| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The clause begins with vayetse {וַיֵּצֵ֣א | way-yē-ṣēʾ} ‘and he went out,’ a Qal wayyiqtol verb that advances the narrative by marking the king of Sodom’s action. The construct chain melech-sedom {מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹם | me-lekh-sə-ḏōm} ‘king of Sodom’ binds the title to the city name. The directional infinitive likrato {לִקְרָאתוֹ | liq-rā-ʾtô} ‘to meet him’ expresses purpose. The temporal phrase acharei shuvo {אַחַרֵי שׁוּבוֹ | ʾaḥa-rē šū-ḇô} ‘after his returning’ functions as a temporal clause introduced by the preposition. Mehakot {מֵהַכּוֹת | mē-ha-kōṯ} ‘from the striking’ combines min+infinitive construct to indicate the source of the return. The coordinated objects et-kedar-laomer {אֶת-כְּדָר-לָעֹמֶר | ʾeṯ-kə-ḏār-lā-ʿō-mer} and ve-et-hamelakhim {וְאֶת-הַמְּלָכִים | wə-ʾeṯ-ham-mə-lā-kîm} are introduced by the direct object marker. The relative clause asher itto {אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ | ʾă-šer ʾit-tô} ‘who were with him’ modifies “the kings.” The prepositional phrase el emek-shaveh {אֶל עֵמֶק שָׁוֵה | ʾel ʿê-meq šā-wê} ‘to the Valley of Shaveh’ specifies the meeting place. The appositional clause hu emek hamelekh {הוּא עֵמֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ | hûʾ ʿê-meq ham-me-lekh} ‘that is the Valley of the King’ uses the independent pronoun as a copula for explanatory identification. English renders the infinitive temporal and causal nuances with “after his return from defeating” and the apposition with “which is” or “which is called.” Construct chains maintain relational sense as “Valley of Shaveh” and “Valley of the King.” |