וַיִּתֵּ֤ן מֹשֶׁה֙ לְמַטֵּה־גָ֔ד לִבְנֵי־גָ֖ד לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם׃
And Moshe gave to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad, according to their families.
Morphology
- וַיִּתֵּ֤ן (vayitten) – Root: נתן (n-t-n); Form: Verb, Qal wayyiqtol (preterite) 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “And he gave”; Notes: Indicates a past action of allocation.
- מֹשֶׁה֙ (Moshe) – Root: משה (m-sh-h); Form: Proper noun, singular; Translation: “Moshe”; Notes: Refers to the leader of Yisraʾel who distributed the land.
- לְמַטֵּה־גָ֔ד (le-matteh-Gad) – Root: מטה (m-t-h) + גד (g-d); Form: Noun, masculine singular construct + proper noun; Translation: “to the tribe of Gad”; Notes: Indicates the recipient of the land inheritance.
- לִבְנֵי־גָ֖ד (li-venei-Gad) – Root: בן (b-n) + גד (g-d); Form: Noun, masculine plural construct + proper noun; Translation: “to the sons of Gad”; Notes: Specifies the tribal members.
- לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם (le-mishpeḥotam) – Root: משפחה (m-sh-p-ḥ); Form: Noun, feminine plural construct with 3rd person masculine plural suffix; Translation: “according to their families”; Notes: Specifies the division among clan groups.
Syntax Analysis
The sentence follows a standard subject-verb-object structure, with the subject being “Moshe” and the direct object “to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad.” The phrase “according to their families” functions as a modifying clause, specifying the allocation process.
Grammatical Analysis
The phrase לְמַטֵּה־גָ֔ד introduces the recipient of the action, governed by the preposition לְ. The construct form לִבְנֵי־גָ֖ד reinforces the idea of inheritance by descent, and לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם serves as a distributive modifier.
Lexical Semantics
- נָתַן (natan) – “to give”: In biblical Hebrew, this verb often implies an authoritative allocation of land (cf. Genesis 17:8).
- מַטֶּה (matteh) – “tribe”: Originally meaning “staff” or “rod,” it later developed into a term for a tribal division.
Word Study
- Gad (גָד): The seventh son of Yaʿaqov, whose descendants received land east of the Yarden (Genesis 30:9-11).
- משפחה (mishpaḥah) – “family, clan”: A key unit of tribal organization in ancient Yisraʾel.