| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with gam {גַּם | gām} ‘also,’ signaling that this action continues a pattern already established. The prepositional phrase baatsatam {בַּעֲצָתָם | baʿăṣātām} ‘in their counsel’ functions adverbially, framing the king’s conduct as guided by others. The verb halakh {הָלַךְ | hālak} ‘he walked’ is idiomatic for adopting a course of behavior, and it is followed by wayyelekh {וַיֵּלֶךְ | wayyēleḵ} ‘and he went,’ a narrative chain that advances from disposition to concrete action. The particle ʾet in et-yehoram {אֶת־יְהוֹרָם | ʾeṯ-yəhōrām} serves comitatively after a motion verb, so English naturally renders it as “with,” not merely as an object marker. The appositional lineage-and-title sequence “son of Ahab, king of Israel” tightens identification and political alignment. The purpose phrase lammilchamah {לַמִּלְחָמָה | lammilḥāmāh} ‘to the war’ is complemented by al-chazael {עַל־חֲזָאֵל | ʿal-ḥăzāʾēl} ‘against Hazael,’ specifying the opponent, while the location beramot gilad {בְּרָמוֹת גִּלְעָד | bərāmôṯ gilʿāḏ} fixes the encounter at a contested frontier site. The final clause, introduced by wayyakku {וַיַּכּוּ | wayyakû} ‘and they struck,’ reports the outcome succinctly, with haarammim {הָרַמִּים | hārammîm} ‘the Arameans’ as the agent and et-yoram {אֶת־יוֹרָם | ʾeṯ-yôrām} as the direct object. |