| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prepositional construct lametteh {לְמַטֵּ֣ה | le-mat-teh} ‘to/for the tribe’, forming a genitive locative phrase with the proper noun Naphtali {נַפְתָּלִ֔י | nap-tā-lî}, indicating tribal origin. The patronymic unit ben-vaphsi {בֶּן־וָפְסִֽי | ben-wā-p̄-sî} uses a maqqef to unify ben {בֶּן־ | ben} ‘son’ and Vophsi {וָפְסִֽי | wā-p̄-sî}, resulting in the English rendering “son of Vophsi.” This preserves the Hebrew genealogical formula, retaining both the original word order and relational markers. |