| 48. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the demonstrative zot {זֹאת | zôṯ} ‘this’, introducing the possessive construct chain nachalat matteh bnei-Dan {נַחֲלַת מַטֵּה בְנֵי־דָן | naḥă·lâṯ maṭ·têh bᵊnê·Dān} ‘inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan’. The prepositional phrase le-mishpechotam {לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם | lᵊ-miš·pə·ḥō·ṯā·m} ‘according to their clans’ specifies internal subdivisions, while the coordinated noun phrases he-arim ha-eleh {הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה | he·ʿǎ·rîm hā·ʾê·lleh} ‘these cities’ and ve-chatzreihen {וְחַצְרֵיהֶן | wə·ḥǎ·ṣre·he·n} ‘and their villages’ form a balanced listing. The translation adopts English SVO order yet preserves the Hebrew sequence from a general designation to a detailed geographic inventory. |