| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew clause begins with the vav-consecutive perfect form veraahu {וְרָאָהוּ | və-rā-ʾā-hû} ‘and he saw him’, which advances the legal narrative. The subject ha-kohen {הַכֹּהֵן | ha-kō-hên} precedes the verb, emphasizing the officiant’s role. The particle wehinneh {וְהִנֵּה | wə-hin-nēh} ‘and behold’ functions as an evidential marker introducing the conditional clause nehpakh {נֶהְפַּךְ | ne-hpākh} ‘has turned’, describing a state change of hanega {הַנֶּגַע | han-nə-ʾāʿ} ‘the affliction’. The prepositional phrase lelavan {לְלָבָן | lə-lā-vān} ‘to white’ specifies the necessary condition for ritual purity. The following vav-consecutive Piel perfect wetihar {וְטִהַר | wə-ti-ḥār} ‘and he shall declare clean’, with the direct-object marker ethanega {אֶת־הַנֶּגַע | ʾet-ha-nne-gāʿ}, highlights the priest’s agency in pronouncing status. The final tautological affirmation tahor hu {טָהוֹר הוּא | ṭā-hôr hūʾ} ‘it is clean’ serves as legal certification. In English translation, verb–subject order is regularized to subject–verb while preserving the Hebrew “if… then…” conditional structure and the ritual pronouncement framework. |