| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive formula vehayah {וְהָיָ֣ה | wə-hā-yāh} ‘and it shall be’, signaling a legal stipulation. The phrase ha‘ir haqerovah el-hechalal {הָעִ֔יר הַקְּרֹבָ֖ה אֶל־הֶחָלָ֑ל | hā-ʿîr ha-qə-rō-wāh ʾel-he-ḥā-lāl} ‘the city nearest to the slain’ features agreement between the feminine noun ha‘ir {הָעִ֔יר | hā-ʿîr} and the adjective haqerovah {הַקְּרֹבָ֖ה | ha-qə-rō-wāh}. The vav-consecutive verb velaqechu {וְלָֽקְח֡וּ | wə-lā-qa-ḥû} ‘and they shall take’ introduces the action by ziknei ha‘ir hahi {זִקְנֵי הָעִ֨יר הַהִ֜וא | zīq-nê hā-ʿîr ha-hîʾ}, emphasizing collective responsibility. The object eglat bakar {עֶגְלַ֣ת בָּקָ֗ר | ʿeġ-lāṯ bā-qār} ‘a heifer of cattle’ is then qualified by two coordinated relative clauses introduced by asher {אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾă-šer}, specifying first the absence of labor history (lo-ubad bah {לֹֽא־עֻבַּד֙ בָּ֔הּ | lō-‘uḇ-ḏ bō-h}) and then the lack of yoking (lo-mashkha be‘ol {לֹא־מָשְׁכָ֖ה בְּעֹֽל | lō-māš-kā(bə)-ʿôl}). The coordinated structure preserves the layered legal emphasis on the heifer’s ritual purity. |