| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative begins with the vav-consecutive verb wayyilqəḏū-hā {וַיִּלְכְּדֻהָ | wayyilqəḏū-hā} ‘and they captured it,’ indicating sequential action. The construct phrase miqṣe šāloš šānîm {מִקְצֵה שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים | miqṣe šāloš šānîm} specifies the siege’s duration. The synchronizing prepositional construct bišnāt-šêš lə-ḥizqiyyāh {בִּשְׁנַת־שֵׁשׁ לְחִזְקִיָּ֑ה | bišnāt-šêš lə-ḥizqiyyāh} ‘in the sixth year of Hezekiah’ aligns with Judah’s king, and the equative term hî šənāt-tēšaʿ lə-hōšēaʿ {הִיא שְׁנַת־תֵּשַׁע לְהוֹשֵׁעַ | hî šənāt-tēšaʿ lə-hōšēaʿ} introduces Hoshea’s ninth year. The final clause nilqəḏāh šōmrōn {נִלְכְּדָה שֹׁמְרוֹן | nilqəḏāh šōmrōn} ‘Samaria was captured’ utilizes the Nifal perfect for the passive result. Shifting to English SVO and dividing into two sentences clarifies temporal and narrative relationships. |