| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the construct chain ervat {עֶרְוַ֥ת | ʿer-vat} ‘nakedness’ joined to eshet-akhikha {אֵֽשֶׁת־אָחִ֖יךָ | ʾe-šet-ʾă-ḥî-kha} ‘wife of your brother’ to form the legal subject. The negative particle lo {לֹ֣א | lōʔ} ‘not’ precedes the Piel imperfect tegalleh {תְגַלֵּ֑ה | tə-gal-lêh} ‘you shall uncover’, intensifying the prohibition. In the second clause, ervat akhicha {עֶרְוַ֥ת אָחִ֖יךָ | ʿer-vat ʾa-ḥî-kha} ‘the nakedness of your brother’ is followed by the pronoun hi {הִֽוא | hîʾ} ‘it is’, establishing equivalence and underscoring the offense against familial integrity. The repetition of ervat highlights the seriousness of the boundary, while the Piel stem of tegalleh emphasizes deliberate action within the holiness code. |