| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the temporal phrase ba’et hahi {בָּעֵת הַהִיא | bā-ʾêṯ ha-hîʾ} ‘at that time,’ situating the narrative historically. The verb shalach {שָׁלַח | šā-laḥ} ‘he sent’ introduces the main action, followed by the construct chain in the subject Berodach-Baladan ben-Baladan melech-Bavel {בְּרֹאדַךְ בַּלְאֲדָן בֶּן־בַּלְאֲדָן מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל | bə-rō-ḏā-ḵ bal-ʾă-dān bĕn-bal-ʾă-dān mēleḵ-bā-vel} linking lineage and royal status. The coordinated objects sefarim {סְפָרִים | sə-phā-rîm} ‘letters’ and uminchah {וּמִנְחָה | ū-min-ḥā} ‘gift’ reflect simultaneous items sent. The prepositional phrase el-chizqiyahu {אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ | ʾel-ḥiz-qī-yā-hû} ‘to Hezekiah’ marks the recipient. The causal sequence uses ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ before shama {שָׁמַע | šā-maʿ} ‘he heard’ and a second ki introducing chalah {חָלָה | ḥā-lāh} ‘he had fallen ill,’ the repetition of ki emphasizing causality. The English renderings preserve Hebrew word order and causal markers to maintain emphasis and flow. |