| 47. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conjunction vav in vehabeged {וְהַבֶּ֕גֶד | wə-habbêged} ‘and the garment,’ which leads into the conditional protasis introduced by ki yihyeh {כִּי־יִהְיֶ֥ה | kî yiḥyêh} ‘if it will be.’ The prepositional suffix in vo {ב֖וֹ | bō} specifies the locus of the defect. The construct chain nega‘ tsara‘at {נֶגַע צָרָעַת | neġaʿ ṣārāʿat} ‘mark of leprosy’ identifies the disease outbreak. The coordinated prepositional phrases beveged tsemer o beveged pishtim {בְּבֶגֶד צֶמֶר א֖וֹ בְּבֶגֶד פִּשְׁתִּֽים} analyze the material, contrasting tsemer {צֶמֶר | ṯēmer} ‘wool’ with pishtim {פִּשְׁתִּֽים | pištîm} ‘linen.’ The repetition of beveged underscores legal precision. In English, the protasis is rendered with “if” in both formal and dynamic translations, with the formal preserving the initial conjunction for continuity and the dynamic placing it at the outset for immediacy. |