| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav consecutive adding continuity in vayya’as {וַיַּעַשׂ | wā-ya-ʿaṣ} ‘and he did,’ marking an action that follows previous reign accounts. The phrase hara {הָרַע | hā-raʽ} ‘the evil’ serves as the direct object, and the prepositional clause be’einei Yahweh {בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה | bə-ʿê-ney Yə-hō-wāh} ‘in the eyes of the LORD’ establishes the divine perspective. The comparative ka’asher {כַּאֲשֶׁר | ka-ʾă-šer} ‘just as’ introduces a parallel to his fathers’ behavior in asu avotav {עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתָיו | ʿā-sû ʾă-vō-ṯāw}, emphasizing inherited misconduct. The negation lo sar {לֹא סָר | lōʾ sār} ‘he did not turn aside’ followed by mechatto’t {מֵחַטֹּאות | mê-ḥaṭ-ṭō-ʾōṯ} ‘from the sins of’ underscores persistent sin. The Hifil verb hecheti {הֶחֱטִיא | he-ḥě-ṭîʾ} ‘he caused to sin’ forms a relative clause that extends Israel’s culpability and highlights causation. English rendering maintains SVO order while preserving Hebrew parallelism and causative nuance. |