| 30. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’, continuing the dialogue chain between Abraham and the Lord. The entreaty construction ʾal-na {אַל־נָא | ʾal-nāʾ} ‘please do not’ combines a negative of entreaty with a politeness particle, softening the request. The verb yichar {יִחַר | yi-ḥar} ‘let it burn’ is a Qal imperfect used jussively, idiomatically referring to anger flaring; together with the indirect object laAdonai {לַֽאדֹנָי | la-ʾă-ḏō-nāy} ‘to my Lord’, the sense is “may my Lord’s anger not burn.” The cohortative va’adabbera {וַאֲדַבֵּרָה | wa-ʾă-dab-bē-rāh} ‘and let me speak’ signals Abraham’s self-effacing resolve to continue speaking despite the risk. The particle ulai {אוּלַי | ʾû-lay} ‘perhaps’ introduces a concessive-conditional nuance, and the Niphal imperfect yimmatse’un {יִמָּצְאוּן | yim-mā-ṣə-ʾûn} ‘they may be found’ presents the righteous as a group whose presence might emerge within the city. The adverb sham {שָׁם | šām} and numeral sheloshim {שְׁלֹשִׁים | šə-lō-šîm} ‘thirty’ define the location and specific count at this stage of the negotiation. The repetition of vayomer {וַיֹּאמֶר | way-yō-mer} ‘and he said’ marks the responsive divine turn. In the reply, lo e’eseh {לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה | lōʾ ʾe-ʿe-śeh} ‘I will not do’ is conditioned by im emtsa {אִם־אֶמְצָא | ʾim-ʾem-ṣāʾ} ‘if I find’, forming a clear conditional protasis and apodosis, with sham sheloshim {שָׁם שְׁלֹשִׁים | šām šə-lō-šîm} again specifying “there, thirty.” The Hebrew discourse structure alternates respectful human petition with concise divine assurances, progressively narrowing the number while maintaining the pattern of conditional mercy. |