| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conjunction and-all {vechol {וְכָל־ | wə-ḵāl} ‘and all of’} paired with Judah {Yehudah {יְהוּדָה | Yəhûḏāh} ‘Judah’}, forming a collective subject. The participle standing {omdim {עֹמְדִים | ‘omdîm} ‘standing’} conveys sustained posture, leading into the prepositional phrase before {lifnei {לִפְנֵי | li-pə-nê} ‘before’} the LORD {Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘the LORD’}, establishing spatial proximity. The conjunction also {gam {גַּם־ | gam} ‘also’} introduces a series of possessive noun phrases—little ones {tappam {טַפָּם | ṭappām} ‘little ones’}, wives {neshehem {נְשֵׁיהֶם | nəšêhem} ‘wives’}, and children {uveneihem {וּבְנֵיהֶם | uvənêhem} ‘children’}—each marked by third person masculine plural suffixes, emphasizing inclusivity. This tricolon structure underscores the corporate nature of the assembly. In translation, the Hebrew participle is rendered by a simple past verb ‘stood’ to align with English narrative conventions, and the prepositional phrase lifnei {לִפְנֵי} is preserved to maintain the sense of presence before the divine. |