| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with the conjunction ’ō {א֣וֹ | ’ō} ‘or’, linking this stipulation to preceding cases. The conditional kî {כִּֽי | kî} ‘when/if’ plus the Qal imperfect yiḥ-yeh {יִהְיֶ֥ה | yiḥ-yeh} ‘it shall be’ frames the protasis. The locative phrase be-’ō-rô {בְעֹר֖וֹ | bə-’ō-rô} ‘in his skin’ specifies the site, with the construct mik-wat-’ēš {מִכְוַת־אֵ֑שׁ | mik-wat-’ēš} ‘burn of fire’ as the affected theme. The vav-consecutive wə-hā-yə-tā(h) {וְֽהָיְתָ֞ה | wə-hā-yə-tā(h)} ‘and it becomes’ introduces the apodosis, whose subject is the construct chain miḥ-yaṯ ham-mik-wā(h) {מִֽחְיַ֣ת הַמִּכְוָ֗ה | miḥ-yaṯ ham-mik-wā(h)} ‘living flesh of the burn’. Predication is completed by the nominal predicate ba-he-ret le-vā-nā(h) {בַּהֶ֛רֶת לְבָנָ֥ה | ba-he-ret le-vā-nā(h)} ‘white spot’, modified by ’a-dam-de-met {אֲדַמְדֶּ֖מֶת | ’a-dam-de-met} ‘reddish’ or le-vā-nā(h) {לְבָנָֽה | le-vā-nā(h)} ‘white’, joined by the disjunction ’ō {א֥וֹ | ’ō} ‘or’. The syntax foregrounds the conditional frame and then enumerates diagnostic color outcomes, which the English preserves by maintaining the condition–result sequence and coordinating the descriptors. |