| 7. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction ve’attah {וְעַתָּה | vəʿattāh} ‘and now’, establishing an immediate command. This is followed by the piel imperative ḥallēq {חַלֵּק | ḥallēq} ‘divide’, issuing a direct order. The direct-object marker ʾet {אֶת־ | ʾet} precedes the noun hā'āreṣ {הָאָ֧רֶץ | hāʾ·āreṣ} ‘the land’, specified by the demonstrative hazōt {הַזֹּ֛את | hazōt} ‘this’. The prepositional phrase bə-naḥālāh {בְּנַחֲלָ֖ה | bə-naḥālāh} ‘as an inheritance’ defines the legal tenure. Recipients are introduced by lə-tiš·'āt ha-šəḇāṭīm {לְתִשְׁעַ֣ת הַשְּׁבָטִ֑ים | lə-tiš·'āt ha-šəḇāṭīm} ‘to the nine tribes’, using a cardinal numeral in construct. The adversative wa-ḥăṣî {וַחֲצִ֖י | wa-ḥăṣî} ‘and half’ adds a secondary recipient, followed by ha-šê·ḇeṭ {הַשֵּׁ֥בֶט | ha-šê·ḇeṭ} ‘the tribe’ and ha-menasheh {הַֽמְנַשֶּֽׁה | ham-menashéh} ‘of Manasseh’. English word order preserves the imperative force and distribution structure of the Hebrew. |