| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative formula vayhi {וַיְהִי | way-yi-hi} ‘and it was’, employing the waw-consecutive Qal imperfect to mark sequential narrative. The coordinated subject chain Davīd {דָוִד | da-wid}, zikinē Yisra’el {וְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | vä-zik-nē yi-sra-’el}, and vesārē hā’ălāp̄īm {וְשָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים | vä-sar-ē hä-’a-la-p̄īm} forms a compound noun phrase. The participle haholḵīm {הַהֹלְכִים | hä-ho-l’ḵīm} ‘the-going-ones’ attributes the forthcoming action to the subject. Purpose is expressed by the Hiphil infinitive construct ləha’alōt {לְהַעֲל֞וֹת | lə-ha-’a-lōt} ‘to bring up’. The object marker ’ēt {אֶת | ’ēt} ‘direct-object-marker’ signals the genitive compound ’ărōn bərît Yahweh {אֲרוֹן בְּרִית־יְהוָה | ’ă-rōn bə-rît yə-hō-wāh} ‘ark of the covenant of the LORD’. The origin phrase min bēt ’ôḇēḏ-’ĕḏōm {מִן־בֵּ֥ית עֹבֵד־אֱדֹ֖ם | min bēt ’ō-vēḏ-’e-dōm} ‘from the house of Obed-Edom’ specifies the source, and the prepositional phrase bəśimḥāh {בְּשִׂמְחָה | bə-śim-ḥāh} ‘with joy’ concludes the clause, underscoring the celebratory tone. English renders the extensive Hebrew phrase in two clauses to maintain clarity while preserving the theological emphasis. |