| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with wayyariu {וַיָּרִ֖יעוּ | wayyārîʿû} ‘they raised a shout’, a vav-consecutive verb that advances the battle narrative. The phrase ish yehudah {אִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֑ה | ʾîš yəhûḏâ} functions collectively (“the men of Judah”), and its repetition after wayehi {וַיְהִ֗י | wayəhî} ‘and it happened’ creates a tight temporal linkage: the decisive turning point occurs precisely at the moment of beharia {בְּהָרִ֙יעַ֙ | bəhārîaʿ} ‘when shouting’. The main outcome is expressed with the subject-first clause vehaelohim nagaf {וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים נָגַ֣ף | wəhāʾĕlōhîm nāgap̄} ‘and God struck down’, where the perfect verb presents the defeat as a completed, decisive act. The object sequence et-yarovam {אֶת־יָרָבְעָ֑ם | ʾeṯ-yārāḇʿām} followed by vekol-yisrael {וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | wəḵol-yiśrāʾēl} widens the blow from the king to the whole force. The closing prepositional phrase lifnei {לִפְנֵ֥י | lip̄nê} ‘before/in the presence of’ frames the defeat as public and unmistakable, occurring right before Abijah and Judah as witnesses to God’s intervention. |