| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal marker bayyamim {בַּיָּמִים | ba-yāmîm} ‘in those days’ framing a period without centralized governance. The existential ’ên {אֵין | ’ên} ‘there is not’ paired with melekh {מֶלֶךְ | mêleḵ} ‘king’ underscores the absence of royal authority. The linked clause ubayyamim {וּבַיָּמִים | ū-ba-yāmîm} ‘and in days’ parallels the first temporal frame, introducing the Piel participle mevaqqeslo {מְבַקֶּשׁ־לוֹ | mə-vaq-qēš-lō} ‘seeking for itself’, which conveys an ongoing action. The construct betokhshivtei {בְּתוֹךְ־שִׁבְטֵי | bə-tokh šiḇ-tê} ‘among tribes of’ joined with benachalah {בְּנַחֲלָה | bə-na-ḥā-lāh} ‘in inheritance’ establishes the distributive context. The causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘because’ leads to lonaplah {לֹא־נָפְלָה | lō-nāp̄-lāh} ‘not fallen’ together with adhayyom {עַד־הַיּוֹם | ʿad-ha-yôm} ‘until the day’, indicating the boundary of the tribe’s grant entitlement. |