| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction we {וְ | wə} ‘and’ linking to the preceding narrative. The coordinated noun phrase kol Yisraʾel we-Yehudah {כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וִיהוּדָ֔ה | kāl yiś-ra-ʾēl wî-yehû-dâh} ‘all Israel and Judah’ serves as the subject. The predicate participle ohev {אֹהֵ֖ב | ʾō-hēḇ} ‘loving’ takes David {דָּוִד֑ | dā-wîḏ} ‘David’ as its object via the marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} ‘direct object marker.’ The causal conjunction ki {כִּי־ | kî} ‘because’ introduces a subordinate clause in which hu {ה֛וּא | hūʾ} ‘he’ governs the coordinated verbs yotze {יוֹצֵ֥א | yō-ṣēʾ} ‘goes out’ and vā-vā {וָבָ֖א | wā-wā} ‘and comes in,’ an idiomatic merism for leadership activity. The prepositional phrase lifneihem {לִפְנֵיהֶֽם | lif-nê-hem} ‘before them’ emphasizes David’s leading position. The use of the vav consecutive vā-vā underscores continuity and narrative progression. |