| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the interrogative clause u-mi-ha-ʾîš {וּמִי־הָאִישׁ | û-mî-hā-ʾîš} ‘and who is the man,’ introducing a conditional exemption. The relative clause ʾă-šer-nā-ṭaʿ {אֲשֶׁר־נָטַע | ʾă-šer-nā-ṭaʿ} ‘who has planted’ modifies ha-ʾîš {הָאִישׁ | hā-ʾîš}. The coordinated negative temporal clause wə-lōʾ ḥil-lē-lō {וְלֹא־חִלְּל֔וֹ | wə-lōʾ ḥil-lē-lō} ‘and has not used it’ frames the condition. The dual jussive yē-lēḵ wə-yā-šōḇ {יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב | yē-lēḵ wə-yā-šōḇ} ‘let him go and let him return’ expresses a permissive instruction. The particle pen-yā-mûṯ {פֶּן־יָמוּת | pen-yā-mûṯ} ‘lest he die,’ combined with ba-mil-ḥā-māh {בַּמִּלְחָמָה | ba-mil-ḥā-māh} ‘in the battle,’ marks a precautionary purpose clause. The final clause wə-ʾîš ʾă-ḥēr yə-ḥal-lē-lē-nû {וְאִישׁ אַחֵר יְחַלְּלֶנּוּ | wə-ʾîš ʾă-ḥēr yə-ḥal-lē-lē-nû} ‘and another man will use it’ states the consequence, emphasizing communal equity when exempting one individual. |