| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the causal conjunction ki {כִּֽי | kî} linking the legal instruction to its theological rationale. The construct chain nefesh kol basar {נֶ֣פֶשׁ כָּל־בָּשָׂ֗ר | nefeš kol basar} ‘the life of all flesh’ positions nefesh as the head noun modified by kol basar in a genitival relationship. The verbless clause dāmô bə-nafšô hûʾ {דָּמ֣וֹ בְּנַפְשׁוֹ הוּא֒ | dāmô bə-nafšô hûʾ} ‘its blood is in its life’ employs parallelism to assert equivalence of blood and life. The vav-consecutive imperfect wā-ʾōmār {וָֽאֹמַר֙ | wā-ʾōmār} introduces God’s speech to Yisrael {יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yiśrāʾēl}, rendered ‘And I have said’ to mirror sequence. The prohibitive construction lōʾ tōʾəḵēlû {לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ | lōʾ tōʾəḵēlû} uses the negative particle plus Qal imperfect for a direct command. The second ki clause repeats the theological premise for reinforcement. The result clause kol-ʾōḵəlāyw yiqqāret {כָּל־אֹכְלָ֖יו יִכָּרֵֽת | kol-ʾōḵəlāyw yiqqāret} employs the Niphal imperfect to indicate enforced exclusion. Rhetorical parallelism and construct chains bind law and theology. |