| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew narrative verb vayyinḥălû {וַיִּנְחֲלוּ | wayyînḥălû} ‘they inherited’ employs the vav-consecutive to mark sequential action. The construct noun phrase bənê Yôsēp̄ {בְּנֵי יוֹסֵף | bənê yôsēp̄} ‘sons of Joseph’ foregrounds tribal descent before specifying Menāššēh {מְנַשֶּׁה | menāššēh} and wə-’Efrāyīm {וְאֶפְרָיִם | wə-’efrāyīm}. The root nāḥal {נָחַל | nāḥāl} ‘to inherit’ denotes a covenantal land allotment, rendered as “inheritance” in formal and as “land” in dynamic. The formal translation preserves the Hebrew subject-verb-object sequence for clarity, while the dynamic adapts to a more natural English order. |