| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the demonstrative zot {זֹאת | zōṯ} ‘this’ marking emphasis, followed by the construct noun nachalat {נַחֲלַת | naḥalaṯ} ‘inheritance’ linked to bnei-Gad {בְּנֵי־גָד | bənei-Gad} ‘sons of Gad’ in genitive. The prepositional phrase le-mishpechotam {לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם | lə-mišpəḥō-ṯām} ‘according to their clans’ specifies the allocation by clan. This is succeeded by the noun heʾarim {הֶעָרִים | he-ʿărîm} ‘the towns’ and the coordinated ve-chatzreihen {וְחַצְרֵיהֶם | wə-ḥaṣrê-hem} ‘and their villages’, forming a construct chain that delineates the extent of the tribal territory. English introduces the verb ‘was’ to satisfy subject–predicate requirements while preserving the Hebrew’s focus on possession and social structure. |