| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal construction u-kemo {וּכְמוֹ | û-kə-mô} + ha-shakhar {הַשַּׁחַר | haš-šā-ḥar} + ʿā-lāh {עָלָה | ʿā-lāh}, “and as the dawn rose,” setting a morning scene. The wayyiqtol form wa-yā-ʾî-ṣû {וַיָּאִ֥יצוּ | wa-yā-ʾî-ṣû} then conveys urgent action by ha-mal-ʾā-kîm {הַמַּלְאָכִים | ham-mal-ʾā-kîm}. The prepositional phrase bə-lôṭ {בְּלוֹט | bə-lôṭ} marks Lot as the recipient of the command, and lē-ʾmōr {לֵאמֹר | lē-ʾmōr} introduces direct speech. Inside the speech, the imperatives qûm {קוּם | qûm} + qaḥ {קַח | qaḥ} heighten immediacy. The objects ʾeṯ-ʾiš-tə-ḵā {אֶת־אִשְׁתְּךָ | ʾeṯ-ʾiš-tə-ḵā} + wə-ʾeṯ-štê bə-nō-ṯe-ḵā {וְאֶת־שְׁתֵּי בְנֹתֶיךָ | wə-ʾeṯ-štê bə-nō-ṯe-ḵā}, modified by han-nim-ṣā-ʾōṯ {הַנִּמְצָאֹת | han-nim-ṣā-ʾōṯ}, focus on those present. The warning clause pen-tis-sā-peh {פֶּן־תִּסָּפֶה | pen-tis-sā-peh} uses the Niphal imperfect to signal a threatened passive result. The prepositional phrase ba-ʿa-vōn hā-ʿîr {בַּעֲוֺן הָעִיר | ba-ʿa-vōn hā-ʿîr} ties this threatened removal to the city’s collective guilt and implicit divine punishment. This structure preserves Hebrew narrative momentum and purpose clause logic. |