| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive clause vedivrei {וְדִבְרֵי | wə-dib-rê} ‘and the words’, introducing the topic of royal records. The paired adjectives harishonim ve-ha’aḥaronim {הָרִאשֹׁנִים וְהָאֲחַרוֹנִים | ha-rîšhōnîm və-ha-’aḥărōnîm} ‘the first and the last’ form a merism denoting the full span of Rehoboam’s reign. The interrogative halohem kə-tūvîm {הֲלֹא־הֵם כְּתוּבִים | ha-lō’ hēm kə-tū-vîm} ‘are they not written’ functions as a rhetorical question emphasizing authoritative documentation. The construct bedivrei Shema‘yyāh hā-nābî’ və-‘iddō ha-ḥōzêh {בְּדִבְרֵי שְׁמַעְיָה הַנָּבִיא וְעִדּוֹ הַחֹזֶה | bə-dib-rê she-ma‘y-yāh ha-nā-bî’ və-‘iḏ-dō ha-ḥō-zêh} specifies the prophetic and seer sources. The preposition lə in lə-hit-yaḥêš {לְהִתְיַחֵשׂ | lə-hit-ya-ḥêš} marks purpose ‘for genealogies’, reflecting a Hitpael infinitive of intent. The second clause’s u-mil-ḥa-môṯ Reḥaḇ‘am və-ya-rō-ḇa‘am kōl ha-yā-mîm {וּמִלְחֲמוֹת רְחַבְעָם וְיָרָבְעָם כָּל־הַיָּמִים | u-mil-ḥa-mōt Reḥaḇ‘ām və-yā-rā-ḇa‘ām kōl ha-yā-mîm} uses vav and kol in a distributive idiom ‘throughout their days’ to link ongoing warfare. The English rendering preserves the Hebrew ellipsis and rhetorical question to highlight the reliability of the written account and the persistence of conflict. |