כִּֽי־נָתַ֨ן מֹשֶׁ֜ה נַחֲלַ֨ת שְׁנֵ֤י הַמַּטֹּות֙ וַחֲצִ֣י הַמַּטֶּ֔ה מֵעֵ֖בֶר לַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וְלַ֨לְוִיִּ֔ם לֹֽא־נָתַ֥ן נַחֲלָ֖ה בְּתֹוכָֽם׃
For Moshe had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Yarden, but to the Levi’im he had not given an inheritance among them.
Morphology
- כִּֽי־ (ki) – Root: כי; Form: Conjunction; Translation: “For”; Notes: Introduces an explanation.
- נָתַ֨ן (natan) – Root: נתן; Form: Verb, Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “had given”; Notes: Denotes completed action.
- מֹשֶׁ֜ה (Moshe) – Root: משה; Form: Proper noun; Translation: “Moshe”; Notes: Refers to the leader of Israel.
- נַחֲלַ֨ת (naḥalat) – Root: נחלה; Form: Noun, feminine singular construct; Translation: “inheritance of”; Notes: Refers to the land portion given.
- שְׁנֵ֤י (shenei) – Root: שנים; Form: Numeral, masculine dual construct; Translation: “two”; Notes: Dual form indicates exact quantity.
- הַמַּטֹּות֙ (ha-mattot) – Root: מטה; Form: Noun, masculine plural, definite; Translation: “the tribes”; Notes: Used for tribal divisions.
- וַחֲצִ֣י (va-ḥatsi) – Root: חצי; Form: Noun, masculine singular construct; Translation: “and half”; Notes: Indicates division.
- הַמַּטֶּ֔ה (ha-matteh) – Root: מטה; Form: Noun, masculine singular, definite; Translation: “the tribe”; Notes: Represents a specific tribal group.
- מֵעֵ֖בֶר (me-ever) – Root: עבר; Form: Preposition with noun; Translation: “beyond”; Notes: Indicates a location across a boundary.
- לַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן (la-Yarden) – Root: ירדן; Form: Proper noun, definite; Translation: “the Yarden”; Notes: Refers to the Jordan River.
- וְלַ֨לְוִיִּ֔ם (ve-la-Levi’im) – Root: לוי; Form: Noun, masculine plural, definite; Translation: “but to the Levi’im”; Notes: Refers to the Levites, who had a distinct inheritance.
- לֹֽא־נָתַ֥ן (lo-natan) – Root: נתן; Form: Negative particle + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular; Translation: “had not given”; Notes: Indicates negation of the verb.
- נַחֲלָ֖ה (naḥalah) – Root: נחלה; Form: Noun, feminine singular; Translation: “inheritance”; Notes: Used frequently for land portions.
- בְּתֹוכָֽם (be-toḵam) – Root: תוך; Form: Preposition + noun, masculine singular construct with 3rd person plural suffix; Translation: “among them”; Notes: Refers to the tribal divisions of Israel.
Lexical Semantics and Word Study
- נחלה (naḥalah): This term means “inheritance” and is often used in the context of land allotments (Genesis 31:14, Joshua 14:3). For the Levites, their “inheritance” was YHWH himself (Deuteronomy 18:2).
- עבר (ever): The term means “beyond” or “across” and is frequently used to refer to locations east of the Yarden (Joshua 22:4, Deuteronomy 3:20).
Textual Criticism
The Masoretic Text (MT) is consistent with the Septuagint (LXX), which uses πέραν τοῦ Ιορδάνου (“beyond the Jordan”) in agreement with the Hebrew phrase. The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) do not show significant textual variations in this verse. The Vulgate (1592) maintains the expected rendering, and the Peshitta aligns with the MT. The phrase regarding the Levites is structurally reinforced across translations.