| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses a standard regnal synchronism: the temporal frame bishnat {בִּשְׁנַת֩ | bišnāṯ} ‘in the year of’ is fronted, and the numeral string sheloshim ve-achat shanah {שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים וְאַחַ֜ת שָׁנָ֗ה | šəlōšîm wə-ʾaḥaṯ šānâ} functions as a single time specification that is idiomatically rendered as an ordinal (“thirty-first”). The phrase le-asa melek yehudah {לְאָסָא֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֔ה | lə-ʾāsāʾ melek yəhûḏâ} anchors Omri’s accession to Judah’s chronology, a narrative technique that links the divided kingdoms’ histories. The verb malak {מָלַ֤ךְ | mālaḵ} ‘he reigned’ introduces Omri’s accession over Israel, then malak {מָלַ֥ךְ | mālaḵ} is repeated to resume the statement after the duration phrase, adding a focused locative: be-tirtsah {בְּתִרְצָ֖ה | bə-tirṣâ} ‘in Tirzah’. This repetition creates a tight summary: total reign length (twelve years) followed by the portion associated with a specific seat of rule (six years in Tirzah), with the clause-final location giving Tirzah rhetorical prominence. |