| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the coordinating preposition ve’el {וְאֶל־ | wə-ʾel} marking the indirect object. The construct pair eshet amitekha {אֵ֙שֶׁת֙ עֲמִֽיתְךָ֔ | ʾê-šeṯ ʿă-mîṯ-ḵā} ‘wife of your companion’ establishes relational boundaries. The negation lo-titten {לֹא־תִתֵּ֥ן | lō-tit-tēn} in the Qal imperfect forms a prohibitive decree. The noun shekhabtekha {שְׁכָבְתְּךָ֖ | še-ḵāb-tə-ḵā} serves as the direct object, indicating sexual union. The sequential prepositional phrases lezera {לְזָ֑רַע | lə-zā-raʿ} ‘for seed’ and letameah bah {לְטָמְאָה־בָֽהּ | lə-ṭā-me-ʾāh bāh} ‘for impurity in her’ express purpose followed by result. This syntactic pattern of intent and consequence underscores the ongoing nature of the prohibition and the centrality of ritual purity in Israelite law. |