| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with ve-kol hanoge’a {וְכָל־הַנּוֹגֵ֥עַ | wə-ḵol-ha-nō-ḡēa} “and all who touch,” where the Qal participle hanoge’a functions as a nominal subject class. The prepositional pronoun bam {בָּ֖ם | bām} “in them” refers back to the objects of impurity described earlier. The imperfect yitma {יִטְמָ֑א | yiṭmāʾ} indicates the resultant status of impurity upon contact. The sequence of purification actions—Piel perfect vekibes {וְכִבֶּ֧ס | wə-ḵibbēs} “and he shall wash” with begadav {בְּגָדָ֛יו | bǝ-ḡā-dāyw}, followed by Qal perfect verachats {וְרָחַ֥ץ | wə-rā-ḥaṣ} “and he shall bathe” in bammayim {בַּמַּ֖יִם | ba-mmāyim}—creates a structured remedial sequence. The closing clause vetame ad-haarev {וְטָמֵ֥א עַד־הָעָֽרֶב | wə-ṭāmēʾ ʿad-hā-‘ā-reḇ} “and he will be unclean until the evening” imposes a temporal boundary on restored purity. The parallel framing of initial and final impurity underscores the rigid ritual logic governing defilement and requalification. |