| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the narrative vav and Qal form vayehi {וַיְהִי | wə·yə·hî} ‘and it was’, marking a transition into the allotment narrative. The noun hagoral {הַגּוֹרָל | ha·gôr·āl} ‘the lot’ functions as the subject, followed by the goal phrase lematteh menasheh {לְמַטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה | lə·maṭ·têh mə·naš·šêh} ‘for the tribe of Manasseh’. The conjunction kihu {כִּי־הוּא | kî·hûˀ} ‘because he’ introduces the causal clause connecting entitlement to the primogeniture term bekhor yoseph {בְּכֹור יוֹסֵף | bə·ḵôr yō·sēph} ‘firstborn of Joseph’. The construct lĕmakhir avi higilad {לְמָכִיר אֲבִי הַגִּלְעָד | lə·mā·kîr ă·vî ha·gîl·’āḏ} ‘to Makir, father of Gilead’ establishes genealogical context. A second kihu {כִּי־הוּא | kî·hûˀ} ‘because he’ links the characterization ish milchamah {אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה | ’îš mil·ḥā·māh} ‘man of war’ to the resultant allotment phrase vayehi-lo hagilad vehabashan {וַיְהִי־לֹו הַגִּלְעָד וְהַבָּשָׁן | wə·yə·hî·lōw ha·gîl·’āḏ wə·ha·bā·šān} ‘and it became for him Gilead and Bashan’, forming a climactic legal statement with parallel place names. |