| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse follows a protasis–apodosis legal structure introduced by the negative particle lo {לֹא | lōʾ} ‘not’ and the verb yaqum {יָקוּם | yāqūm} ‘stand’, prohibiting claims based on a single ed echad {עֵד אֶחָד | ʿēd ʾeḥād} ‘one witness’. The triple parallelism in le-kol avon {לְכָל-עָוֺן | lə-ḵol ʿāwōn} ‘for any iniquity’, u-le-kol chat-tat {וּלְכָל-חַטָּאת | ū-lə-ḵol ḥaṭṭā’t} ‘and for any sin’, and be-kol chet {בְּכָל-חֵטְא | bə-ḵal ḥēṭʾ} ‘in any crime’ employs merismus to encompass all offenses. The relative clause with asher {אֲשֶׁר | ʾăšer} ‘which’ and yecheta {יֶחֱטָא | yəḥēṭāʾ} ‘he sins/commits’ specifies transgression. The evidentiary standard is set in the construct al-pi šᵉnê ʿēdîm {עַל־פִּי שְׁנֵי־עֵדִים | ʿal-pî šᵉnê ʿēdîm} ‘by the mouth of two witnesses’, where “mouth” functions metaphorically for testimony, paralleled by šᵉlōšāh ʿēdîm {שְׁלֹשָׁה-עֵדִים | šᵉlōšāh ʿēdîm} ‘three witnesses’. The clausula returns to yaqum davar {יָקוּם דָּבָר | yāqūm dāwār} ‘a matter shall stand’, forming an inclusio that emphasizes the conditional and resultant nature of legal judgments. English renders 'stand' and 'matter/case' to reflect the Hebrew legal imagery. |