| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the narrative preterite vayashev {וַיָּשֶׁב | way-yā-šeb} ‘and he brought back’, a Hiphil wayyiqtol form that advances the storyline and presents Abram’s action as decisive. This verb governs the first direct object chain marked by et {אֵת | ʾēt} ‘direct object marker’, namely kol-harekhush {כָּל־הָרְכֻשׁ | kāl-hā-rə-ḵuš} ‘all the possessions’, where kol in construct with a definite noun expresses totality. The clause then adds a coordinated and emphatic sequence introduced by vegam {וְגַם | wə-gam} ‘and also’, followed by et-lot {אֶת־לוֹט | ʾeṯ-lōṭ} ‘Lot’ and the appositional achiv {אָחִיו | ʾā-ḥîw} ‘his brother’, emphasizing the familial restoration. The further coordination u-rekhusho {וּרְכֻשׁוֹ | û-rə-ḵuš-šō} ‘and his possessions’ extends the scope of recovery from person to property. The second Hiphil perfect heshiv {הֵשִׁיב | hē-šîḇ} ‘he brought back’ restates and reinforces the restorative action, likely highlighting the return of Lot and his belongings as a focal point. A final coordinated unit introduced again by vegam adds et-ha-nashim {אֶת־הַנָּשִׁים | ʾeṯ-han-nā-šîm} ‘the women’ and ve-et-ha-am {וְאֶת־הָעָם | wə-ʾeṯ-hā-ʿām} ‘the people’, both marked with et, rounding out the exhaustive list. The paratactic structure with repeated conjunctions and objects creates an effect of complete restoration, mirrored in English by the series of “and” and “also” to preserve the Hebrew’s emphatic accumulation. |