| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The prohibition is built on the abstract noun ervat {עֶרְוַת | ʿer-waṯ} ‘nakedness’, which is bound by the construct chain akhot-immekha {אֲחוֹת־אִמְּךָ | ʾaḥôt-ʾimməḵā} ‘sister of your mother’, forming the object of the Hiphil action lo-tegalleh {לֹא תְגַלֵּה | lō-tə-gal-lēh} ‘you shall not uncover’. The negative particle lo {לֹא | lō} preceding the imperfect verb is characteristic of Hebrew prohibitive syntax. The explanatory conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal clause in which she’er {שְׁאֵר | še-ʾer} ‘close relative’ is predicated of imməḵā {אִמְּךָ | ʾimməḵā} ‘your mother’ via the pronoun hûʾ {הִוא | hûʾ} ‘she’. The structure emphasizes the specific familial boundary established by the legislation and is preserved by maintaining the order and terms of the construct chain in English. |