| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a sequence of vav-consecutive verbs—vehayetah {וְהָיְתָ֣ה | və-hā-yə-tā} “and it shall be,” vekara {וְקָ֥רָא | və-qā-rāʾ} “and he shall read,” and yilmad {יִלְמַ֗ד | yi-lə-māḏ} “he may learn”—to establish the ongoing nature of the king’s duty. The temporal expression kol yemei chayyav {כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑יו | kāl-ye-mê-ḥay-yāw} “all the days of his life” underscores lifelong commitment. The infinitive constructs leyrʾah {לְיִרְאָה֙ | lě-yir-’āh} “to fear” and lishmor {לִשְׁמֹר | liš-mōr} “to keep” introduce purpose clauses, bracketed by lemaʿan {לְמַ֣עַן | lě-maʿ-ăn} “so that.” The object-marking particle et directs to the compound divine name Yahweh Elohav {יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔יו | Yə-hō-wāh ’ĕ-lō-hāw}. The construct chain kol divrei hatorah hazot {כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֞י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּ֛את | kāl-dib-rê-ha-tō-rāh-ha-zōt} “all words of this law” and the linked demonstrative ha’eleh {הָאֵ֖לֶּה | hā-’ê-leh} “these statutes” define the content to be observed. English word order shifts for clarity while preserving each Hebrew element. |