| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the imperative verb havu {הָב֥וּ | hā-vû} ‘give’ followed by the prepositional pronoun lachem {לָכֶ֛ם | lā-ḵem} ‘to you’, emphasizing communal responsibility. The numeral shelosha {שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה | šə-lō-šā} ‘three’ modifies anashim {אֲנָשִׁ֖ים | ʾă-nā-šîm} ‘men’, while the prepositional phrase lashevet {לַשָּׁ֑בֶט | la-šā-vêṯ} ‘for each tribe’ sets the selection scope. A chain of vav-consecutive verbs—ve’eshlahem {וְאֶשְׁלָחֵ֗ם | wə-’eš-lā-ḥēm} ‘and I will send them’, veyakumu {וְיָקֻ֜מוּ | wə-yā-qū-mû} ‘and let them rise’, veyithalkhu {וְיִֽתְהַלְּכ֥וּ | wə-yit-hal-le-khû} ‘and let them go about’, and veyikhtevu {וְיִכְתְּב֥וּ | wə-yik-te-vû} ‘and let them write’—sequentially structures the mission steps. The direct object marker otah {אוֹתָ֛הּ | ’ō-ṯā(h)} ‘it’ refers to the land ba-aretz {בָאָ֛רֶץ | bä-’ā-reṣ} ‘in the land’. The construct lefi nachalatem {לְפִ֥י נַֽחֲלָתָ֖ם | lə-p̄î naḥa-la-ṯām} ‘according to their inheritance’ ties the documentation to tribal allotments. The final veyavo’u elay {וְיָבֹ֥אוּ אֵלָֽי | wə-yā-ḇō-’û ʾê-lāy} ‘and let them come to me’ completes the directive. In translation these vav-and sequences become distinct commands to preserve temporal flow and the link between land assessment and inheritance. |