| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The conjunction ve'attah {וְעַתָּה֙ | və-ʿattāh} ‘and now’ introduces a temporal shift into a direct command, followed by the niphal imperative hishhameri {הִשָּׁ֣מְרִי | hiššāmərî} ‘guard yourself’, with the entreaty particle na {נָ֔א | nāʼ} to underscore appeal. The prohibitions are structured by the particle we-al {וְאַל־ | wə-ʾal} plus two Qal imperfect verbs tishti {תִּשְׁתִּ֖י | tištî} ‘you shall not drink’ and tokheli {תֹּאכְלִ֖י | tōḵəlî} ‘you shall not eat’, creating parallel hendiads yayin ve-shekar {יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר | yayīn wə-šēḵār} for intoxicating beverages and kol tame {כָּל־טָמֵא | kol-ṭāmēʾ} denoting everything ritually impure. This coordination reinforces the Nazirite purity injunction with tightly knit prohibitive syntax. |