| 24. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with bil'aday {בִּלְעָדַי | bil-ʿā-ḏay} ‘besides me’, fronted for emphasis to mark Abram’s personal exclusion from any claim on the spoils. The following particle rak {רַק | raq} ‘only’ narrows the exception and governs the two elements that are allowed: first, the relative clause asher akhelu ha-ne'arim {אֲשֶׁר אָכְלוּ הַנְּעָרִים | ʾă-šer ʾā-ḵəlû han-ne-ʿā-rîm} “what the young men have eaten,” where the perfect verb ʾāḵəlû presents the consumption as a completed past action that cannot be returned. Second, the coordinated phrase ve-chelek ha-anashim asher hal'khu itti {וְחֵלֶק הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הָלְכוּ אִתִּי | wə-ḥē-leq hā-ʾă-nā-šîm ʾă-šer hāl-ə-ḵû ʾit-tî} is a construct-like relationship, “the share of the men who went with me,” in which the relative clause specifies which men are in view. The proper names ʿaner {עָנֵר | ʿā-nēr}, ʾeškol {אֶשְׁכֹּל | ʾeš-kōl}, and mamre {מַמְרֵא | mam-rēʾ} are placed in apposition to “the men,” identifying these allies explicitly and giving the verse a legal-list flavor. The independent pronoun hem {הֵם | hēm} before the verb yikchu {יִקְחוּ | yiq-ḥû} marks an emphatic subject, “they, they shall take,” highlighting their entitlement. The imperfect yiqḥû here has a jussive or permissive nuance, rendered as “let them take,” expressing Abram’s authorization rather than a mere prediction. English word order preserves the initial contrast by beginning with “As for me” / “I am taking nothing,” then mirrors the Hebrew by delaying the main permissive clause “let them take/have their share” until the end, preserving the climactic focus on the companions’ right to their portion. |