Leviticus 14:17ExegesisTAB

Leviticus 14 : 17 Ritual | Purification | Atonement
17. Linguistic Exegesis
The verse begins with the phrase umi-yeter {וּמִיֶּ֨תֶר | ūmiyeter} ‘and from the remainder’, setting the material for ritual anointing. It then names ha-shemen {הַשֶּׁ֜מֶן | haššemen} ‘the oil’, modified by the relative asher {אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾăšer} ‘that’ situated on kappo {כַּפּ֗וֹ | kappō} ‘his palm’. The main verb yitten {יִתֵּ֤ן | yittēn} ‘he shall put’ is executed by ha-kohen {הַכֹּהֵן֙ | hakōhēn} ‘the priest’. A chain of prepositional phrases—al {עַל־ | ʿal}, ve-al {וְעַל־ | wəʿal}, ve-al {וְעַל־ | wəʿal}—specifies tenukh {תְּנ֞וּךְ | tənūḵ} ‘lobe’ + ozen {אֹ֤זֶן | ʾōzen} ‘ear’ of ha-mitaher {הַמִּטַּהֵר֙ | hammiṭāhēr} ‘the one being cleansed’, bohen {בֹּ֤הֶן | bōhen} ‘thumb’ of his hand, and bohen {בֹּ֥הֶן | bōhen} ‘big toe’ of his foot, each marked by ha-yemanit {הַיְמָנִ֑ית | haymānīt} ‘the right’. The final clause al-dam ha-asham {עַל דַּ֥ם הָאָשָֽׁם | ʿal dām hāʾāšām} ‘upon the blood of the guilt offering’ links the anointing to sacrificial atonement. The orderly Hebrew sequence is mirrored in English to preserve the ritual’s spatial and theological precision.

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