| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect wayyaʿăśeh {וַיַּעֲשֶׂה | way-ya‘-ă-śeh} linking Omri’s action to the royal evaluation sequence. The phrase hā-rā‘ be-‘ē-nê Yahweh {הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה | hā-rā‘ bə-‘ē-nê Yə-hō-wāh} ‘evil in the eyes of the LORD’ employs the idiom be-‘ē-nê {בְּעֵינֵי | bə-‘ē-nê} ‘in the eyes of’ with a divine name to express moral assessment. The second clause resumes with wayyāra‘ {וַיָּרַע | way-yā-rə‘} and uses the comparative mi-kol ’ă-šer lə-pānāw {מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר לְפָנָיו | mi-kol ’ă-šer lə-pā-nāw} ‘more than all who were before him’ to intensify the wickedness. The English rendering preserves the coordinated structure and comparative emphasis of the Hebrew narrative. |