| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with kol-heʾărîm {כָּל־הֶעָרִים | kol-heʾărîm} ‘all the cities’, where the maqqef unites the quantifier and noun for inclusive emphasis. The construct chain li-vnê Merārî le-mišpěḥōṯām {לִבְנֵי מְרָרִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם | li-vnê Merārî le-mišpěḥōṯām} specifies recipients by clan and family using successive prepositional and construct relationships. The participle hannotārîm {הַנּוֹתָרִים | hannotārîm} ‘the remaining ones’ functions appositionally to clarify the specific subgroup, followed by mimmishpeḥōṯ ha-levīyim {מִמִּשְׁפְּחוֹת הַלְוִיִּם | mimmishpeḥōṯ ha-levīyim} ‘from the families of the Levites’, reinforcing tribal identity. The vav consecutive vā-yə·hî {וַיְהִי | vā-yə·hî} introduces the resultant clause “and there was,” with gōrālām {גּוֹרָלָם | gōrālām} ‘their lot’ indicating the allotted inheritance. The numeral construct sequence ʿărîm šəttêm ʿešrê {עָרִים שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה | ʿărîm šəttêm ʿešrê} literally “cities two ten” follows the Hebrew feminine construct numeral pattern to express “twelve cities.” In translation, construct chains are rendered as clear prepositional phrases to preserve relational specificity, and the Hebrew construct numeral is adapted to a natural English cardinal structure while maintaining gender agreement. |