| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs three parallel prohibitions introduced by the negative particle lo {לֹ֣א | lōʾ} ‘not’, each followed by an imperfect verbal clause: the Qal yikrekhu {יִקְרְחוּ | yiqrəḥû} ‘they shall make bald’, the Piel yegallēḥû {יְגַלֵּחוּ | yəgallēḥû} ‘they shall shave’, and the Qal yisretu {יִשְׂרְטּוּ | yiśrəṭṭû} ‘they shall cut’. The construct phrase pe'at zakanam {פְּאַת זְקָנָם | pəʾaṯ zəqānām} ‘edge of their beard’ specifies a precise boundary, while u-vivšārām {וּבִבְשָׂרָם | u-vivšārām} ‘and in their flesh’ marks the location of the forbidden act. The nominal objects qerchah {קָֽרְחָה | qerḥāh} ‘baldness’ and saretet {שָׂרָֽטֶת | ṣārāṭeṯ} ‘incision’ underscore the material results of the proscribed actions. This threefold parallelism, linked by conjunctions and repeated negations, emphasizes the comprehensive ban on bodily disfigurement associated with mourning or idolatrous rites. |