| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with ervat {עֶרְוַ֥ת | ‘er·wāṯ} ‘nakedness’, a legal euphemism for prohibited sexual intimacy. It then presents the construct expression akhot-avikha {אֲחוֹת־אָבִ֖יךָ | ’ă·ḥōṯ-ʾa·ḇî·ḵā} ‘sister of your father’, specifying the paternal aunt relationship. The negative particle lo {לֹ֣א | lō’} combined with the Piel imperfect tegalleh {תְגַלֵּ֑ה | tə·gallēh} forms a prohibition. The appositive she’er-avikha {שְׁאֵ֥ר אָבִ֖יךָ | she!’er-ʾa·ḇî·ḵā} ‘flesh of your father’ functions as an emphatic clarification, and hi {הִֽוא | hî} serves as the copula. In translation, Hebrew construct chains are rendered with English possessives to preserve the legal structure, and the appositive is set off by a semicolon to reflect the explanatory force of the original syntax. |