| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayehi {וַיְהִי | wayhî} ‘and it was’, which continues the narrative. The phrase ləʾāsā {לְאָסָא | lə-ʾā-sā} literally “to Asa” is rendered “Asa had” for natural English. The construct chain ḥayil nōse ṣinnâh və-rōmaḥ {חַיִל נֹשֵׂא צִנָּה וָרֹמַח | ḥa-yil nō-sē ṣin-nā və-rō-maḥ} denotes “force bearing shield and spear.” The multiplicative numerals šālôš mēʾōṯ ʾelep̄ {שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף | šā-lôš mē-ʾōṯ ʾe-lep̄} and māṭāyim ūšəmōnîm ʾelep̄ {מָאתַיִם וּשְׁמֹנִים אֶלֶף | mā-ṭā-yim ū-šə-mō-nîm ʾe-lep̄} reflect Hebrew’s hundred-by-thousand system. Participial pairs nōsəʾē + māgēn and ve-dōrḵê + qešeṯ are rendered as “shield bearers” and “bow wielders.” The summary kullām gibborē ḥayil {כֻּלָּם גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִל | kul-lām gib-bō-rê ḥa-yil} employs a predicative noun to emphasize their valor. |