| 33. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the regnal date bishnat {בִּשְׁנַ֣ת | bišnāt} ‘in the year of’, followed by the cardinal shalosh {שָׁלֹ֔שׁ | šālôš} agreeing with the implicit shanah {שָׁנָֽה | šānāh} ‘year’. The phrase le-Asa melekh Yehudah {לְאָסָ֖א מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה | lᵉ-ʾāsāʾ mēleḵ yᵉhûḏāh} specifies Asa as king of Judah. The Qal perfect malakh {מָ֠לַךְ | mālaḵ} ‘reigned’ introduces the main verb, followed by ben-Achiyah {בֶן־אֲחִיָּ֤ה | ben-ʾăḥiyyāh} ‘son of Ahijah’ as patronymic. The prepositional phrase al-kol Yisrael {עַל־כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | ʿal-kol yiśrāʾēl} indicates scope. The setting phrase be-Tirtzah {בְּתִרְצָ֔ה | bə-tirṣāh} ‘in Tirzah’ locates the northern capital. The numerical phrase esrim ve-arba {עֶשְׂרִ֥ים וְאַרְבַּ֖ע | ʿeśrīm wə-ʾarbaʿ} ‘twenty and four’ precedes shanah, reflecting Hebrew counting conventions. The English rendition preserves the Hebrew sequence of dating, ruler, location, and duration for clarity. |