| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal conjunction uve-yom {וּבְיוֹם | ū̆-və-yōm} ‘and in the day’, marking a specific event in the ritual sequence. The nifal infinitive construct heraʾot {הֵרָאוֹת | hē-rā-ʾōṯ} ‘being seen’ introduces a passive revelation of the skin condition. The locative pronoun bo {בּוֹ | bō} ‘in him’ specifies the locus of the condition on the person. The construct phrase basar chai {בָּשָׂר חַי | bā-sār ḥāy} ‘living flesh’ contrasts fresh, open tissue with healed or dried skin, intensifying the concern for contamination. The verb yitma {יִטְמָא | yiṭ-māʾ} ‘he shall be unclean’ in the Qal imperfect indicates the immediate legal consequence of impurity. Syntactically, the verse forms a temporal–result clause, adhering to a protasis–apodosis pattern common in Levitical laws. The initial placement of the temporal phrase emphasizes the conditional nature of the statute, while the combination of a construct noun and adjective underscores the severity of an active lesion. In translation, preserving the initial temporal position and translating the verb at the end aligns with the source text’s cause-and-effect flow. |