| 11. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayikchu {וַיִּקְחוּ | way-yiq-ḥû} ‘and they took’, a wayyiqtol verbal form that continues the past narrative sequence, presenting a fresh event in the ongoing campaign. The direct object marker ʾet {אֵת | ʾēṯ} introduces the first object phrase kol rekhush Sedom vaAmorah {כָּל־רְכֻשׁ סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה | kāl-rə-ḵuš sə-dōm wa-ʿă-mō-rāh}, where kol forms a quantifying construct-like relationship with rekhush, indicating “all the property,” and Sedom and Amorah specify whose property is taken. The second coordinated object, veʾet kol okhlam {וְאֶת־כָּל־אָכְלָם | wə-ʾet kāl-ʾā-ḵəl-ām}, parallels the first but focuses on basic sustenance, “all their food,” distinguished from general goods. The repetition of ʾet + kol foregrounds the totality of loss across two semantic domains: wealth and provisions. The closing verb vayelekhu {וַיֵּלֵכוּ | way-yē-lē-ḵû} functions as a simple narrative closure clause, marking the raiders’ withdrawal after stripping the cities. In English, the two coordinated object phrases are preserved with parallel structure (“all the property … and all their food”), while the final wayyiqtol is rendered “they departed” / “then left” to convey narrative sequence and completion of the action. |