| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses a sequence of vav consecutive imperfect verbs to link death, burial, and accession: vayishkav {וַיִּשְׁכַּב | wayyiškav} ‘and he lay down,’ indicating death; followed by vayikberu {וַיִּקְבְּרוּ | wayyiqberû} ‘and they buried,’ and vayimlokh {וַיִּמְלֹךְ | wayyimlōḵ} ‘and he became king.’ The idiomatic expression im avotav {עִם־אֲבֹתָיו | ʿim ʾăvōṯāw} denotes burial among one’s ancestors as a standard funerary formula. The construct chain beir David {בְּעִיר דָּוִד | bə-ʿîr Dāwîḏ} specifies the royal necropolis in Jerusalem, reinforcing dynastic legitimacy. The prepositional phrase takhtav {תַּחְתָּיו | ṯaḥtāyw} marks replacement in office. The English rendition preserves the Hebrew verb order and formal texture to maintain narrative immediacy. |