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Context:

Lot's oldest daughter suggests to her younger sister that they intoxicate their father and have intercourse with him.

My translation of Breishit 19:34:

"It was the morrow. The older said to the younger 'Behold, last night I lay with my father. Come, let us make our father drink wine tonight also, and come, lay with him and we will establish seed from our father.' "

Why is there a change from singular at the beginning of the verse to plural at the end, when referring to their father? It seems that the beginning of the verse, when the older is talking, should have used the plural as well.

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    It's worth noting IMO that the same speaker called him "our father" twice in the preceding verses also, but nowhere else "my father".
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented Nov 16, 2016 at 23:37

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It seems pretty clear, that when she is referring to her own action, she refers to him as her father, as it only relates to her. When she is referring to their combined action, she refers to him as their father, for it relates to both. Thank you for pointing it out.
I would add to this, as the older one is trying to convince the younger one to lay with her father, which is technically an abomination, she is telling her that she had already done it too. The abomination is laying with her father, not our father, for the fact that it's the other's father does not constitute any issue to her, just that it's her father.
Therefore though when they are discussing their general plan, they are referring to him as our father, when she refers to the actual abominable action she did, she refers to her father.

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  • I see that. But, I'm more concerned with the larger picture. The goal was to establish children for both her and her sister from their (plural) father. See, also, @msh210's comment that all the surrounding verses expresses the same action in plural. It seems that only after she had done it, does she use the singular. Your idea doesn't completely fit into the parallel language as used in other verses.
    – DanF
    Commented Nov 17, 2016 at 15:31
  • I have updated my answer to address your comment.
    – lionscribe
    Commented Nov 17, 2016 at 16:11
  • It is more sensible now, but, I would like to see some source supporting these ideas.
    – DanF
    Commented Nov 17, 2016 at 18:47

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