| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a paired coordination of veha'arim {וְהֶעָרִים | wə-hə-ʿā-rîm} ‘and the cities’ with kol-he'arim vehatzreihen {כָּל־הֶעָרִים וְחַצְרֵיהֶן | kol-ḥē-ʿā-rîm wə-ḥa-ṣerê-hen} ‘all the cities and their villages’, emphasizing comprehensive inclusion. The participial form hamivdalot {הַמִּבְדָּלוֹת | ham-mib-dā-lôṯ} ‘those being separated’ indicates passive allocation. The spatial phrase betokh {בְּתוֹךְ | bə-tōḵ} ‘in the midst of’ links to the construct nachalat bnei-menashsheh {נַחֲלַת בְּנֵי־מְנַשֶּׁה | na-ḥă-lat bə-nê men-aš-še} ‘inheritance of the sons of Manasseh’, situating these towns within tribal boundaries. The suffix -hen in vehatzreihen {וְחַצְרֵיהֶן | wə-ḥa-ṣerê-hen} ‘their villages’ denotes pronominal possession, linking outlying settlements to their parent towns. |