| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a negated perfect, velo-atsar {וְלֹֽא־עָצַ֧ר | wə-lō-ʿāṣar} ‘and he did not recover’, stating Jeroboam’s continuing inability rather than a momentary setback. The phrase koach-yarovam {כֹּֽחַ־יָרָבְעָ֛ם | kōaḥ-yā-rā-və-ʿām} forms a construct relationship (“Jeroboam’s power”), while od {ע֖וֹד | ʿôḏ} adds the sense of “again/any more,” implying that earlier strength had been lost and did not return. The temporal frame bimey aviyahu {בִּימֵ֣י אֲבִיָּ֑הוּ | bî-mê ʾă-ḇî-yā-hû} anchors the report within Abijah’s reign. The second half advances with wayyiqtol narration: vayiggepehu {וַיִּגְּפֵ֥הוּ | way-yig-gə-p̄ê-hû} introduces decisive divine action, and the explicit subject Yahweh {יְהוָ֖ה | Yə-hō-wāh} follows the verb, a common Hebrew ordering that foregrounds the act and then identifies the Actor. The final wayyiqtol vayyamot {וַיָּמֹ֔ת׃ | way-yā-mōṯ} presents death as the resulting outcome of the LORD’s strike, tightening the cause-to-result sequence. The closing peh {פ | pē} marks an open paragraph break, signaling a new discourse unit beyond this judgment notice. |