| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs the summary formula veyeter {וְיֶ֛תֶר | wə-yé-ter} ‘the remainder’ to introduce additional deeds. The construct divrei Rechav'am {דִּבְרֵי רְחַבְעָם | dǝ-vrê rə-ḥa-v̱a-ʿǎm} ‘acts of Rehoboam’ is qualified by the relative vechol asher asah {וְכָל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה | wə-kâl ʾǎ-šer ʿā-śǎh} specifying all that he did. The interrogative halo hemmah {הֲלֹא־הֵ֣מָּה | hal-lō hêmmāh} ‘are they not’ introduces a rhetorical question. The passive participle ketuvim {כְתוּבִים | kᵉ-tû-wîm} ‘written’ with the preposition al {עַל־ | ʿal} forms a passive result clause, leading into the construct sefer divrei hayamim {סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים | sê-fer dǝ-vrê ha-yyā-mîm} ‘book of the words of days’ denoting the royal annals. The final phrase lemalchei Yehudah {לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה | lə-mal-khê yǝ-hū-dāh} limits the record to the kings of Judah. English preserves the Hebrew question syntax and noun chains to maintain rhetorical force. |