| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the participle ve-okhlav {וְאֹֽכְלָיו | wə-ʾōḵ-lā-wāw} ‘and its eater(s)’, forming an indefinite subject. The noun avono {עֲוֺנ֣וֹ | ʿǎ-vō-nō} ‘his guilt’ in construct with a pronominal suffix conveys assigned responsibility. The imperfect yissa {יִשָּׂ֔א | yi-s˒āʾ} expresses future bearing of guilt. The conjunction ki {כִּֽי־ | kî} introduces causation, and the particle et {אֶת־ | ʾet} marks the direct object kodesh {קֹ֥דֶשׁ | qō-ḏeš} ‘holy thing’, emphasizing the severity of profanation. The verb chillel {חִלֵּ֑ל | ḥil-lēl} intensified by the Piel stem conveys deliberate desecration. The vav-consecutive nif‘al ve-nikhretah {וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה | wə-ni-krā-ṯāh} declares the legal penalty. The construction hanefesh hahi {הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא | han-ne-peš ha-hîʾ} ‘that soul’ personalizes the offender, and the prepositional phrase meamha {מֵעַמֶּֽיהָ | me-ʿammā-hā} ‘from her people’ locates the exclusion within the covenant community. This structure preserves the formal legal tone while rendering clear causal and punitive relationships in English. |