| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Vav-consecutive perfect verb ve-shav {וְשָׁב | wə-šāv} ‘and turned back’, establishing a sequential movement of the boundary. The noun phrase ha-gevul ha-ramah {הַגְּבוּל הָרָמָה | ha-gebul hā-rā-māh} ‘the boundary toward Ramah’ appears before the prepositional expression ve-ad-ʿîr {וְעַד־עִיר | wə-ʿad-ʿîr} ‘and up to the city’. The construct chain mivtsar-tsor {מִבְצַר־צֹר | mib-ṣar-ṣōr} ‘fortress of Tyre’ specifies the landmark. In the second clause, ve-shav ha-gevul chosa {וְשָׁב הַגְּבוּל חֹסָה | wə-šāv ha-gebul ḥō-sāh} repeats this pattern, then ve-hayu {וְהָיוּ | wə-hā-yū} ‘and were’ links to totse’otav {תֹצְאֹתָיו | tō-ṣō-’ō-tāw} ‘its outlets’. The prepositional phrases ha-yamah {הַיָּמָּה | ha-yā-māh} ‘to the sea’ and me-chevel akzivah {מֵחֶבֶל אַכְזִיבָה | mē-ḥe-vel ’ak-zī-bāh} ‘from the region of Akzib’ define the western terminus and specific endpoint. The repeated boundary noun and Vav-consecutive verbs emphasize the outline of the territory. Some manuscripts include Mahalab after Akzib; this variant is reflected in the translation. |