| 27. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with vayashkem {וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֥ם | wayyaš-qēm} ‘and he rose early,’ a vav-consecutive Hifil imperfect that propels the narrative forward. The temporal expression baboqer {בַּבֹּקֶר | bab-bō-qer} ‘in the morning’ underscores Abraham’s diligence. The prepositional phrase el hamakom {אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם | ʾel-ham-mā-qôm} ‘to the place’ returns the focus to a specific site previously introduced in Genesis 18. The embedded relative clause asher-amad-sham {אֲשֶׁר־עָמַד שָׁם | ʾă-šer-ʿā-mad šām} ‘where he had stood there’ ties the current action to Abraham’s earlier intercession. Finally, et-p'nei Yahweh {אֶת־פְּנֵי יְהוָה | ʾeṯ-pə-nê Yə-hō-wāh} conveys the Hebrew idiom ‘stood in the presence of the LORD,’ combining the direct object marker with the construct ‘face of Yahweh’ to emphasize intimate proximity during prayer. |