| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional particle ki {כִּי | kî} ‘if’, setting up a condition. The imperfect verb yimtsa {יִמְצָא | yî-mṣāʾ} ‘he finds’ introduces the scenario with the noun phrase ʾîš naʿarâh betûlāh {אִישׁ נַעֲרָה בְתוּלָה | ʾîš năʿă-rā(h) bə-tû-lā(h)} ‘man young woman virgin’ specifying who is involved. The relative clause ʾăšer lō ʾôrāšāh {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־אֹרָשָׂה | ʾă-šer lō-ʾô-rā-šā(h)} ‘who not betrothed’ restricts to an unpledged virgin. The vav-consecutive forms û-p̄āsha(h) {וּתְפָשָׂהּ | û-p̄ā-śā(h)} ‘and he seizes her’ and wə-šāḵaḇ {וְשָׁכַב | wə-šā-ḵaḇ} ‘and he lies’ depict the forced act, with the prepositional phrase ʿimmāh {עִמָּהּ | ʿim-mā(h)} ‘with her’ indicating the object. Finally, the result clause wə-nim-ṣāʾû {וְנִמְצָאוּ | wə-nim-ṣā-ʾû} ‘and they are found’ signals discovery and leads into the prescribed remedy. |