| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal construct bishnat šəlôšîm ušmônê šānāh {בִּשְׁנַ֨ת שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמֹנֶה שָׁנָה | bišnāt šəlôšîm ušmônê šānāh} ‘in the thirty-eighth year,’ where a construct noun combines with cardinal numerals to express an ordinal. The construct chain laʿăzaryāhû mēleḵ yəhûḏāh {לַעֲזַרְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה | laʿăzaryāhû mēleḵ yəhûḏāh} identifies Azariah as king of Judah. The verb mālaḵ {מָלַךְ | mālaḵ} serves as a perfect narrative marker signaling accession, with ben-yārāḇə‘ām {בֶן־יָרָבְעָם | ben-yārāḇə‘ām} providing Zechariah’s filiation. The phrase ‘al-yisrā’ēl {עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל | ‘al-yisrā’ēl} marks the domain of his rule, and bə-šōmrōn {בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן | bə-šōmrōn} specifies the royal seat. Finally, the numeric expression šiššāh ḥōḏāšîm {שִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים | šiššāh ḥōḏāšîm} functions as a temporal complement denoting the duration of his reign. |