| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The verse unfolds as part of a rapid narrative dialogue marked by repeated wayyiqtol forms: vayosef {וַיֹּסֶף | way-yō-sef} ‘and he continued/added’ and vayomar {וַיֹּאמַר | way-yō-mar; וַיֹּאמֶר} ‘and he said’ advance the conversation in small, incremental steps. The sequence ‘od {עוֹד | ʿôḏ} plus the infinitive ledabber {לְדַבֵּר | lə-dab-bēr} forms an idiomatic construction, “to continue to speak again,” highlighting Abraham’s persistence without breaking the respectful tone of the exchange. The particle ulai {אוּלַי | ʾû-lay} introduces a tentative, almost hesitant proposal, while the Niphal yimmatse’un {יִמָּצְאוּן | yim-mā-tsə-ʾûn} ‘might be found’ presents the presence of forty as a hoped-for possibility rather than a presumed fact. The adverb sham {שָׁם | šām} anchors the location in the threatened city, and the numeral arbaʿim {אַרְבָּעִים | ʾar-ba-ʿîm} fits into the descending numerical pattern of the broader passage. The second clause begins again with vayomer, now introducing the divine response, with lo ʾeʿeseh {לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה | lō ʾe-ʿe-seh} ‘I will not do’ leaving the object implicit but clearly referring to the planned destruction. The preposition baʿavur {בַּעֲבוּר | ba-ʿă-vur} ‘for the sake of’ introduces the basis on which judgment is withheld: the existence of the forty. In English, it is natural to divide the long Hebrew chain into two sentences that preserve the alternating pattern of human plea and divine answer, while clarifying the implied object of “do” in the dynamic rendering as “destroy it” to reflect the context of threatened judgment. |