| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the construct phrase ben-shteim {בֶּן־שְׁתִּ֥ים | bĕn-šəṯṯîym} ‘son of twelve,’ indicating age. The numeral esreh {עֶשְׂרֵ֛ה | ʿeśrêh} + shanah {שָׁנָ֖ה | šānāh} marks “twelve years.” The prepositional phrase be-malko {בְּמַלְכ֑וֹ | bəmalḵō} ‘in his reign’ functions as a temporal accession clause. A compound numeral va-chamishim ve-chamesh shanah {וַחֲמִשִּׁ֤ים וְחָמֵשׁ֙ שָׁנָ֔ה | vaḥămiššîm vəḥāmēš šānāh} expresses a total of fifty-five years. The verb malakh {מָלַ֖ךְ | mālāk} ‘he reigned’ is the main verbal predicate. The locative bi-Yerushalayim {בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֥ם | bî-rû-šā-lā-yim} specifies the seat of his rule. Finally, the construct ve-shem immo Cheftzi-bah {וְשֵׁ֛ם אִמּ֖וֹ חֶפְצִי־בָּֽהּ | və-šêm immō ḥep̄ṣî-bāh} ‘and the name of his mother: Hephzibah’ completes the clause with possessive construction. |