| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative sequence opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect form וְיָצָא֙ {wə-yā-ṣāʾ | ‘and went out’}, placing the priest’s action in sequence. The definite subject הַכֹּהֵן {ha-kōhēn | ‘the priest’} follows, and the prepositional chain אֶל־מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה {ʾel-miḥûṣ la-maḥa-nēh | ‘to outside the camp’} marks spatial exclusion. Repetition in וְרָאָה֙ הַכֹּהֵן {wə-rāʾāh ha-kōhēn | ‘and saw the priest’} reinforces the agent’s role, while וְהִנֵּה֙ {wə-hinnēh | ‘and behold’} introduces the result clause. The Niphal perfect נִרְפָּ֥א {nir-pāʾ | ‘has been healed’} conveys a passive state, and the construct נֶגַע־הַצָּרַעַת {ne-gaʿ-ha-ṣā-raʿ-āt | ‘affliction of leprosy’} with מִן־הַצָּרוּעַ {min-ha-ṣārūaʿ | ‘from the leper’} specifies the locus of healing. English shifts from the Hebrew VSO to SVO order to foreground the priest, integrating ‘and behold’ parenthetically to preserve the Hebrew emphasis. |