| 41. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with kol {כֹּל | kôl} “all,” marking totality. The construct phrase ‘ărê ha-ləwîyim {עָרֵי הַלְוִיִּם | ‘ărê ha-ləwîyim} “towns of the Levites” binds the noun to its possessors. The phrase bə-tōḵ aḥuzzat bə-nê yiśrā’ēl {בְּתוֹךְ אֲחֻזַּת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל | bə-tōḵ aḥuzzat bə-nê yiśrā’ēl} “within the inheritance of the sons of Israel” uses chained constructs to express spatial possession. The sequence ‘ārîm ’arba‘îm u-šmōnê {עָרִים אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנֶה | ‘ārîm ’arba‘îm u-šmōnê} converts forty and eight into the compound forty-eight in English. Finally, u-migrəšê-hên {וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶן | u-migrəšê-hên} “and their pastures” attaches to indicate the associated grazing lands. |