| 35. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with vekhi {וְכִי | wə-ḵî} meaning ‘and if’, which introduces a casuistic conditional. The verb yigof {יִגֹּף | yiggôp̄}, Qal imperfect third person masculine singular, specifies the potential action of striking. The construct phrase shor-ʾîš {שׁוֹר־אִישׁ | šôr ʾîš} ‘ox-of-a-man’ establishes possession. Direct-object-marker phrases et-šôr {אֶת־שׁוֹר | ʾet šôr} and et-ha-mêt {אֶת־הַמֵּת | ʾet ha-mêt} frame the objects of sale and division. A vav consecutive sequence (va-met {וָמֵת | wāmêṯ}, u-machru {וּמָכְרוּ | ū-māḵərū}, ve-chatsu {וְחָצוּ | wə-ḥāṣû}) narrates the fatality of the ox, the sale of the live ox, and the division actions. The pairing of ha-chai {הַחַי | ha-ḥāy} ‘the living-one’ with ha-mêt {הַמֵּת | ha-mêt} ‘the dead-one’ creates legal symmetry in property restitution. The Hebrew conjunction ve-gam {וְגַם | wə-ḡām} ‘and also’ underscores the inclusivity of the dead animal in the division order. |