| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with veha'am {וְהָעָם | wə-hā-ʿām} ‘the people,’ where the prefixed conjunction links to the preceding context. The verb nicham {נִחָם | ni-ḥām} in the Nifal perfect conveys a reflexive emotional state, rendered ‘were grieved.’ The phrase le-binyamin {לְבִנְיָמִן | lə-bən-yā-man} identifies the object of that grief. The causal conjunction ki {כִּי־ | kî} introduces asah Yahweh {עָשָׂה יְהוָה | ʿā-śāh Yə-hō-wāh} ‘the LORD made,’ where asah {עָשָׂה | ʿā-śāh} is a Qal perfect denoting completed divine action. The noun perets {פֶּרֶץ | p̄e-r̄eṣ} ‘breach’ functions as the object, followed by the locative construct be-shivtei yisrael {בְּשִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | bə-šîv-ṭê yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘among the tribes of Israel,’ specifying the locus of division. English rearranges the Hebrew SOV into SVO while preserving the causal relation with ‘because.’ |