| 36. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the construct numeral clause ben-ʿeśrîm ve-ḥāmēš šānāh {בֶּן־עֶשְׂרִ֨ים וְחָמֵ֤שׁ שָׁנָה֙ | ben-ʿeś-rîm wə-ḥā-mēš šā-nāh} ‘at the age of twenty-five years,’ expressing a dual numeral in a construct chain. This is followed by the subject yəhōyaqîm {יְהוֹיָקִ֣ים | yə-hō-yā-qîm} ‘Jehoiakim,’ and the temporal clause bəmalkô {בְּמָלְכ֔וֹ | bᵊ-mā-lə-kô} ‘when he began to reign.’ The perfect verb mālak {מָלַ֖ךְ | mā-laḵ} ‘he reigned’ introduces the duration clause wə-ʾāḥat-ʿeśrêh šānāh {וְאַחַ֤ת עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה | wə-ʾā-ḥat ʿe-srêh šā-nāh} ‘eleven years.’ The locative bi-yərūšālāyim {בִּירוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם | bᵊ-yə-rū-šā-lā-yim} ‘in Jerusalem’ specifies the setting. The narrative then shifts to a maternal introduction with wə-šēm ʾimmô {וְשֵׁ֣ם אִמּ֔וֹ | wə-šēm ʾim-mô} ‘and the name of his mother,’ followed by the name zevidāh zevuddāh {זבידה זְבוּדָּ֥ה | ze-vî-dā ze-vu-ddā} and the genealogy baṯ-pəḏā-yāh mīn-rū-māh {בַת־פְּדָיָ֖ה מִן־רוּמָֽה | baṯ-pə-ḏā-yāh mīn-rū-māh} ‘daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah.’ Paratactic vav-coordination links age, reign, and lineage, typical of historical narrative syntax, while construct numerals and locative prepositional phrases convey chronological and geographical information precisely. |