| 37. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive vayehi {וַיְהִי֩ | wayhî} ‘and it happened,’ signaling a new episode. The pronoun hu {ה֨וּא | hû} ‘he’ refers to the implied subject, Sennacherib. The Piel participle mishtachaveh {מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה | mištahăwèh} ‘bowing down’ forms a circumstantial clause of manner. The construct phrase beit Nisrokh elohav {בֵּ֣ית נִסְרֹךְ אֱלֹהָ֗יו | bêit nisrôkh ʾĕlôhāyw} ‘house of Nisrokh his god’ establishes the cultic setting. The coordinated subjects ve-adrammelekh ve-sharetzer banav {וְֽאַדְרַמֶּ֨לֶךְ וְשַׂרְאֶ֤צֶר בָּנָיו֙ | wəʾădrammêllek wəśarʾêṣer bānāyw} mark the agents. The Hiphil perfect hikuhu {הִכֻּ֣הוּ | hikkûhû} ‘they struck him’ conveys a completed, causative action, with means specified by the prepositional phrase baḥerev {בַחֶ֔רֶב | baḥereḇ} ‘with sword.’ The Niphal perfect nimletu {נִמְלְט֖וּ | nimmeləṭû} ‘they escaped’ indicates reflexive flight to eretz Ararat {אֶ֣רֶץ אֲרָרָ֑ט | ʾereṣ ʾărarāṭ}. The account concludes with the regnal formula vayimlokh Esar-Chaddon beno takhtav {וַיִּמְלֹ֛ךְ אֵֽסַר־חַדֹּן בְּנ֖וֹ תַּחְתָּֽיו | wayyimlôk ʾêsar-ḥaddōn bənô taḥtāv} ‘and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place,’ marking the transfer of power. |