| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the adverb gam {גַּם | gām} ‘also,’ which links this action to the preceding narrative. The pronoun hu {ה֣וּא | hū} ‘he’ marks the subject, followed by the verb halakh {הָלַךְ | hā-lakh} ‘walked’ in the Qal perfect that denotes habitual behavior. The manner phrase bedarkhei {בְּדַרְכֵי | bə-dar-kē} ‘in the ways of,’ together with the construct chain beit akhav {בֵּ֣ית אַחְאָ֑ב | bêt ’a-ḥā-ḇ} ‘house of Ahab,’ expresses affiliation with royal practices. The conjunction ki {כִּ֥י | kî} ‘for’ introduces a causal clause: in the nominal clause ’im-mô hā-yə-ṯā yō-‘aṣ-tō {אִמּוֹ הָיְתָה יוֹעַצְתּוֹ | ’im-mô hā-yə-ṯā yō-‘aṣ-tō} ‘his mother was his counselor,’ a Hiphil participle conveys his mother’s role in providing ongoing advice. The infinitive construct lə-har-šî-‘aʿ {לְהַרְשִֽׁיעַ | lə-har-šî-‘aʿ} ‘to make him act wickedly’ functions purposively, specifying the intended result of her counsel. English translates this with a participial clause (“steering him to act wickedly”) to preserve the verse’s purposive emphasis and Hebrew word order. |