Leviticus 12:2
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אִשָּׁה֙ כִּ֣י תַזְרִ֔יעַ וְיָלְדָ֖ה זָכָ֑ר וְטָֽמְאָה֙ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֔ים כִּימֵ֛י נִדַּ֥ת דְּוֹתָ֖הּ תִּטְמָֽא׃
1. Transliteration
Dabbēr ʾel-benê Yisraʾel lēʾmōr: ʾishshāh kî tazrîaʿ veyāledāh zākhār, veṭāmʾāh shivʿat yāmîm; kîmê niddat devōtāh tiṭmāʾ.
2. Literal Translation
Speak to the sons of Yisraʾel, saying: “When a woman conceives seed and bears a male, then she shall be ritually unclean seven days; like the days of the impurity of her monthly condition, she shall be ritually unclean.”
3. Grammar Focus: The Conditional Pattern כִּי Introduces the Case
This verse introduces a legal or ritual case with the word כִּי. In this setting, כִּי does not simply mean “because.” It functions like:
“when” or “if.”
The pattern is:
אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ וְיָלְדָה זָכָר
Literally:
“A woman, when she conceives seed and bears a male…”
Then the result follows:
וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
“then she shall be ritually unclean seven days.”
For beginners, this is important: Biblical Hebrew law often presents a case first, then gives the ruling.
4. The Legal Flow of the Verse
| Hebrew Phrase | Grammar Feature | Meaning Flow |
|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | Command formula | The instruction is addressed to the sons of Yisraʾel. |
| אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ | Case condition | The situation is introduced: when a woman conceives. |
| וְיָלְדָה זָכָר | Sequential action | The birth of a male child completes the case. |
| וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים | Result clause | The ritual status lasts seven days. |
| כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ | Comparison phrase | The period is compared to the days of menstrual impurity. |
5. Vocabulary Builder: Speaking, Conceiving, Bearing, Ritual Status
| Hebrew Word | Pronunciation | Core Root & Meaning | Ancient Concrete Insight |
|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּר | dabbēr | Root ד־ב־ר, “speak” | The command begins with formal speech that carries instruction. |
| תַזְרִיעַ | tazrîaʿ | Root ז־ר־ע, “seed, sow, conceive seed” | The verb uses seed imagery to describe conception. |
| יָלְדָה | yāledāh | Root י־ל־ד, “bear, give birth” | Birth is described with the common Hebrew root for bringing forth a child. |
| זָכָר | zākhār | “male” | The noun identifies the child’s sex within the ritual ruling. |
| וְטָמְאָה | veṭāmʾāh | Root ט־מ־א, “be ritually unclean” | This describes ritual status, not moral guilt. |
| נִדַּת | niddat | Related to separation or menstrual impurity | The phrase connects the childbirth period to a known ritual category. |
6. Syntax Insight: Hebrew Moves from Command to Case to Ruling
The verse is carefully arranged:
Command to speak
↓
Case introduced by כִּי
↓
Ritual ruling and time period
This structure is common in Torah instruction. The verse first tells Mosheh to speak, then introduces the situation, then gives the legal result.
For beginners, this makes the verse easier to follow: do not try to read it as one abstract sentence. Read it as an instruction pattern.
7. Grammar Pattern: The Comparison Prefix כְּ Means “Like”
The phrase:
כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ
begins with כְּ, which means “like” or “as.” Here it appears attached to יְמֵי, “days of,” producing כִּימֵי, “like the days of.”
| Form | Part | Function |
|---|---|---|
| כְּ־ | comparison prefix | “like / as” |
| יְמֵי | construct noun | “days of” |
| נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ | noun chain | “the impurity of her monthly condition” |
Hebrew often uses a tiny prefix to create a whole comparison.
8. Beginner Practice Activity: Match the Legal Grammar
Match each Hebrew form with its role in the verse.
| Hebrew Form | Your Discovery |
|---|---|
| כִּי | Introduces the case or ends the verse? |
| תַזְרִיעַ | Conceives seed or speaks a command? |
| כִּימֵי | Means “like the days of” or “from the city of”? |
Click to Reveal the Scribal Answer
Answer:
כִּי introduces the case: “when/if.”
תַזְרִיעַ means “she conceives seed.”
כִּימֵי means “like the days of.”
Together, these forms help the reader see how Hebrew builds ritual instruction through condition, action, and comparison.
Seeing the Case-and-Ruling Pattern in Torah Hebrew
This verse is a strong example of how Torah Hebrew organizes legal instruction. It does not begin with abstract theory. It gives a speech command, then a real-life case, then the ritual ruling.
The grammar is practical and ordered. כִּי opens the situation, תַזְרִיעַ and יָלְדָה describe the event, and וְטָמְאָה gives the resulting ritual status.
For beginners, this verse teaches that Biblical Hebrew law often moves in a clear rhythm: speak, case, action, result, comparison. Once you see that structure, the sentence becomes much easier to read.
