| 50. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional phrase al pi Yahweh {עַל־פִּ֨י יְהוָ֜ה | ʿal pî Yəhōwāh} ‘according to the word of the LORD’, an idiom expressing divine authority. The plural verb natnu {נָתְנוּ | nāṯnû} ‘they gave’ indicates collective distribution of inheritance. The direct object marker et {אֶת | ʾet} marks the following noun ha-ir {הָעִיר | hā-ʾîr} ‘the city’ as object, and the relative clause introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾăšer} ‘which’ specifies the action of sha’al {שָׁאַל | šā’āl} ‘he asked’. The proper name timnat-serach {תִּמְנַת־סֶרַח | timnāṯ-seraḥ} names the city, followed by the locative be-har Efrayim {בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם | bə-har ʾephrāyim} ‘in the hill country of Ephraim’. The narrative sequence is indicated by the Vav-consecutive verbs va-yivneh {וַיִּבְנֶה | wayyiḇneh} ‘and he built’ and va-yeshev {וַיֵּשֶׁב | wayyešeḇ} ‘and he settled’, with each et {אֶת | ʾet} marking its object, preserving the Hebrew word order and emphasis on divine command and fulfillment through settlement. |