| 25. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vehivdaltem {וְהִבְדַּלְתֶּ֞ם | wə·hib·dal·tem} ‘and you shall separate’, where the Hiphil perfect conveys causative agency ascribed to Israel. This is followed by paired prepositional phrases beynhabhemah {בֵּֽין־הַבְּהֵמָ֤ה | bēn·ha·bĕ·hē·māh} ‘between the animal’ and uveinhaof {וּבֵין־הָע֥וֹף | ū·bēn·hā·‘ōp̄} ‘and between the bird’, each framing a contrast between purity and impurity marked by the adjectives hattehorah {הַטְּהֹרָה֙ | hattə·hō·rāh} ‘the clean’ and hattame {הַטָּמֵ֖א | hattā·mē·’} ‘the unclean’. The jussive velo-teshaktsu {וְלֹֽא־תְשַׁקְּצ֨וּ | wə·lō·tə·šaq·qə·ṣū} ‘and you shall not make detestable’ intensifies the prohibition by linking it to personal identity via et-nafshotekhem {אֶת־נַפְשֹֽׁתֵיכֶ֜ם | ’et·nap̄·šō·ṯê·ḵem} ‘your souls’ and successive circumstantial clauses babhemah {בַּבְּהֵמָ֣ה | ba·bĕ·hē·māh}, uvaof {וּבָע֗וֹף | ū·bā·‘ōp̄}, and uvekhol {וּבְכֹל֙ | ū·bə·kōl} ‘and by all’. The final relative clause asher-hivdalti {אֲשֶׁר־הִבְדַּ֥לְתִּי | ’ă·šer·hib·dal·tî} ‘which I have separated’ reasserts divine initiative, creating a chiastic structure that underscores the theological centrality of ritual differentiation. |