| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the prohibition lo taʿăsū {לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ | lōʾ taʿă-sū} ‘you shall not do’, with the noun phrase kol melakhah {כָּל־מְלָאכָה֙ | kol mə-lā-ḵā-hā} ‘all work’ as its object. The emphatic construct be’etsem hayom hazeh {בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה | bə-’e-ṭsem ha-yōm ha-zé} ‘on the very essence of this day’ intensifies the temporal setting. The conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} introduces the explanatory clause identifying yom kippurim {יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים֙ | yōm kip-pû-rîm} ‘Day of Atonements’, with hu {הוּא | hû} ‘it is’ serving as the copula. The infinitive le-ḥap̄pēr ’ălêkhem {לְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם | lə-ḥap-pēr ʿa-lê-ḵem} ‘to make atonement for you’ expresses purpose, and the prepositional phrase lifnê yəhōwāh ’ĕlōḥê-khem {לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם | li-p̄nê yə-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-ḥê-ḵem} ‘before the LORD your God’ locates the ritual within the divine presence, linking the covenant name with the divine title. |