| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a vav-consecutive sequence beginning with vera'ah {וְרָאָה֩ | væ·rā·’āh} ‘and he saw’, marking a delineated procedural action. The subject ha-kohen {הַכֹּהֵ֨ן | ha·kō·hên} ‘the priest’ recurs as the ritual assessor in the Levitical diagnostic chain. The temporal clause ba-yom ha-šə·bî·’î šê·nîṯ {בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שֵׁנִית | ba·yôm ha·šə·bî·’î šê·nîṯ} ‘on the seventh day, a second time’ imposes a fixed interval for reexamination. The conjunction wə·hinnêh {וְהִנֵּה֙ | wə·hinnêh} ‘and behold’ introduces focused observation, and the conditional protasis centers on two Qal perfect verbs (kê·hāh and wə·lō·pā·säh) describing the appearance and non-spread of han·né·ga‘ {הַנֶּ֔גַע | han·né·ga‘} ‘the plague spot’. The Piel form wə·ṭi·hă·rō {וְטִהֲר֤וֹ | wə·ṭi·hă·rō} ‘and he shall pronounce him clean’ functions as a performative speech act conferring ritual purity. The subsequent directive wə·kî·bes bə·gā·ḏāyw {וְכִבֶּ֥ס בְּגָדָ֖יו | wə·kî·bes bə·gā·ḏāyw} ‘and he shall wash his clothes’ and the final Qal perfect wə·ṭā·hēr {וְטָהֵֽר | wə·ṭā·hēr} ‘and he will be clean’ complete the cleansing sequence. |