| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive verb vetsiwwah {וְצִוָּה֙ | wə-ṣîwwāh} ‘and he shall command’, a Qal perfect form signaling authoritative direction. The subject is marked by the noun hakkohen {הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | ha-kōhēn} ‘the priest’ with definite article. A second vav-consecutive Piel, vekhilletsu {וְחִלְּצוּ֙ | wə-ḥilləṣû} ‘and they shall tear out’, intensifies the action on et-haavanim {אֶת־הָ֣אֲבָנִ֔ים | ʾet-hā-ʾăvānîm} ‘the stones’, which are specified by the relative clause asher bahem hanagga {אֲשֶׁר בָּהֵ֖ן הַנָּ֑גַע | ʾăšer bāhên han-nāggaʿ} ‘which have the infection’. The Hiphil vehishlikhu {וְהִשְׁלִ֤יכוּ | wə-hišlîḵû} ‘and they shall cast’ governs the pronoun et-hem {אֶתְהֶן֙ | ʾet-hen} ‘them’. Successive prepositional phrases el-mikhuts lair {אֶל־מִח֣וּץ לָעִ֔יר | ʾel-miḥûṣ lā-ʿîr} ‘outside the city’ and el-makom {אֶל־מָק֖וֹם | ʾel-māqôm} ‘to a place’ conclude with the adjective tame {טָמֵֽא | ṭāme} ‘unclean’. The structure of chained vav-consecutives, relative clause, and spatial directives emphasizes the legal process of impurity removal. |