| 3. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew opens with the vav-conjunction ve {וְ | wə} linking this exception to the preceding priestly purity laws. The prepositional phrase ve-la-akho-to {וְלַאֲחֹתוֹ | wə-la-ʾă-ḥō-ṯô} ‘and for his sister’ sets the beneficiary. The noun phrase ha-bə-tû-lāh ha-qə-rō-vāh {הַבְּתוּלָה הַקְּרוֹבָה | ha-bə-tû-lāh ha-qə-rō-vāh} ‘the virgin who is closely related’ is modified by the relative clause ʾă-šer lō-hā-yə-ṯāh lə-ʾîš {אֲשֶׁר לֹא־הָיְתָה לְאִישׁ | ʾă-šer lō-hā-yə-ṯāh lə-ʾîš} ‘who has not been to a man,’ which uses the Qal perfect to denote completed action. The final verb yiṭ-ṭam-māʾ {יִטַּמָּא | yiṭ-ṭam-māʾ} in Qal imperfect conveys a normative requirement. The clause-initial preposition lā-ḥ {לָהּ | lā-ḥ} ‘for her’ foregrounds the family relationship and highlights the conditional allowance for ritual impurity. English rendering preserves legal structure while maintaining natural flow and emphasis on kinship and purity. |