| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse comprises two clauses each introduced by the vav-consecutive. The first clause features vayishkav {וַיִּשְׁכַּב | wayyiškab} ‘and he lay down’ followed by the circumstantial phrase im-avotav {עִם־אֲבֹתָיו | ʿim-ʾăbōṯāyw} ‘with his fathers’, a biblical euphemism for death. The second clause opens with vayimlokh {וַיִּמְלֹךְ | wayyimlōḵ} ‘and he reigned’ in a construct chain menasheh beno takhtav {מְנַשֶּׁה בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו | mĕnāššê bə-nō ṯaḥtāyw} identifying the successor and his assumption of office; takhtav marks dynastic succession ‘in his place’. In the formal version, an initial “Then” preserves narrative sequence and the subject-verb-object order aligns with English norms. In the dynamic version, “was gathered to his ancestors” conveys the death euphemism, and “took the throne” expresses accession in contemporary idiom. |