וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ ׀ גֶּשׁ־הָ֗לְאָה וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ הָאֶחָ֤ד בָּֽא־לָגוּר֙ וַיִּשְׁפֹּ֣ט שָׁפ֔וֹט עַתָּ֕ה נָרַ֥ע לְךָ֖ מֵהֶ֑ם וַיִּפְצְר֨וּ בָאִ֤ישׁ בְּלוֹט֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּגְּשׁ֖וּ לִשְׁבֹּ֥ר הַדָּֽלֶת׃
But they said, “Stand back! The fellow,” they said, “came here as an alien, and already he acts the ruler! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they pressed hard against the man—against Lot—and moved forward to break the door.
(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ, by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this introduction, pp. 11–16.)
This is a prototypical (and therefore readily understood) usage of the situating noun: its use in the definite noun phrase profiles its referent in terms of the given situation. The situating noun is preferred when schematically updating a previously depicted situation.
The situating noun and the name are in apposition as labels for the same party. Hebrew idiom requires that the governing preposition be repeated on the apposed term, whereas English does not usually do so.
Here the label אִישׁ treats the referent as a point of reference for describing a new situation in terms of the previous one. It also profiles Lot in terms of his definitive role in these situations. Leading with the label אִישׁ (rather than his name) calls attention to the fact that the situation is rapidly escalating; it is evolving around him.
As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘the person of Lot’ projects the meaning contribution of אִישׁ from the discourse level onto the informational level. It is not defensible as the plain sense, because a more conventional construal is readily available. (Meanwhile, the NRSV ‘the man Lot’ seems mechanical and awkward, as a matter of English idiom.)
Rather, splitting up the prepositional phrase at least enables us to employ ‘man’ in its classical situating function, and as a reference-point indicator (“they pressed hard against the man”), without interference from the accompanying mention of his name.