וְה֥וּא

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְה֥וּא

   ve-HU

   and he
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וְה֥וּא יֹשֵׁ֖ב

   ve-HU yo-SHEV

   and he was dwelling
3. clause🔊 וְה֥וּא יֹשֵׁ֖ב בִּסְדֹֽם׃

   ve-HU yo-SHEV bis-DOM

   and he was dwelling in Sodom
4. sentence🔊 וַיִּקְח֨וּ אֶת־ל֧וֹט וְאֶת־רְכֻשׁ֛וֹ בֶּן־אֲחִ֥י אַבְרָ֖ם וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּ וְה֥וּא יֹשֵׁ֖ב בִּסְדֹֽם׃

   va-yik-KHU et-LOT ve-et-re-khu-SHO ben-a-KHI av-RAM va-ye-LE-khu ve-HU yo-SHEV bis-DOM

   {And} they took Lot son of the brother of Abram and his possessions {And} they went and he was dwelling in Sodom

Exegesis

The clause vehu yoshev bisdom {וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בִּסְדֹם | wə·hûʾ yô·šēḇ bis·ḏōm} is a circumstantial construction: the independent pronoun vehu ‘and he’ plus the participle yoshev ‘dwelling’ describes Lot’s ongoing situation “while / since he was dwelling in Sodom.” This participial clause explains the circumstances leading to his capture rather than introducing a new event. In translation, the sequential wayyiqtol verbs are rendered with simple past forms (“took,” “went away”), while the circumstantial nuance of the participle is reflected with causal connectors (“for,” “since”) to make explicit the explanatory relationship implied by the Hebrew syntax.