The wise woman from Tekoa arrives before King David with a carefully orchestrated plan. Her mission is to awaken the king's mercy and secure a ruling that bypasses standard legal procedures. Because her request requires absolute authority, she avoids the regular court system and approaches the king directly, knowing that only he possesses the supreme power to pardon a murderer [אברבנאל].
As she approaches the throne, she appears to initiate her appeal in two distinct stages before presenting her actual plea. One approach suggests this is simply a matter of outlining her actions, first establishing that she delivered the entire message prepared for her, and then detailing exactly how she did it [אברבנאל]. Another perspective suggests her initial action was not speaking at all, but rather the physical act of arriving before the king [רד״ק, אברבנאל].
Alternatively, there may have been two literal stages of speech. Some suggest her first words were directed at the gatekeepers rather than the king. When she demanded entry, the guards tried to intimidate her and prevent her from bothering the busy monarch. Only after pushing past them did she shout her request [רד״ק]. Others propose she spoke to the king both times, but with a shift in tone. Upon entering, she offered customary polite greetings, before falling to the ground and crying out [מצודת דוד, חומת אנך, אברבנאל]. A more frantic view suggests she shouted her plea twice. The moment she appeared, before the royal servants could push her away, she cried out to demonstrate the urgent nature of her case, and then bowed and repeated her cry [מלבי״ם].
Her immediate physical reaction upon entering is to fall on her face to the ground and bow [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This dramatic gesture is designed to express panic and deep sadness. However, it also serves a clever tactical purpose. By falling to the ground, she hides her face from the king. Because she appeared healthy and attractive, revealing her face might have contradicted the tragic, desperate nature of her story and weakened the impact of her words [חומת אנך].
From the ground, she cries out for the king to save her. This is a plea for direct, personal intervention [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. She understands that only the king's absolute authority can rescue her from her distress, a stark contrast to regular judges who are bound to rule according to the strict, dry law [אברבנאל].