| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the participle ve-hamshal-leach {וְהַֽמְשַׁלֵּ֤חַ | wə-mĕšallēaḥ} ‘the one sending away’, which functions as the subject and introduces the ritual agent. The direct object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet-} focuses the action on ha-sa’ir {הַשָּׂעִיר֙ | ha-šaʻîr} ‘the goat’, with la-azazel {לַעֲזָאזֵ֔ל | la-ʻăzāzēl} indicating the ritual destination. The Piel verb yekhabbes {יְכַבֵּ֣ס | yəḵabbēś} ‘he shall wash’ followed by the Qal perfect ve-raḥats {וְרָחַ֥ץ | wə-rāḥaṣ} ‘and he shall bathe’ creates a dual purification sequence, first his garments (be-gadav {בְּגָדָ֔יו | bᵉ-ḡādāyw}) then his body (be-saro {בְּשָׂר֖וֹ | bᵉ-śārōw}) in ba-mayyim {בַּמָּ֑יִם | ba-māyyim}. The conjunctive phrase ve-akharei-ken {וְאַחֲרֵי־כֵ֖ן | wə-ʼaḥărêy-ḵên} ‘and after that’ precedes the Qal imperfect yavo {יָב֥וֹא | yāḇōʼ} ‘he shall enter’, governed by the prepositional phrase el-ha-machaneh {אֶל־הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה | ʾel-ha-maḥănêh} ‘into the camp’. The structure underscores the necessity of complete purification before rejoining the community. |