| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative employs vav consecutive verbs (vayasuru {וַיָּס֣וּרוּ | wayyāsûrû} ‘and they turned aside’; vayāḇō’û {וַיָּבֹ֛אוּ | wayyāḇō’û} ‘and they came’; wayyiš’əlû {וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ־ | wayyiš’əlû} ‘and they asked’) to advance sequential actions. The construct chain bêyt hannā‘ar hallēwî (bêyt {בֵּֽית־ | bêyt} ‘house of’ + hannā‘ar {הַנַּ֥עַר | hannā‘ar} ‘the youth’ + hallēwî {הַלֵּוִ֖י | hallēwî} ‘the Levite’) specifies location and status. The repeated construct bêyt {בֵּ֣ית | bêyt} ‘house of’ in bêyt Mîkhāh underscores the social setting at Micah’s place. The idiom wayyiš’əlû {וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ־ | wayyiš’əlû} ‘and they asked’ with lô {ל֖וֹ | lô} ‘to him’ + lĕšālôm {לְשָׁלֽוֹם | lĕšālôm} ‘for peace’ functions as a formulaic inquiry about welfare. |