| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with wayyaas {וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | wayyaʿaś} ‘and he did,’ a wayyiqtol form that advances the regnal narrative with a summarizing evaluation. The object hara {הָרַ֖ע | hā-rāʿ} ‘the evil’ functions as a moral category rather than a single act. The idiom be-einei Yahweh {בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה | bə-ʿê-nê Yə-hō-wāh} ‘in the eyes of the LORD’ frames the king’s behavior from the divine perspective, establishing the standard of judgment. The negated perfect lo sar {לֹ֣א סָ֠ר | lōʾ sār} ‘he did not turn aside’ expresses persistent refusal, and the prepositional phrase me-al {מֵעַ֨ל | mē-ʿal} ‘from upon’ portrays departing as moving off an established course. The construct chain chattoot yarovam {חַטֹּ֜אות יָרָבְעָ֧ם | ḥaṭṭōʾṯ yārāḇəʿām} ‘sins of Jeroboam’ identifies the benchmark sins associated with Jeroboam’s legacy, while ben-nevat {בֶּן־נְבָ֛ט | ben-nəḇāṭ} specifies him genealogically. The relative asher-hecheti {אֲשֶׁר־הֶחֱטִ֥יא | ʾăšer-heḥĕṭîʾ} ‘who caused to sin’ uses the Hiphil stem to assign culpability for leading the nation into wrongdoing. The closing temporal expression kol-yamav {כָּל־יָמָֽיו | kol-yāmāyw} ‘all his days’ seals the assessment by marking the unbroken duration of this pattern. |