| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive prefixed verb vayyaʿal {וַיַּ֨עַל | wayyaʿal} ‘and he went up’, marking sequential narrative action. The construct phrase melekh yisraʾel {מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | mêleḵ yisrā’ēl} ‘king of Israel’ identifies the actor. Next, the Nifal imperfect vayyitraʾu {וַיִּתְרָא֣וּ | wayyiṯrā’û} ‘and they saw each other’ introduces the encounter, with panim {פָנִים | panîm} ‘faces’ functioning idiomatically for a face-to-face confrontation. The phrase waʾămaṣyāhû ‘and Amaziah’ mirrors the subject, and the locative phrase bə-bêṯ šemeš {בְּבֵ֥ית שֶׁמֶשׁ | bə-bêṯ šemeš} ‘at Beth Shemesh’ combined with the relative clause ’ăšer li-yhûḏāh {אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָֽה | ’ăšer li-yhûḏāh} ‘which belongs to Judah’ situates the encounter within Judah’s territory. |