| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew idiom ben esrim ve-chamesh shanah {בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים וְחָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנָה֙ | ben ʿeś-rîm wə-ḥā-mēš šā-nāh} ‘twenty-five years old’ introduces age. The phrase hayah be-malko {הָיָה בְמָלְכ֔וֹ | hā-yāʾ bə-māl-kō} pairs the Qal perfect hayah ‘he was’ with the construct malko ‘his reign’ forming a temporal clause. The cardinal sequence esrim va-tesha {עֶשְׂרִים וָתֵשַׁע | ʿeś-rîm wə-tē-šaʿ} ‘twenty-nine’ is followed by malakh {מָלַךְ | mā-laḵ}, marking rulership. The locative bi-yerushalayim {בִּירוּשָׁלָ֑ם | bī-yə-ru-šā-layim} establishes the royal seat. The construct ve-shem immo {וְשֵׁ֣ם אִמּ֔וֹ | wə-šēm ʾimmō} indicates ‘the name of his mother’. The use of ketiv yehoaddin followed by qere yehoaddan reflects orthographic tradition, pronounced via the Qere, affirming fidelity to the Masoretic reading. |