| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs the emphatic infinitive absolute plus imperfect sequence, harōg tāhargennu {הָרוֹג תַּהַרְגֶּנּוּ | hā-rōg tā-har-ge-n-nu} ‘kill you shall surely kill him’, enforcing an unequivocal legal mandate. The construction yādeḵā tīhyēh bō bārīšōnāh {יָדְךָ תִּהְיֶה־בוֹ בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה | yā-də-ḵā tī-hyēh-bō bā-rī-ʾ-šō-nāh} ‘your hand shall be first against him’ introduces the judicial initiation by the individual accuser. Finally, wə-yad kol hā-ʿām bā-ʾaḥărōnāh {וְיַד כָּל־הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה | wə-yad kol hā-ʿām bā-ʾa-ḥăr-ō-nāh} ‘and the hand of all the people at the last’ extends participation to the entire community. The sequential clauses are rendered in English with “must,” “shall be first,” and “shall follow” to mirror the Hebrew procedural emphasis. |