| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with umeʿever {וּמֵעֵ֜בֶר | ū-mê-ʿe-ver} ‘and from the other side’, establishing a spatial frame beyond the Jordan. It then specifies the location with the phrase leyarden yeriḥo mizraḥah {לְיַרְדֵּ֤ן יְרִיחוֹ֙ מִזְרָ֔חָה | lə-yǎr-dēn ye-rī-ḥō mz-ra-ḥā} ‘to the Jordan east of Jericho’. The main verb natnu {נָתְנוּ | nā-tə-nû} ‘they designated’ forms an independent clause governing three parallel objects, each introduced by the marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} ‘direct-object marker’. Each object phrase follows a pattern: city name + locative complement (preposition be + place name) + tribal origin via the construct mimatteh {מִמַּטֵּ֣ה | mim-ma-ṭṭēh} ‘from the tribe’ + tribe name. This consistent SVO order and parallel structure emphasize the systematic allocation of refuge cities across tribal territories. |