| 9. Linguistic Exegesis The initial vav-consecutive veshamru {וְשָׁמְרוּ | wə-šam-rû} ‘and they shall keep’ establishes the sequential covenant command. The particle et {אֶת־ | ’et} marks mishmarti {מִשְׁמַרְתִּי | miš-mar-tî} ‘my charge’ as the direct object. The negative clause velo yis’u alav chet {וְלֹא־יִשְׂאוּ עָלָיו חֵטְא | wə-lō yiś-’û ’ă-lāy-w ḥē-ṭā} uses the imperfect yis’u ‘they will bear’ with the prepositional suffix alav and noun chet to describe bearing sin. The next vav-consecutive in umetu {וּמֵתוּ | ū-mê-tû} ‘and they will die’ links the consequence, with the locative bo {ב֖וֹ | bō} ‘in it.’ The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the causal Piel imperfect yechalleluhu {יְחַלְּלֻהוּ | yə-ḥal-le-lû-hû} ‘they profane it,’ highlighting intentional desecration. Finally, the clause ani Yahweh mekaddesham {אֲנִי יְהוָה מְקַדְּשָׁם | ’ă-nî Yə-hō-wāh mə-qa-dda-šām} asserts divine identity and ongoing sanctification. The formal version preserves Hebrew word order and vav-consecutives for legal precision, while the dynamic version streamlines the sequence for clarity without losing the causal flow between obligation, profanation, and divine sanctification. |