| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The temporal phrase bishnat šəlōšîm wāṯēšāʿ šānāh {בִּשְׁנַ֨ת שְׁלֹשִׁים וָתֵשַׁע שָׁנָה | bišnăt šəlōšîm wāṯēšāʿ šānāh} ‘in the thirty-ninth year’ uses the preposition b- plus a construct numeral chain for regnal dating. The segment laʿăzaryāh melek yəhūḏāh {לַעֲזַרְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה | laʿăzaryāh melek yəhūḏāh} ‘of Azariah king of Judah’ anchors the chronology. The verb mālaḵ {מָלַךְ | mālaḵ} ‘he reigned’ introduces a new ruler with mĕnaḥēm ben gādī {מְנַחֵם בֶּן־גָּדִי | mĕnaḥēm ben gādī} ‘Menahem son of Gadi’ providing lineage. The preposition ʿal {עַל | ʿal} ‘over’ indicates dominion, followed by yiśrāʾēl {יִשְׂרָאֵל | yiśrāʾēl} ‘Israel’. The phrase ʿēser šānîm {עֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים | ʿēser šānîm} ‘ten years’ and the locative bəšomrōn {בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן | bəšomrōn} ‘in Samaria’ complete the historical summary. The English translation mirrors Hebrew word order to preserve precise chronological relationships. |