| 13. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conditional marker kî {כִּי | kî} ‘if/when’, introducing a legal stipulation. The subject phrase ū-vat-kō-hên {וּבַת־כֹּהֵן֩ | ū-vat-kō-hên} ‘and the daughter of a priest’ appears first, followed by the imperfect form tî-hyêh {תִהְיֶ֜ה | tî-hyêh} ‘she will be’ agreeing in gender and number. The coordinated statuses al-mānâh û-gerûšâh {אַלְמָנָ֣ה וּגְרוּשָׁ֗ה | al-mānâh û-gerûšâh} ‘widow or divorced’ define her condition. The absolute clause vê-zerāʿ ʾên lāh {וְזֶרַע֮ אֵ֣ין לָהּ֒ | vê-zerāʿ ʾên lāh} ‘and offspring none to her’ emphasizes the absence of descendants. The sequence vê-šā-bâh ʾel-bêt ʾā-vî-hâ kên-ʿû-rê-hâ {וְשָׁבָ֞ה אֶל־בֵּ֤ית אָבִ֙יהָ֙ כִּנְעוּרֶ֔יהָ | vê-šā-bâh ʾel-bêt ʾā-vî-hâ kên-ʿû-rê-hâ} ‘and she returns to her father’s house as in her youth’ employs the comparative element kî within kên-ʿû-rê-hâ. The permission clause millê-ḥem ʾā-vî-hâ tō-ʾē-kel {מִלֶּ֥חֶם אָבִ֖יהָ תֹּאכֵ֑ל | millê-ḥem ʾā-vî-hâ tō-ʾē-kel} ‘from the bread of her father she may eat’ places the object before the verb for topical emphasis. Finally, the prohibition vê-kôl-zār lō-yō-ʾē-kal bô {וְכָל־זָ֖ר לֹא־יֹאכַל בּֽוֹ׃ | vê-kôl-zār lō-yō-ʾē-kal bô} ‘and any outsider shall not eat in it’ delineates the boundary of the sacred provision. The English rendition mirrors the Hebrew legal structure and retains the temporal, comparative, and emphatic nuances for clarity. |