| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse advances by a chain of wayyiqtol verbs, beginning with wayyelek {וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ | wāyyēleḵ} ‘and he went’ and continuing with wayyar {וַיַּ֥רְא | wāyyarʾ} ‘and he saw’ and wayyishlakh {וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ | wāyyišlaḥ} ‘and he sent,’ creating a rapid narrative sequence of travel, observation, and response. The purpose of the journey is expressed by the infinitive construction liqra'at {לִ֠קְרַאת | liqrāʾat} ‘to meet,’ which is dependent on the movement verb and makes the meeting the goal of Ahaz’s going. The object “altar” is introduced with the marked direct-object form 'et-hammizbeach {אֶת־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ | ʾet-hammizbēaḥ}, and then specified by a relative clause using 'asher {אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾăšer} ‘which,’ further anchored by the locative bedammaseq {בְּדַמָּ֑שֶׂק | bədammāśeq} ‘in Damascus’; this structure keeps the altar in focus as the key item noticed. The sending clause is shaped as a two-object construction, with 'et-demut {אֶת־דְּמ֧וּת | ʾet-dəmût} ‘likeness’ followed by ve'et-tavnito {וְאֶת־תַּבְנִית֖וֹ | wəʾet-tavnîṯô} ‘and its pattern,’ showing that Ahaz transmits both a representation and a specification. The closing prepositional phrase le-khol-ma'asehu {לְכָֽל־מַעֲשֵֽׂהוּ׃ | ləḵol-maʿăśêhû} ‘according to all its workmanship’ functions adverbially, indicating that the pattern was to correspond to the altar’s full construction, which the English renderings convey by keeping a concluding qualifier tied to the design materials. |