| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive narrative marker, introducing vayiqberu {וַיִּקְבְּרוּ | vāyiqqəberû} ‘and they buried’ followed by vayisəp̄əḏû-lō {וַיִּסְפְּדוּ־לוֹ | vāyisəp̄əḏû-lō} ‘and they mourned for him’, creating a sequential historical narrative. The noun phrase kol-yisrael {כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל | kāl-yiśrāʾēl} ‘all Israel’ functions as a topical subject that emphasizes national unity in mourning. The prepositional construct kidvar Yahweh {כִּדְבַר יְהוָה | kī-dəbar Yəhōwāh} ‘according to the word of the LORD’ introduces divine causation, which is specified by the relative clause asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾăšer} ‘which’ + diber {דִּבֶּר | dībber} ‘He spoke’. The mediating expression beyad-avdo {בְּיַד־עַבְדּוֹ | bə-yad-ʿăvḏō} ‘by the hand of His servant’ employs a construct chain to denote prophetic agency, and the concluding title hannavi {הַנָּבִיא | hannāvîʾ} ‘the prophet’ reinforces Ahijah’s authoritative role. English translation renders the Hebrew verb-subject order into a clear topical sequence while preserving the theological emphasis on divine agency. |