| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the construct chain b’nei {בְּנֵי | bĕ-nê} ‘sons of’ linked to Manasseh {מְנַשֶּׁה | mə̆-nǎš-šéh}, signaling a genealogical header. This is followed by the prepositional phrase lə-mākhîr {לְמָכִיר | lə-mā-kîr} ‘to Makir’, which connects the tribe to its progenitor, and the construct phrase mishpachat ha-mākhîrî {מִשְׁפַּחַת הַמָּכִירִי | miš-pâ-ḥáṯ ha-mā-kîr-î} ‘clan of the Makirite’ specifying the tribal subdivision. The conjunction ū-mākhîr {וּמָכִיר | ū-mā-kîr} ‘and Makir’ introduces the Hiphil perfect verb hôlîḏ {הוֹלִיד | hō-lî-ḏ} ‘he fathered’, with the particle ’et {אֶת־ | ’eṯ} marking the object gil‘āḏ {גִּלְעָד | gil-ʿā́ḏ} ‘Gilead’. The parallel construct lə-gil‘āḏ mishpachat ha-gil‘āḏî {לְגִלְעָד מִשְׁפַּחַת הַגִּלְעָדִי | lə-gil-ʿāḏ miš-pâ-ḥáṯ ha-gil-ʿāḏ-î} ‘to Gilead, clan of the Gileadite’ completes the pattern, underscoring organizational parallelism. The Hebrew VSO order in the second clause is rendered SVO in English for clarity while preserving the causative lineage emphasis. |