| 34. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with vayehi {וַיְהִי֙ | wayehî} ‘and it came to be’, which introduces a consequential development. The construct baddāvar hazzeh {בַּדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה | baddāvar hazzeh} ‘in this matter’ functions as a causal marker. Lechatat {לְחַטַּ֖את | ləḥattāt} ‘to cause to sin’, a Pi‘el infinitive construct, directs action toward bêyt yārāḇə‘ām {בֵּ֣ית יָרָבְעָ֑ם | bêyt yārāḇə‘ām} ‘house of Jeroboam’. The successive Hiphil infinitives uləḥakhkhîd {וּלְהַכְחִיד֙ | uləḥakhkhîd} ‘to cut off’ and uləhāšmîd {וּלְהַשְׁמִ֔יד | uləhāšmîd} ‘to destroy’ intensify the decree of removal. The phrase mē‘al pnê hā’ăḏāmāh {מֵעַ֖ל פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה | mē‘al pnê hā’ăḏāmāh} ‘from upon the face of the earth’ conveys total eradication via a common biblical idiom. The English ordering preserves sequence and clarifies relationships among infinitive clauses and the prepositional phrase. |