| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew dating expression u'vishnat {וּבִשְׁנַ֣ת | ū-vīš-nāt} 'in the year' combined with esrim {עֶשְׂרִים | ʾe-s̆er-īm} 'twenty' forms a construct chain indicating regnal synchronism. The prepositional form leyarav'am {לְיָרָבְעָ֖ם | lə-yā-rā-və-ʿām} 'of Jeroboam' provides the reference for dating. The parallel construct phrases melek yisra'el {מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | mē-lek̓ yi-s̆rā-ʾēl} 'king of Israel' and melek yehudah {מֶ֥לֶךְ יְהוּדָֽה | mē-lek̓ yə-hū-dā} 'king of Judah' frame the perfect verb malach {מָלַ֥ךְ | mā-laḵ} 'reigned', reflecting overlapping reigns. English inversion retains the Hebrew synchronism while emphasizing Asa’s accession. |