| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the conditional conjunction veki {וְכִֽי | wə-ḵî} ‘and when’, introducing a protasis about a Levite’s movement. The verb yavo {יָבֹא | yā-ḇōʾ} appears before its subject ha-levi {הַלֵּוִי | ha-lē-wî}, emphasizing the action-first word order typical of Hebrew narrative. The locative expressions me-’achad she-areikha {מֵאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ | mē-ʾă-ḥaḏ šə-ʿā-rê-ḵā} ‘from one of your gates’ and mi-kol Yisra-el {מִכָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל | miḵ-kōl yiś-rā-ʾēl} ‘from all Israel’ form a genitive construct specifying origin. The relative clause asher hu gar sham {אֲשֶׁר־הוּא גָּר שָׁם | ʾă-šer hūʾ gār šām} ‘where he sojourns’ links residence to the ensuing action. The phrase u-va be-khol a-vat nafsho {וּבָא בְּכָל־אַוַּת נַפְשׁוֹ | ū-bāʾ bə-ḵōl ʾă-vat nap̄-šōʾ} conveys total volition by combining preposition and noun. The final subordinate clause el ha-makom asher yivchar Yahweh {אֶל־הַמָּקֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַר יְהוָה | ʾel ha-mā-qōm ʾă-šer yiv-ḥar Yəhōwāh} presents the LORD’s sovereign choice of a central sanctuary. |