| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with a vav-consecutive sequence marked by vayizbach {וַיְזַבֵּ֧חַ | wa-ye-zab-bê-aḥ} ‘and he sacrificed’, followed by vayekatter {וַיְקַטֵּ֛ר | wa-ye-qaṭ-ṭêr} ‘and he burned incense’, which establishes successive ritual actions. The locative prepositional phrase babamot {בַּבָּמ֖וֹת | ba-ba-mō-wôt} ‘at the high places’ introduces the setting, refined by ve-al-hagvaot {וְעַל־הַגְּבָע֑וֹת | wə-ʻal-ha-ɡə-wā-ʼōṯ} ‘and on the hills’. The final clause vetachat kol-ets ra'anan {וְתַ֖חַת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָֽן | wə-ta-ḥat kāl-ʼêṣ ra-ʻa-nān} ‘and under every green tree’ functions adverbially to underscore the pervasiveness of these idolatrous rites. The series of prepositions and repeated vav-consecutive forms emphasizes the extensive and systematic nature of Ahaz’s cultic activity. |