| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse is built as a chain of wayyiqtol clauses, moving the story forward with consecutive verbs. It opens with the Hiphil verb wayyakhen {וַיָּ֨כֶן | wayyāḵen} ‘and He established,’ presenting Yahweh’s action as the decisive cause of stability. The direct object phrase et-hammamlakhah {אֶת־הַמַּמְלָכָה֙ | ʾeṯ-ham-mam-lā-ḵāh} identifies what is secured, and the following prepositional phrase beyado {בְּיָד֔וֹ | bə-yā-ḏō} ‘in his hand’ functions idiomatically to mark effective control and settled authority. A second wayyiqtol, wayyittenu {וַיִּתְּנ֧וּ | wayyit-tənû} ‘and they gave,’ shifts from divine action to the people’s response; kol-yehudah {כָל־יְהוּדָ֛ה | kol-yəhû-ḏāh} is a collective subject, portraying unified support. The object minchah {מִנְחָ֖ה | minḥāh} signals a formal gift suited to honoring a ruler, and the dative liyehoshaphat {לִיהוֹשָׁפָ֑ט | liyəhôšāp̄āṭ} specifies the recipient. The closing clause wayhi-lo {וַֽיְהִי־ל֥וֹ | wayhî-lō} ‘and it came to be for him’ presents the outcome rather than a new action, culminating in the paired nouns osher-vekavod {עֹֽשֶׁר־וְכָב֖וֹד | ʿōšer-wə-ḵāḇōḏ} ‘wealth and honor,’ intensified by larov {לָרֹֽב׃ | lā-rōḇ} ‘in abundance.’ The syntax alternates divine establishment, human tribute, and resulting prosperity, emphasizing that royal stability and honor flow from Yahweh’s enabling. |