| 44. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew clause sequence begins with ish {אִישׁ | ʾîš} ‘man’ modified by tsarua {צָרוּעַ | ṣārûaʿ} ‘leprous’ and the copula hu {הוּא | hūʼ} ‘he’. The predicate tame hu {טָמֵא הוּא | ṭāmēʼ hūʼ} ‘unclean he’ affirms the condition. The Hiphil imperfect yetammeennu {יְטַמְּאֶנּוּ | yəṭammēʼennū} ‘he shall pronounce him unclean’ assigns priestly agency. The prepositional phrase berosho nigo {בְּרֹאשׁוֹ נִגְעוֹ | bə-rōʼšô nigo} ‘on his head his sore’ specifies the diagnostic locus. English reorders for clarity while preserving the declarative structure and juridical progression. |