| 19. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the preposition al {עַל | ʿal} ‘because of’, establishing a causal link to the head noun chattaotav {חַטָּאתָיו֙ | khaṭ-ṭā-ʾōṯāv} ‘his sins’. The relative pronoun asher {אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾă-šer} ‘which’ introduces the Qal perfect verb chata {חָטָ֔א | ḥā-ṭāʾ} ‘he sinned’, followed by the infinitive la’asot hara {לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת הָרַ֖ע | la-ʿă-sōṯ hā-rāʿ} ‘to do the evil’ together with the phrase be’einei Yahweh {בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה | bᵉ-ʿê-nē Yᵉ-hō-wāh} ‘in the eyes of the LORD’, forming a verbal-nominal construction that highlights disapproved action under divine scrutiny. The parallel infinitive clause lalechet bederekh Yarov‘am {לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ יָרָבְעָ֔ם | lā-le-kheṭ bᵉ-de-reḵ yā-rā-və-ʿām} ‘to walk in the way of Jeroboam’ supplies historical analogy. The concluding segment uvechatato asher asah le’hachati et yisra’el {וּבְחַטָּאתוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה לְהַחֲטִ֖יא אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל | ū-ḇᵉ-ḥaṭ-ṭā-ʾō ʾă-šer ʿā-śāh lᵉ-ha-ḥa-ṭî ʾet yi-srā-ʾēl} ‘and in his sin which he did to cause Israel to sin’ uses a Hiphil infinitive construct to underscore causation and communal impact. The layered infinitive clauses and relative constructions build a cumulative portrayal of sin and its effect on the nation. |