| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive form vayyehovah {וַיהוָ֞ה | Yə-hō-wāh} ‘and the LORD,’ which introduces divine speech, followed by amar {אָמַר | ʾāmar} marking the utterance. The phrase el-achiyyahu {אֶל־אֲחִיָּ֗הוּ | ʾel-ʾăḥiyyāhû} addresses the prophet. The interjection hinneh {הִנֵּ֣ה | hinnēh} signals attention to an approaching event, naming eshet Yarov'am {אֵ֣שֶׁת יָרָבְעָ֡ם | ʾēšeṯ • yāraḇʻām} as subject. The sequence baah lidrosh davar {בָּאָ֣ה לִדְרֹשׁ דָּבָ֨ר | bā’āh • liḏrôš • dāḇār} expresses purpose (‘coming to inquire a matter’) and is specified by meimmekha el-benah {מֵעִמְּךָ֤ אֶל־בְּנָהּ֙ | mē‘imməḵā • ʾel-bə-nāh} ‘from you toward her son.’ The clause kicholeh {כִּֽי־חֹלֶ֣ה | kî-ḥōle} gives the reason. The idiom kazoh vekazeh {כָּזֹ֥ה וְכָזֶ֖ה | kāzōh • wə-kāzēh} ‘thus and thus’ stands in for the specific response, leading to the directive tedabber eleha {תְּדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֶ֑יהָ | təḏabbēr • ʾêlēhā}. The closing clause vayhi kevoah vehi mitnakkerah {וִיהִ֣י כְבֹאָ֔הּ וְהִ֖יא מִתְנַכֵּרָֽה | wîhî • kə̆ḇōʼāh • wə-hîʼ • mitnakkērāh} links her entrance with intentional self-disguise via the hitpael stem. |