| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with va'eda {וָאֵ֣דְעָ֔ה | wāʾēḏāʾ} ‘and I knew’, a vav-consecutive imperfect introducing a revelation clause, with ki {כִּֽי־ | kî} marking the subordinate content clause. The construct menayot ha-leviyim {מְנָי֥וֹת הַלְוִיִּ֖ם | mə-nā-yōṯ ha-lə-wî-yîm} specifies cultic provisions, and the Nifal perfect lo nittanah {לֹ֣א נִתָּ֑נָה | lōʾ nittānāh} conveys that they had not been given. A subsequent vav-consecutive imperfect vayyivrēḥû {וַיִּבְרְח֧וּ | way-yivrēḥû} expresses the result, where both Levites and singers ve-hamshorerim {וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִ֖ים | wə-hamšôrərîm} abandon the temple labor, and the construct ʾîš-lesadehu {אִישׁ־לְשָׂדֵ֛הוּ | ʾîš-lə-sāḏē-hû} indicates their individual withdrawal to personal fields. The translation preserves the Hebrew verb sequence and coordination while clarifying the shift from cultic neglect to agrarian return. |