והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני. על כן אמרתי לכם ולא תטמאו והוי״ו כפ״א רפה בלשון ישמעאל וכן ויעזוב את עבדיו ורבים כמוהו: YE SHALL THEREFORE BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY. Hence I told you neither shall ye defile yourselves (v. 44). The vav132In vi-heyitem (ye shall therefore be). is similar to the unaspirated fah in Arabic.133It does not always serve as a connective. See I.E. on Gen. 1:2 (Vol. 1, p. 30). In other words, vi-heyitem kedoshim is not a continuation of the first half of the verse. It is an independent clause. Similarly the vav in va-ya’azov (left) in left his servants (Ex. 9:21).134Va-ya’azov (left) in Ex. 9:21 is to be rendered as left, not and he left. There are many such instances.135Where the vav has the meaning of an unaspirated fah in Arabic.