| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse uses a standard Hebrew accession notice framed by a fronted temporal phrase: bishnat {בִּשְׁנַ֨ת | bišnát} ‘in the year of’ introduces the regnal synchronism. The numerals are stated additively—esrim vasheva {עֶשְׂרִים וָשֶׁבַע | ʿeśrîm wāšéḇaʿ} ‘twenty and seven’—followed by shanah {שָׁנָה | šānāh} ‘year’, together functioning idiomatically as “twenty-seventh year.” The prepositional link leyarovam {לְיָרָבְעָם | lə-yārāḇʿām} attaches the date to the reign of Jeroboam, further identified by the apposition melek yisrael {מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל | méleḵ yiśrāʾēl}. The main clause begins with malakh {מָלַךְ | mālaḵ} ‘he reigned,’ after which the subject is supplied as azaryah {עֲזַרְיָה | ʿăzaryāh}, expanded by lineage (ben-amatsyah {בֶן־אֲמַצְיָה | ben-ʾămaṣyāh}) and title (melek yehudah {מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה | méleḵ yəhûḏāh}). English typically places the named subject earlier, so the formal and dynamic renderings reposition “Azariah” before the verbal idea (“began to reign / became king”) while preserving the Hebrew’s synchronizing date and full royal identification. |