| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the wayyiqtol verb vayetse {וַיֵּצֵא | way-yē-ṣēʾ} “and he went out,” which initiates a new narrative event and is followed by a chain of coordinated subjects that together function as a plural actor. Each subject is expressed as a nominal phrase “king of X”: melech Sedom {מֶֽלֶךְ־סְדֹם | me-leḵ-sə-ḏōm}, umelech Amorah {וּמֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמֹרָ֗ה | û-me-leḵ ʿă-mō-rāh}, umelech Admah {וּמֶ֤לֶךְ אַדְמָה֙ | û-me-leḵ ʾaḏ-māh}, umelech Tsevoyim {וּמֶ֣לֶךְ צביים צְבוֹיִ֔ם | û-me-leḵ ṣə-ḇō-yim}, and umelech Bela {וּמֶ֥לֶךְ בֶּ֖לַע | û-me-leḵ be-laʿ}. The repeated conjunction waw (“and”) links these clauses paratactically, building a picture of several city-state rulers acting in concert. The pronoun hi {הִוא | hîʾ} with Tsoar {צֹעַר | ṣō-ʿar} forms an appositional clarification “it is Zoar,” identifying Bela with a secondary name; this aside is embedded parenthetically within the subject chain. After the long subject sequence, the narrative shifts to the plural wayyiqtol vayaarkhu {וַיַּֽעַרְכוּ | way-ya-ʿar-ḵû} “and they arranged,” marking all the previously listed kings as a unified group who form up in military order. The prepositional phrase ittam {אִתָּם | ʾit-tām} “with them” indicates the opposing coalition they confront, while milchamah {מִלְחָמָה | mil-ḥā-māh} functions as the direct object, specifying that this formation is for full-scale warfare. The closing locative phrase beʿemeq hasidim {בְּעֵמֶק הַשִּׂדִּים | bə-ʿē-meq haś-śid-dîm} is a construct chain “in the valley of Siddim” that supplies the battlefield setting and provides the verse’s final focus. In English, the extended list of kings is preserved but smoothed into a single composite subject (“the king of…”) so that the shift from singular “went out” to plural “drew up” or “prepared” is clear. The appositional note on Bela/Zoar is maintained in parentheses to mirror the Hebrew aside, and the geographic phrase “in the Valley of Siddim” is kept at the end of the sentence to parallel the Hebrew emphasis on the place of conflict. |