| 39. Linguistic Exegesis The verse commences with ve-shav {וְשָׁ֥ב | wə-šāḇ} ‘and he returned’, where the vav-consecutive signals sequential narrative action. The subject ha-kohen {הַכֹּהֵ֖ן | hā-kō-ḥên} ‘the priest’ identifies the officiant, while the temporal clause ba-yom ha-shvi'i {בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֑י | ba-yôm haš-šə-ḇî-‘î} ‘on the seventh day’ establishes the inspection interval in Levitical regulation. The sequence ve-ra'ah {וְרָאָ֕ה | wə-rā-’âh} ‘and he saw’ sets up the evaluative observation, immediately reinforced by ve-hinnei {וְהִנֵּ֛ה | wə-hinnēh} ‘and behold’, introducing a conditional result. The verb pasah {פָּשָׂ֥ה | pā-śāh} ‘it has spread’ governs the predicate, with ha-nega' {הַנֶּ֖גַע | ha-nê-‘a‘} ‘the affliction’ as subject and the prepositional phrase be-kirot ha-bayit {בְּקִירֹ֥ת הַבָּֽיִת | bə-qî-rôṯ ha-bā-yîṯ} ‘on the walls of the house’ specifying location. Hebrew clause chaining with vav-consecutives creates a tight temporal and conditional structure that in English is rendered through clear temporal markers and a conditional protasis, preserving the legalistic rhythm and sequence. |