עָלָ֧יו

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 עָלָ֧יו

   a-LAV

   upon himself
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וַיִּשְׂרֹ֨ף עָלָ֧יו אֶת־בֵּֽית־מֶ֛לֶךְ

   va-yis-ROF a-LAV et-bet-ME-lekh

   and he burned upon himself {direct object} the house of the king
3. clause🔊 וַיִּשְׂרֹ֨ף עָלָ֧יו אֶת־בֵּֽית־מֶ֛לֶךְ בָּאֵ֖שׁ וַיָּמֹֽת׃

   va-yis-ROF a-LAV et-bet-ME-lekh ba-ESH va-ya-MOT

   and he burned upon himself {direct object} the house of the king with fire and he died
4. sentence🔊 וַיְהִ֞י כִּרְא֤וֹת זִמְרִי֙ כִּֽי־נִלְכְּדָ֣ה הָעִ֔יר וַיָּבֹ֖א אֶל־אַרְמ֣וֹן בֵּית־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיִּשְׂרֹ֨ף עָלָ֧יו אֶת־בֵּֽית־מֶ֛לֶךְ בָּאֵ֖שׁ וַיָּמֹֽת׃

   va-ye-HI kir-OT zim-RI ki-nil-ke-DA ha-IR va-ya-BO el-ar-MON bet-ha-ME-lekh va-yis-ROF a-LAV et-bet-ME-lekh ba-ESH va-ya-MOT

   and it happened when seeing Zimri that it had been captured the city and he went into the citadel of the house of the king and he burned upon himself {direct object} the house of the king with fire and he died

Exegesis

The prepositional ʿālāyw {עָלָ֧יו | ʿālāyw} ‘upon him’ highlights self-destructive intent, and the direct object marker ʾet-bêṯ-meleḵ {אֶת־בֵּֽית־מֶ֛לֶךְ | ʾet-bêṯ-meleḵ} focuses the burning action on the palace itself. English preserves the Hebrew temporal sequence and causal link with “when” and the cause-effect order.