| 40. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the vav-consecutive marker ulekhakhtem {וּלְקַחְתֶּ֨ם | ulə-qaḥ-ṯem} ‘and you shall take’, which introduces a ritual directive. The temporal phrase bayom ha-rishon {בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשֹׁון | ba-yôm hā-rī-šōn} ‘on the first day’ frames the festival occasion. The subsequent coordinated list pri ets ha-dar {פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר | pə-rî ʿêṣ hā-dār}, kappot te-mārim {כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים | kap-pôt tə-mā-rîm}, va-ʿanaf ets-ʿā-ḇōṯ {וַעֲנַף עֵץ־עָבֹת | va-ʿă-naf ʿêṣ-ʿā-ḇōṯ}, and wə-ʿar-vê-nā-ḥāl {וְעַרְבֵי־נָחַל | wə-ʿar-vê-nā-ḥāl} forms a meristic enumeration of festival flora. The command u-sə-maḥ-ṯem lif-nê Yə-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê-ḵem {וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם | u-sə-maḥ-ṯem lif-nê Yə-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê-ḵem} ‘and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God’ links communal joy to divine presence. The concluding construct šî-ḇāʿt yā-mîm {שִׁבְעַת יָמִים | šî-ḇāʿt yā-mîm} ‘seven days’ specifies the period of observance. Hebrew construct chains and vav coordination create a formal list structure that is mirrored in the English translation. |