| 18. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative opens with the vav-consecutive wayyiqtol va’omar {וָאֹמַר | wā-’ō-mar} ‘and I said,’ marking divine speech continuation. The prepositional phrase el-bneihem {אֶל־בְּנֵיהֶם | ’el-bə-nê-hem} ‘to their children’ shifts address to a new generation, and ba-midbar {בַּמִּדְבָּר | ba-mid-bār} ‘in the wilderness’ locates the scene in Israel’s formative context. A tricolon of negative imperatives begins with al-telechu {אַל־תֵּלֵכוּ | ’al-tē-lē-kū} ‘do not walk,’ continues with al-tishmeru {אַל־תִּשְׁמְרוּ | ’al-tiš-mə-rū} ‘do not keep,’ and concludes with al-titammeu {אַל־תִּטַּמְּאוּ | ’al-tit-tam-mə-’û} ‘do not defile yourselves,’ each introduced by the prohibitive particle al {אַל | ’al}. Construct chains be-chukei avoteichem {בְּחֻקֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם | bə-ḥuq-qê ’ă-vō-tê-chem} ‘in the statutes of your fathers’ and ve-et-mishpeteihem {וְאֶת־מִשְׁפְּטֵיהֶם | wə-’et-mish-pə-ṭê-hem} ‘and the ordinances of them’ distinguish legal categories, while u-ve-gilluleihem {וּבְגִלּוּלֵיהֶם | u-və-gi-lu-lê-hem} frames idolatry as a ritual defilement. The sequence of parallel imperatives underscores emphatic divine prohibition. |