| 23. Linguistic Exegesis The verse continues Abram’s solemn oath, with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’ functioning idiomatically as a prohibition. The merism mi-chut ve-ad serokh-naal {מִחוּט וְעַד שְׂרֽוֹךְ־נַ֔עַל | mik-ḥûṭ wə-ʿaḏ śərôḵ-naʿal} ‘from a thread to a sandal strap’ emphasizes refusal of even trivial loot. A parallel clause introduced by ve-im {וְאִם | wə-ʾim} and the imperfect e-kakh {אֶקַּח | ʾeqqaḥ} ‘I take’ broadens the scope via the partitive relative construction mi-kol a-sher lakh {מִכָּל־אֲשֶׁר־לָךְ | mik-kol ʾăšer-lāḵ} ‘from everything that is yours.’ The conjunction ve-lo tomar {וְלֹא תֹאמַר | wə-lōʾ tômar}, translated purposefully as “so that you will not say,” signals preventive intent. The emphatic pronoun a-ni {אֲנִי | ʾănî} precedes the Hifil perfect heesharti {הֶעֱשַׁרְתִּי | heʿešartî} ‘I have enriched,’ underlining the claim the king of Sodom must never assert. The Hebrew perfect and the waw-consecutive are rendered in English to preserve aspectual and logical relations. |