| 10. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} 'if', introducing a protasis. The Qal imperfect yiqqāḥ {יִקַּח | yiqqāḥ} 'he takes' begins the apodosis, and the adjective acheret {אַחֶרֶת | ʾaḥeret} 'another' indicates a subsequent spouse. The prepositional phrase lo {לוֹ | lōw} 'for himself' marks the beneficiary. A three-term construct chain—sheerah {שְׁאֵרָהּ | šeʾērāh} 'her food', kesutah {כְּסוּתָהּ | ke-sû-tāh} 'her clothing', and onatah {עֹנָתָהּ | ʿō-na-tāh} 'her marital right'—lists the wife's entitlements. The prohibition is expressed by lo {לֹא | lōʾ} 'not' plus the imperfect yigra {יִגְרָע | yigrāʿ} 'he shall diminish'. The English rendering maintains the Hebrew asyndeton with a parallel series and preserves the protasis–apodosis structure to reflect the conditional legal framework. |