| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the Hifil wayyiqtol vayashqef {וַיַּשְׁקֵף | way-yaš-qēp̄} ‘and he looked out,’ depicting a deliberate act of observation. This is followed by the coordinated prepositional phrases al-penei Sodom vaamora {עַל־פְּנֵי סְדֹם וַעֲמֹרָה | ʿal pə-nê sə-ḏōm wa-ʿă-mō-rāh} ‘over the surface of Sodom and Gomorrah’ and veal kol penei erets hakikkar {וְעַל־כָּל־פְּנֵי אֶרֶץ הַכִּכָּר | wə-ʿal kāl pə-nê ʾe-reṣ hak-kik-kār} ‘and over all the surface of the land of the plain,’ expanding the view from specific cities to the entire region. The narrative then moves with vayyar {וַיַּרְא | way-yarʾ} ‘and he saw’ paired with vehineh {וְהִנֵּה | wə-hin-nēh} ‘and behold,’ signaling a sudden revelation. The verb-first construction ʿalah kitor haarets {עָלָה קִיטֹר הָאָרֶץ | ʿā-lāh qî-ṭōr hā-ʾā-reṣ} ‘went up smoke of the land’ accentuates the rising motion. The simile kekitor hakivshan {כְּקִיטֹר הַכִּבְשָׁן | kə-qî-ṭōr ha-kib-šān} ‘like the smoke of the furnace’ heightens the destructive imagery. The formal reconstruction retains the coordinated structure and the phrase “and behold” to mirror the Hebrew pacing, while the dynamic version restructures into two sentences for brisk, contemporary impact. |