| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the protasis vechi {וְכִי | vә-khi} ‘and if’, followed by the subject shor {שׁוֹר | šôr} ‘ox’ with the verb yigach {יִגַּח | yi-gāḥ} ‘gores’. The accusative marker et {אֶת | ʾet} marks both ish {אִישׁ | ʾîš} ‘man’ and ishah {אִשָּׁה | ʾiššâ} ‘woman’, indicating parallel application of the law. Vamet {וָמֵת | wā-mēt} ‘and he died’ introduces the fatal outcome. The infinitive absolute sakol {סָקוֹל | sâqōl} ‘stoning’ paired with the imperfect yissakel {יִסָּקֵל | yi-sā-qēl} ‘he shall surely be stoned’ expresses emphatic obligation. The passive nifal yeakhel {יֵאָכֵל | yē-ʾā-ḵēl} ‘it shall be eaten’ institutes prohibition of consumption. Finally, uvaal hashor naki {וּבַעַל הַשּׁוֹר נָקִי | ū-bā-ʿāl ha-šôr nā-qī} ‘but the owner of the ox is innocent’ absolves liability. The English rendering preserves the coordinated legal sequence and modal force of the original. |