| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the waw-consecutive + Qal imperfect vayehi {וַיְהִי | va-yĭhî} ‘and it happened’, signaling a historical account. The temporal phrase bashanah hachamishit {בַּשָּׁנָה הַֽחֲמִישִׁית | bə-šā-nāh ha-ḥă-mî-šît} ‘in the fifth year’ employs a preposition, definite article, and ordinal adjective to date the event. The phrase lammelekh Rechav‘am {לַמֶּ֣לֶךְ רְחַבְעָם | la-mê-leḵ rê-ḥă-ḇā-ʿam} ‘to King Rehoboam’ identifies the sovereign, while the Qal perfect alah {עָלָה | ʿā-lāh} ‘went up’ introduces the hostile advance. The compound subject Shishak melekh Mitsrayim {שִׁישַׁק מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרָיִם | šî-šăq mê-leḵ-miṣ-rā-yim} ‘Shishak, king of Egypt’ specifies the invader. The prepositional clause al Yerushalayim {עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָיִם | ʿal-yĕ-rû-ša-lā-yim} ‘against Jerusalem’ marks the target. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ introduces the causal clause in which the Qal perfect ma‘alu {מָעֲלוּ | mā-‘ă-lû} ‘acted unfaithfully’ in relation to Yahweh triggers divine judgment. English shifts from VSO to SVO to preserve clarity and causal flow. |