| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the protasis introduced by vechi-tavo’u {וְכִי־תָבֹאוּ | wə-ḵî-tā-vō-’û} ‘and when you come’, establishing a conditional command. The subsequent verb unetatem {וּנְטַעְתֶּם | wə-nə-ṭā-’a-tem} ‘and you plant’ in Qal perfect continues the vav-consecutive sequence, addressing the community subject. The construct kol-ets ma’akal {כָּל־עֵץ מַאֲכָל | kol-ʿēṣ ma-ʾă-ḥal} ‘every tree for food’ is a noun-noun construct chain indicating purpose. The Piel perfect va’arattem {וַעֲרַלְתֶּם | va-ʿă-ral-tem} ‘and you shall regard as uncircumcised’ functions as a technical legal term, followed by the cognate object orlatto {עָרְלָתוֹ | ’or-lā-to} ‘its uncircumcision’. The temporal clause shalosh shanim yihyeh lachem {שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים יִהְיֶה לָכֶם | šā-lōš šā-nîm yih-yĕ-h lā-khem} uses cardinal number + noun + Qal imperfect to denote a fixed duration. The negative Niphal imperfect lo yeakhel {לֹא יֵאָכֵל | lō yē-’ā-khel} ‘it shall not be eaten’ concludes the prohibition, emphasizing passive negation. The English renders the vav-consecutive prefixes as coordinating conjunctions and preserves the sequence of conditional, temporal, and prohibitive clauses. |