| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse advances with a wayyiqtol chain, beginning with vayyiqqavetsu {וַיִּקָּבְצוּ | wayyiqqāḇəṣû} ‘and they gathered,’ followed by the directional phrase alav {עָלָיו | ʿalāyw} ‘against him,’ marking the action as hostile rather than merely assembling. The sequence anashim reqim benei beliyaal {אֲנָשִׁים רֵקִים בְּנֵי בְלִיַּעַל | ʾănāšîm rēqîm benê bəlîyaʿal} piles up descriptive labels in an appositional string, rhetorically intensifying the condemnation of the group’s character. A second coordinated wayyiqtol, vayitammetsu {וַיִּתְאַמְּצוּ | wayyitʾamməṣû} ‘and they strengthened themselves,’ portrays deliberate self-bolstering, and its object is expressed by the prepositional target al-rehav'am {עַל־רְחַבְעָם | ʿal-rəḥaḇʿām} ‘against Rehoboam.’ The sof pasuq break sets up a contrastive follow-up: urehav'am hayah na'ar {וּרְחַבְעָם הָיָה נַעַר | û-rəḥaḇʿām hāyāh naʿar} gives background description, and verakh-levav {וְרַךְ־לֵבָב | wə-raḵ-lēḇāḇ} adds a disposition that explains vulnerability. The closing clause velo hitchazek lifneihem {וְלֹא הִתְחַזֵּק לִפְנֵיהֶם | wə-lōʾ hitḥazzēq lipnêhem} uses negation with a reflexive-strength verb to underscore failure to take a firm stance “before them,” a face-to-face context of pressure. |