| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The verse advances the narrative with two verb-initial wayyiqtol clauses, vaya'as {וַיַּעַשׂ | wayyāʿaś} and vayyelekh {וַיֵּלֶךְ | wayyēleḵ}, presenting successive aspects of the king’s conduct: first the evaluative summary, then the concrete pattern of allegiance. The expression be'einei Yahweh {בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה | bəʿênê Yəhōwāh} “in the eyes of the LORD” frames the judgment explicitly from Yahweh’s perspective, marking the action as measured against divine standards rather than political success. The idiom vayyelekh achar {וַיֵּלֶךְ אַחַר | wayyēleḵ ʾaḥar} “he walked after” depicts a sustained course of imitation and loyalty; it is completed by the object chatot yarav`am {חַטֹּאת יָרָבְעָם | ḥaṭṭōt yārāḇʿām}, a construct relationship that assigns the sins to Jeroboam as their defining source and model. The relative clause asher-hecheti {אֲשֶׁר־הֶחֱטִיא | ʾăšer-heḥĕṭîʾ} adds causal force through the Hiphil, portraying Jeroboam as the one who made Israel sin, not merely someone who sinned personally. The closing lo-sar mimmenah {לֹא־סָר מִמֶּנָּה | lōʾ-sār mimmennāh} is a firm negated perfect, emphasizing persistence: he did not deviate from that established sinful course. English renderings typically shift to subject-initial order for readability while preserving the Hebrew sequence of evaluation → imitation → refusal to turn away. |