| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the temporal adverb terem {טֶרֶם | ṭe-rem} ‘before’, establishing a prelude to the main action. The imperfect verb yishkevu {יִשְׁכָּבוּ | yiš-kā-vû} ‘they lie down’ refers implicitly to Lot’s guests and anchors the narrative timing. The coordinated construct phrase ve-anshei ha-ʿir {וְאַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר | wə-ʾan-šê hā-ʿîr} ‘and the men of the city’, immediately apposed by anshei Sedom {אַנְשֵׁי סְדֹם | ʾan-šê sə-ḏōm} ‘the men of Sodom’, heightens identification and collective agency. The perfect verb nasabu {נָסַבּוּ | nā-sab-bû} ‘they surrounded’ conveys the decisive hostile action, with ʿal-hab-bayit {עַל־הַבַּיִת | ʿal-hab-bayit} ‘around the house’ specifying the target. The merism minnaar ve-ʿad-zaken {מִנַּעַר וְעַד־זָקֵן | min-naʿar wə-ʿaḏ-zā-qēn} ‘from youth and up to old’ expresses full generational inclusion, reinforced by kol-ha-ʿam {כָּל־הָעָם | kāl-hā-ʿām} ‘all the people’ and mi-qatseh {מִקָּצֶה | miq-qā-ṣeh} ‘from the end’, an idiom for every quarter. In translation, clauses are segmented to preserve Hebrew’s cumulative emphasis while ensuring English readability. |