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים כִּ֥י לוּלֵ֖א דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ כִּ֣י אָ֤ז מֵֽהַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ נַעֲלָ֣ה הָעָ֔ם אִ֖ישׁ מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י אָחִֽיו׃
Par le Dieu vivant! répondit Joab, si tu n'avais parlé, ils se seraient, dès le matin, séparés les uns des autres."
Rashi on II Samuel
If you had not spoken. If only you had spoken this [way5Your decrying of us fighting each other. earlier] [The לא] is as [if it were written] לו6According to this first interpretation, the construct לוּלֵא denotes לוֹלוּ, “if only if,” i.e., if only you had spoken these reconcilitory words earlier., meaning it. Another [way] to interpret it is as it's plain meaning7This interpretation of לולא is the usual “if not for.”: if you had not spoken i.e. that which you said "Let the young soldiers get up and playfight."8Those words triggered this deadly battle.
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