| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs the vav consecutive in vayikre’u {וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ | wayyiqrēʾû} ‘and they called’ to advance the historical narrative. The construct pairing shem-ha-ir {שֵׁם־הָעִיר֙ | šēm hāʿîr} ‘name of the city’ functions as the direct object. The prepositional phrase be-shem Dan avihem {בְּשֵׁם דָּן אֲבִיהֶם | bəššēm Dān ʾăbîhêm} ‘in the name of Dan their father’ provides the eponymous rationale. The relative clause asher yullad le-Yisrael {אֲשֶׁר יוּלַּ֖ד לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | ʾăšer yûllad ləYiśrāʾēl} ‘who was born to Israel’ offers genealogical background. The adversative veulam {וְאוּלָ֛ם | wəʾūlām} ‘but/however’ introduces contrast, and the temporal phrase la-Yish shem-ha-ir larishonah {לַיִשׁ שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר לָרִאשֹׁנָֽה | laYîš šēm hāʿîr lārîʾšōnāh} ‘to Laish the name of the city formerly’ highlights the prior designation. |