| 31. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the distributive nominal vakhatsi {וַחֲצִי | vaḥaṣî} ‘half’ functioning in an asyndetic list. Successive vav-conjunctions introduce the place names ha-gilʿad {הַגִּלְעָד | ha-gil‛ăd} ‘Gilead’, ve-ʿaštarot {וְעַשְׁתָּרוֹת | wə-ʿaštārōṯ} ‘Ashtaroth’, and ve-ʾedrei {וְאֶדְרֶעִי | wə-’ĕdre‛î} ‘Edrei’. The construct phrase ʿărĕy mamləḵût ʿôg {עָרֵי מַמְלְכוּת עוֹג | ʿărĕy mamləḵût ʿôg} ‘cities of the kingdom of Og’ links the urban centers to Og’s monarchy, with mamləḵût governing ʿôg in the genitive. The prepositional phrase ba-bāshān {בַּבָּשָׁן | bă-bā-shān} ‘in Bashan’ specifies the region. The beneficiary clause lĭvnĕy măḵîr {לִבְנֵי מָכִיר | lĭvnĕy măḵîr} ‘to the sons of Makir’, further defined by ben mənaššeh {בֶּן־מְנַשֶׁה | ben mənaššeh} ‘son of Manasseh’, marks the recipient group. The distributive clause la-ḥaṣî vənê măḵîr {לַחֲצִי בְנֵי־מָכִיר | lăḥaṣî vənê măḵîr} ‘to half the sons of Makir’ reiterates the allocation, and lə mišpăḥôṯām {לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתָם | lə mišpăḥôṯām} ‘according to their clans’ employs a possessive suffix to indicate tribal divisions. The coordinate and distributive structures highlight the legal precision of the allotment. |