| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The prohibition begins with ervat {עֶרְוַת | ʿer-wāṯ} ‘nakedness’, an idiom for sexual contact. The construct chain bat eshet avikha {בַּת־אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ | băṯ ʾē-šeṯ ʾā-vi-ḵā} ‘daughter of your father’s wife’ links daughter to the wife in construct state. The participle moledet avikha {מוֹלֶדֶת אָבִיךָ | mō-le-ḏeṯ ʾā-vi-ḵā} ‘born to your father’ clarifies paternal lineage, indicating a half-sister. The identity clause hi akhotekha {הִיא אֲחוֹתְךָ | hîʾ ʾa-ḥō-te-ḵā} ‘she is your sister’ establishes the kinship that makes the act prohibited. Finally Qal imperfect tegalleh {תְגַלֶּה | tə-ḡallēh} with negation lo {לֹא | lōʾ} imposes the legal prohibition ‘you shall not uncover’. In translation, the relative and identity clauses precede the prohibition to align with English syntax and preserve clarity. |