| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with vayelekh {וַיֵּ֗לֶךְ | wā-yē-leḵ} ‘and he walked,’ where the vav-consecutive + Qal imperfect indicates ongoing action. The compound expression bekhol-derekh {בְּכָל־דֶּרֶךְ | bə-ḵōl-de-re-ḵ} ‘in every way’ stresses total immersion in Jeroboam’s path. The phrase uveḥattaʾotav {וּבְחַטָּאתָ֖יו | ū-ḇə-ḥaṭ-tā-’ō-ṯāw} ‘and in his sins’ layers conjunction, preposition, plural construct noun, and suffix to reflect personal guilt. The relative clause asher heḥetiʾa {אֲשֶׁר הֶחֱטִ֖יא | ’ă-šer he-ḥe-ṭi-’ā} ‘which he caused to sin’ uses the Hifil perfect for causal influence. The infinitive lehaqʿis {לְהַכְעִ֗יס | lə-ḥaq-‘îs} ‘to provoke to anger’ expresses purpose. The compound divine name Yahweh Elohei Yisra’el {יְהוָ֛ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yə-hō-wāh ’ĕ-lō-ḥē yiś-rā-’ēl} foregrounds covenant identity and national belonging. Finally, the noun behevelaihem {בְּהַבְלֵיהֶֽם | bə-ḥaḇ-’ê-lā-ye-hem} ‘with their vanities’ employs the plural construct to denote the emptiness of idol worship. The translation preserves these layers to maintain Hebrew causality and emphasis. |