| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with uvechol-zeh {וּבְכָל־זֶה | ū̆bə-ḵāl-zé} establishing the temporal scope. The negator lo {לֹא | lōʾ} combined with hayiti {הָיִיתִי | hā-yî-tî} forms a biographical aside “I was not in Jerusalem.” The causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the temporal clause bishnat shloshim ushtayim {בִּשְׁנַת שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם | bî-šă-nāṯ šə-lō-šîm u-šə-ṭa-yim}. The construct chain leArtakhshasta melech-bavel {לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁסְתְּא מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל | lə-ʾar-taḥ-šəṯ-tā me-leḵ bā-vel} specifies the Persian king’s regnal context. The idiom u-le-kez yamim {וּלְקֵץ יָמִים | u-lə-qêṣ yā-mîm} functions temporally “after some time,” and the Nifal perfect nish'alti {נִשְׁאַ֥לְתִּי | ni-šʾal-tî} conveys Nehemiah’s petition for leave from the king. |