| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase mittappuach {מִתַּפּ֜וּחַ | mit-tappuaḥ} ‘from Tappuah’, followed by the verb yēlēḵ {יֵלֵ֨ךְ | yēlēḵ} ‘it goes’, establishing directional movement. The noun phrase ha-ḡəvûl {הַגְּב֥וּל | ha-ḡəvûl} ‘the border’ functions as the grammatical subject. The directional accusative yāmmāh {יָ֙מָּה֙ | yāmmāh} ‘westward’ pairs with yēlēḵ to specify orientation. The construct nāḥāl qānāh {נַ֣חַל קָנָ֔ה | nāḥāl qānāh} ‘the stream of Kanah’ identifies a geographic landmark, forming a genitive construct chain. The conjunction wə-hāyû {וְהָי֥וּ | wəhāyû} ‘and they were’ links to the predicate tōṣʾōṯāyw {תֹצְאֹתָ֖יו | tōṣʾōṯāyw} ‘its outlets’, with hayāmmāh {הַיָּ֑מָּה | hayāmmāh} ‘the sea’ marking the terminus. The copular formula zōḏ {זֹ֗את | zōḏ} ‘this is’ introduces the identification clause of naḥălat maṭṭeh bənē-ʾeprayim lə-mišpəḥōṯām {נַחֲלַ֛ת מַטֵּ֥ה בְנֵי־אֶפְרַ֖יִם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם | naḥălat maṭṭeh bənē-ʾeprayim ləmišpəḥōṯām} ‘the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families’. The verse’s sequential boundary-description and concluding allocation formula reflect the legal-historical genre’s typical listing pattern, maintained in the translation’s parallel English structures. |