הֵחֵ֕ל

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 הֵחֵ֕ל

   he-KHEL

   he began
2. clause🔊 וּבִשְׁמוֹנֶ֨ה שָׁנִ֜ים לְמָלְכ֗וֹ וְהוּא֙ עוֹדֶ֣נּוּ נַ֔עַר הֵחֵ֕ל לִדְר֕וֹשׁ לֵאלֹהֵ֖י דָּוִ֣יד אָבִ֑יו

   u-vish-mo-NE sha-NIM le-mal-KHO ve-HU o-DE-nu NA-ar he-KHEL lid-ROSH le-e-lo-HE da-VID a-VIV

   and in eight years of his reigning and he still him, yet a youth, a boy he began to seek, to inquire to the God of David his father
3. sentence🔊 וּבִשְׁמוֹנֶ֨ה שָׁנִ֜ים לְמָלְכ֗וֹ וְהוּא֙ עוֹדֶ֣נּוּ נַ֔עַר הֵחֵ֕ל לִדְר֕וֹשׁ לֵאלֹהֵ֖י דָּוִ֣יד אָבִ֑יו וּבִשְׁתֵּ֧ים עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֗ה הֵחֵל֙ לְטַהֵ֗ר אֶת־יְהוּדָה֙ וִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם מִן־הַבָּמוֹת֙ וְהָ֣אֲשֵׁרִ֔ים וְהַפְּסִלִ֖ים וְהַמַּסֵּכֽוֹת׃

   u-vish-mo-NE sha-NIM le-mal-KHO ve-HU o-DE-nu NA-ar he-KHEL lid-ROSH le-e-lo-HE da-VID a-VIV u-vish-TEIM es-RE sha-NA he-KHEL le-ta-HER ET-ye-hu-DA vi-ru-sha-LA-im min-ha-ba-MOT ve-ha-a-she-RIM ve-hap-se-LIM ve-ham-ma-se-KHOT

   and in eight years of his reigning and he still him, yet a youth, a boy he began to seek, to inquire to the God of David his father and in two ten, -teen year he began to cleanse, to purify {direct object marker} Judah and Jerusalem from the high places and the Asherim and the carved images and the cast images

Exegesis

The verse employs two temporal markers uvišmōné šānîm lə-malkô {וּבִשְׁמוֹנֶ֨ה שָׁנִ֜ים לְמָלְכ֗וֹ | ū-vî-šmō-né šā-nîm lə-malkô} ‘and in the eighth year of his reign’ and ū-vištēmin ʿiśrē šānâh {וּבִשְׁתֵּ֧ים עֶשְׂרֵ֣ה שָׁנָ֗ה | ū-vi-štē-min ʿi-śrê šān-âh} ‘and in the twelfth year’, each followed by hēḥēl {הֵחֵ֕ל | hē-ḥēl} ‘he began.’