"And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.'" — Yet the blessing comes with a *conditional clause*: *ve-im telekh be-derakay le-shmor chuqqay u-mitzvotay ka'asher halakh David abikha* (if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked). The condition invokes *David as the model* of obedience. The promise—*ve-'arkayti et-yamekha* (I will lengthen your days)—suggests that *longevity* itself can still be granted if Solomon maintains covenantal obedience. This introduces the *conditional* element into what appeared to be *absolute* blessing.

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