| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive Qal perfect verb vərāʾāh {וְרָאָה | və-rā-ʾāh} “and he shall see,” establishing a sequential narrative step. The subject ha-kōhēn {הַכֹּהֵן | ha-kō-hēn} follows the verb in the typical V-S order of Hebrew prose. The particle v-hinnēh {וְהִנֵּה | və-hinnēh} “and behold” introduces an attention marker for the diagnostic clause. The noun marʾə-hāh {מַרְאֶהָ | mar-ʾə-hāh} “its appearance” functions as the topic of a comparative clause with the predicate adjective šāp̄āl {שָׁפָל | šāp̄āl} “lower” introduced by min-hāʾôr {מִן־הָעוֹר | min-hā-ʾôr} “than the skin.” The coordinating sequence ū-se‘ārāh hāphaḥ lāvan {וּשְׂעָרָהּ הָפַךְ לָבָן | ū-se-ʿā-rāh hā-phaḥ lā-van} “and its hair has turned white” mirrors the prior clause structure. The legal verdict clause vĕtimmeʾō ha-kōhēn {וְטִמְּא֧וֹ הַכֹּהֵן | və-timme-ʾō ha-kō-hēn} “and the priest shall pronounce him unclean” concludes the inspection. The identification clause nega-ṣara‘at hī’ {נֶגַע־צָרַעַת הִוא | ne-ga-ṣā-rā-ʿat hī’} “it is a plague of leprosy” categorizes the affliction, and the locative clause baš-seḥīn pā-rā-ḥāh {בַּשְּׁחִין פָּרָחָה | baš-se-ḥīn pā-rā-ḥāh} “has broken out in the boil” specifies its origin. The chain of vav prefixes creates a cause-and-effect diagnostic procedure. |