| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional protasis introduced by veim {וְאִם־ | wə-ʾim} ‘and if’, followed by the casuistic clause mizbeach avaním taʿăseh-li {מִזְבַּ֤ח אֲבָנִים֙ תַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לִּ֔י | miz-bē-āḥ ʾă-ḇā-nîm ta-ʿă-śeh-lî} ‘you make an altar of stones for me’. The apodosis lō tivneh ethen gazit {לֹֽא־תִבְנֶ֥ה אֶתְהֶ֖ן גָּזִ֑ית | lōʾ tiv-neh ʾĕṯ-hēn gā-zît} ‘you shall not build them with hewn stones’ delivers the prohibition. The causal clause kī kharbekha henaphta aleiha {כִּ֧י חַרְבְּךָ֛ הֵנַ֥פְתָּ עָלֶ֖יהָ | kî ḥar-bə-ḵā hē-nap̄-tā ʿā-lê-hā} ‘for when you have swung your sword upon it’ links metal tools to cultic purity, and the vav-consecutive Piel vatechalleha {וַתְּחַֽלְלֶהָ׃ | wat-tə-ḥal-lə-hā} ‘and you profane it’ states the resulting desecration. The syntax’s protasis–apodosis–cause–result structure underscores the altar’s sanctity and the categorical nature of the prohibition. |