| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’, introducing an alternative release based on solitary status. The prepositional phrase be-gappo {בְּגַפּוֹ | bə-gappô} ‘by himself’ frames both arrival (yavo {יָבֹא | yā-ḇōʾ} ‘he comes’) and departure (yetse {יֵצֵא | yē-ṣēʾ} ‘he goes out’) in a chiastic structure. A second im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’ clause presents the marital condition ba’al ishah hu {בַּעַל אִשָּׁה הוּא | baʿal ’iššâh hûʾ} ‘he is a husband’, with hu reinforcing subject continuity. The vav-consecutive ve-yatse’ah {וְיָצְאָה | və-yā-ṣē’āh} ‘and-she-goes-out’ shifts the focus to the wife’s departure, and the construct chain ishto immo {אִשְׁתּוֹ עִמּוֹ | ’išttôʾ ’immôʾ} ‘his-wife with-him’ emphasizes joint release. The English renderings preserve this logical sequence of condition and result. |