| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive vayashuvu {וַיָּשֻׁבוּ | way·yā·šû·w} ‘and they returned,’ advancing the narrative sequence. The universal subject kol-ish {כָּל־אִישׁ | kāl-’îš} ‘every man’ is paired with the coordinated subjects Yehudah {יְהוּדָה | yə·hū·dāh} ‘Judah’ and Yerushalayim {וִירוּשָׁלִַם | wî·yərū·šā·la·yim} ‘Jerusalem,’ merging tribal and civic identities. The prefixed conjunction on Yehoshaphat {וִיהוֹשָׁפָט | wî·yə·hō·šā·p̄āṭ} ‘and Jehoshaphat’ highlights leadership, further specified by the prepositional phrase be-rosham {בְּרֹאשָׁם | bə·rō·’ā·šam} ‘at their head.’ The infinitive lashuv {לָשׁוּב | lā·šûv} ‘to return’ combined with el-Yerushalayim {אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלִַם | ʾel-yərū·šā·la·yim} ‘to Jerusalem’ expresses purpose, while be-simchah {בְּשִׂמְחָה | bə·sîm·ḥāh} ‘with joy’ marks the emotional state. The causal clause introduced by ki-simcham {כִּֽי־שִׂמְּחָ֥ם | kî-sîm·ḥām} ‘for he caused them to rejoice’ uses a Hiphil perfect to attribute the action to Yahweh {יְהוָה | yəhō·wāh} ‘the LORD,’ and the phrase me-oyveihem {מֵֽאוֹיְבֵיהֶם | mē·’ō·yᵉ·vē·hēm} ‘from their enemies’ indicates the source of divine intervention. The English renderings preserve Hebrew word order and causal emphasis while employing idiomatic prepositional and subordinate structures. |