| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew clause begins with vayhi {וַיְהִ֣י | way·hî} ‘and it was’, a vav-consecutive verb that introduces the ensuing description. The subject gevulam {גְבוּלָ֗ם | gĕvûlām} ‘border’ carries a pronominal suffix marking possession. The prepositional phrase mimmaḥanayim {מִמַּחֲנַ֨יִם | mimmăḥănayīm} ‘from Mahanaim’ sets the starting point. A series of coordinated noun phrases—kol-habashan {כָּל־הַבָּשָׁ֜ן | kol·ha-bāšān} ‘all Bashan’, kol-mamlekut {כָּל־מַמְלְכ֣וּת | kol·mamlekût} ‘all kingdom’, and ve-kol-chavvot {וְכָל־חַוֺּ֥ת | wə·kol·ḥawwôt} ‘and all settlements’—builds a cumulative territorial scope. Melekh-habashan {מֶֽלֶךְ־הַבָּשָׁ֗ן | meleḵ·hab-bāšān} forms a construct chain denoting possession, and the relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ’ă-šer} ‘which’ with babashan {בַּבָּשָׁ֖ן | bab-bāšān} ‘in Bashan’ qualifies the settlements as those of Jair. The final numeric expression shishim ir {שִׁשִּׁ֥ים עִֽיר | šiššîm ’îr} ‘sixty cities’ uses a cardinal followed by a collective noun to denote total count. The English translation preserves the ordered enumeration and construct relations, clarifies the possessive and locative chains, and reflects the cumulative listing. |