| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with the noun milchamah {וּמִלְחָמָ֨ה | ū-mil-kha-māh} ‘war’ followed by the verb hayetah {הָיְתָ֧ה | hā-yə-ṯāh} ‘was,’ establishing an existential statement. Two parallel prepositional phrases, bein {בֵין־ | bēn-} Reḥav‘am {רְחַבְעָ֛ם | re-ḥăv-‘ām} and ū-bēn {וּבֵ֥ין | ū-bēn} Yarov‘am {יָרָבְעָ֖ם | yā-răv-‘ām}, mark the adversarial relationship between the two kings. The construct phrase kol yemei ḥayyav {כָּל־ | kāl-} {יְמֵ֥י | yə-mē-} {חַיָּֽיו | ḥăy-yāw} ‘all the days of his life’ functions as a temporal modifier specifying an uninterrupted duration. The repetition of the preposition underscores the sense of sustained and ongoing conflict. |