| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative sequence is driven by the vav-consecutive imperfect verbs vayelekhu {וַיֵּלְכוּ | wayyeleḵû} “and they went,” vayar {וַיַּרְא | wayyār’} “and he saw,” vayipen {וַיִּפֶן | wayyipen} “and he turned,” and vayashav {וַיָּשָׁב | wayyāšāḇ} “and he returned,” preserving a linear progression typical of Hebrew storytelling. The construct phrase benei-dan {בְנֵי־דָן | bə-nē dān} identifies the group by tribal lineage, while ledarkam {לְדַרְכָּם | lə-dārqām} forms a prepositional phrase denoting purposeful movement. The comparative clause ki chazaqim hemmah mimmennu {כִּי־חֲזָקִים הֵמָּה מִמֶּנּוּ | kî ḥăzāqîm hēmāh mimmennû} uses chazaqim “strong” plus a min‐construction to express “stronger than him.” Sequential clauses express Micah’s response and withdrawal. English renders the Hebrew verbs in past tense for clarity without obscuring the temporal and causal relationships encoded by the vav‐consecutive. |