| 13. Linguistic Exegesis This verse uses a narrative vav-consecutive chain where wayesireha {וַיְסִרֶהָ | way-yi-sê-rê-hā} ‘and he removed her’, vayikrot {וַיִּכְרֹת | way-yi-ḵrôt} ‘and he cut down’, and vayisrof {וַיִּשְׂרֹף | way-yi-srôp} ‘and he burned’ sequence the reforms. The direct object marker et {אֵת | ʾet} marks both Maakah and the idol as targets. The construct imo {אִמּוֹ | ʾim-mō} ‘his mother’ specifies her familial role, and the prepositional phrase migvirah {מִגְּבִירָה | mig-vi-rāh} ‘queen mother’ denotes her courtly title. The relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾa-šer} introduces the causal clause with asetah {עָשְׂתָה | ʿā-šāh} ‘she made’, which predicates the noun mifletset {מִפְלֶצֶת | mif-le-ṯe-ṣet} ‘abomination’ dedicated la-asherah {לָאֲשֵׁרָה | lā-ʾă-še-rāh} ‘to Asherah’. Finally, the geographic phrase benakhal {בְּנַחַל | bə-na-ḥāl} ‘in the brook’ and the proper name Kidron {קִדְרֹן | qi-drōn} locate the purge at a seasonal watercourse. |