| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conjunction ve’et {וְאֶת | vəʾ-ʔĕṯ} marking a direct object, immediately followed by zakhar {זָכָר | zā-khar} in fronted position to highlight “male” before the prohibitive verb lo tishkav {לֹא תִשְׁכַּב | lō tiš-kăv}, which employs the Qal imperfect in VSO order for a sustained negative command. The construct mishkavei ishah {מִשְׁכְּבֵי אִשָּׁה | miš-kə-vê iš-šāh} functions adverbially as a comparative idiom “as with the lyings of a woman,” specifying manner. The final toʼevah hi {תּוֹעֵבָה הִוא | tô-ʾê-vāh hūʾ} uses the copular pronoun to assert categorical moral judgment, with toevah conveying strong cultic condemnation. The English rendering shifts to SVO while preserving the Hebrew’s thematic object prominence and idiomatic structure. |