| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with wayyiš-lāḥ {וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח | wayyiš-lāḥ} ‘and he sent’, using the vav consecutive to sequence actions. The particle ’eṯ {אֶת־ | ’eṯ} ‘direct-object marker’ appears before each Assyrian title, introducing tar-tan {תַּרְתָּ֥ן | tar-tan}, rav-sā-rîs {רַב־סָרִ֣יס | rav-sā-rîs}, and rav-šā-qêh {רַב־שָׁקֵ֨ה | rav-šā-qêh}, which form a triad of emissaries. Prepositional phrases min Lachish {מִן־לָכִישׁ | min lā-ḵîš} ‘from Lachish’ and ’el ham-melekh ḥizqiyahu {אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ | ’el hā-me-leḵ ḥîz-qîy-yā-hû} ‘to King Hezekiah’ frame the political and geographic context. The construct chain be-kheil ka-vēḏ Yə-rû-šā-lā-yim {בְּחֵיל כָּבֵד יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם | bə-ḥêil kā-vēḏ yə-rû-šā-lā-yim} ‘with a great army Jerusalem’ links descriptor and noun tightly, signifying a formidable military presence. The paired imperfects wayya‘ă-lû {וַיַּעֲלוּ | wayya‘ă-lû} ‘and they went up’ and wayyā-bō-‘û {וַיָּבֹאוּ | wayyā-bō-‘û} ‘and they came’ repeat to mark ascent and arrival, reflecting Jerusalem’s elevation. The locative biṭ-‘ā-lat ha-breikha hā-‘elyonāh ’ăšer bi-me-sillat sede kōbēs {בִּתְעָלַת הַבְּרֵכָ֣ה הָֽעֶלְיוֹנָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר בִּמְסִלַּ֖ת שְׂדֵה כוֹבֵֽס | biṭ-‘ā-lat ha-breikha hā-‘elyonāh ’ăšer bi-me-sillat sede kōbēs} ‘at the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the Washerman’s Field’ uses nested locative constructions and a relative clause to pinpoint the site. English word order preserves these syntactic emphases. |