| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with wə-ʾel {וְאֶל־ | wə-ʾel} ‘and to’, marking the addressee. The construct phrase mê-lekh Yᵉ-hu-dāh {מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֗ה | mê-lekh Yᵉ-hu-dāh} identifies the king of Judah. The participle haš-šō-le-’aḥ {הַשֹּׁלֵ֤חַ | haš-šō-le-’aḥ} qualifies him as ‘the one who sends’. The infinitive construct li-drôsh ʾet-Yᵉ-hō-wāh {לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה | li-drôsh ʾet-Yᵉ-hō-wāh} forms a purpose clause ‘to inquire of the LORD’. The prophetic commission formula kōh tōʾ-mə-rū ʾē-lāyw {כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ אֵלָיו | kōh tōʾ-mə-rū ʾē-lāyw} introduces the divine speech, which begins with the standard disclosure formula kōh-ʾā-mar Yᵉ-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê Yiś-rā-ʾēl {כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | kōh-ʾā-mar Yᵉ-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê Yiś-rā-ʾēl}. The relative clause had-də-ḇā-rîm ʾă-šer šā-mā-ʿ-tā {הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר שָׁמָעְתָּ | had-də-ḇā-rîm ʾă-šer šā-mā-ʿ-tā} ‘the words which you heard’ specifies the message content, preserving Hebrew emphasis on divine speech. |