| 21. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive imperfect vayihyu {וַיִּֽהְיוּ | va-yih-yû} ‘and they were,’ which introduces a narrative list. The noun he'arim {הֶעָרִים | he-ʾâ-rîm} ‘the cities’ serves as the subject. The construct chain miketzeh lamed + matteh bnei Yehudah {מִקְצֵה לְמַטֵּה בְנֵי־יְהוּדָה | miq-ṣêh lə-maṭ-têh bə-nê Yehû-dāh} literally ‘from the end of the tribe of the sons of Judah’ defines geographic scope, with lamed as a genitive marker. The phrase el-gevul Edom {אֶל־גְּבוּל אֱד֖וֹם | ʾel-gə-wûl ʾĕ-ḏô-m} ‘to the border of Edom’ specifies the boundary, while ba-negvah {בַּנֶּ֑גְבָּה | ba-ne-ḡḇāh} ‘in the Negev’ locates the region directionally. The verse concludes with an asyndetic list of proper nouns, emphasizing the geographical extent before naming Kabtzeel, Eder, and Jagur. |