| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the causal conjunction ki {כִּי | ki} ‘for/because,’ linking this result clause to preceding prohibitions. The direct-object marker et {אֶת־ | ʾet} marks kol hatôʿēvōṯ hāʾēl {כָּל־הַתּוֹעֵבֹת הָאֵל | kol hatôʿēvōṯ hāʾēl} ‘all these abominations’ as the full object, stressing comprehensive violation. The Qal perfect verb ʿāśû {עָשׂוּ | ʿā-śû} denotes completed action by ʾănšê-hāʾāreṣ {אַנְשֵׁי־הָאָרֶץ | ʾăn-šê-hāʾ-ā-reṣ} ‘the people of the land,’ specified by the relative clause ʾăšer lîpnê-kem {אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם | ʾă-šer lî-pnê-kem} ‘who were before you.’ The sequential vav in wă-titmāʾ {וַתִּטְמָא | wă-titmāʾ}, with a Qal imperfect, signals a resultant state: ‘and the land became defiled,’ with feminine singular agreement to hāʾāreṣ {הָאָרֶץ | hāʾ-ā-reṣ} ‘the land.’ This syntax underlines covenant theology: human abomination directly yields land impurity, emphasizing ritual purity as communal responsibility. |