| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The prohibition begins with the connective prepositional phrase veal {וְעַ֛ל | wə-ʿal} ‘and upon’, linking this command to the preceding purity laws and marking the domain of forbidden contact. The construct sequence kol-nafshot met {כָּל־נַפְשֹׁ֥ת מֵ֖ת | kâl-nap̄-shōṯ mêṯ} ‘all souls of the dead’ specifies the full scope of corpses covered by the ban. The imperfect form lo yavo {לֹ֣א יָבֹא | lōʾ yā-ḇōʾ} ‘he shall not come’ and the parallel lo yittama {לֹ֥א יִטַּמָּֽא | lōʾ yit-ta-māʾ} ‘he shall not become unclean’ create a balanced negative parallelism that intensifies the prohibition. The prepositional phrases le-aviv ū-le-immo {לְאָבִ֥יו וּלְאִמּוֹ | lə-ʾā-ḇî-w ū-lə-ʾim-mōw} ‘to his father and to his mother’ demonstrate that the rule overrides closest kinship ties. Relying on the Niphal imperfect in yittama conveys a reflexive nuance, indicating the priest must refrain from any action that would render him impure. The verse’s chiastic structure and repeated negatives reinforce the absolute requirement of priestly purity. |