וְאֵ֥ין

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 וְאֵ֥ין

   ve-EN

   and there was not
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 וְאֵ֥ין אִ֛ישׁ

   ve-EN ISH

   and there was not a man
3. clause🔊 וַיָּבֹ֗א וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וְאֵ֥ין אִ֛ישׁ מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם הַבַּ֖יְתָה לָלֽוּן׃

   va-ya-VO va-ye-SHEV bir-khov ha-IR ve-EN ISH me-as-SEF-O-tam ha-BAI-ta la-LUN

   and he came and he sat in the open square of the city and there was not a man gathering them in to the house to lodge
4. sentence🔊 וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ שָׁ֔ם לָב֖וֹא לָל֣וּן בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה וַיָּבֹ֗א וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וְאֵ֥ין אִ֛ישׁ מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם הַבַּ֖יְתָה לָלֽוּן׃

   va-ya-SU-ru SHAM la-VO la-LUN ba-giv-A va-ya-VO va-ye-SHEV bir-khov ha-IR ve-EN ISH me-as-SEF-O-tam ha-BAI-ta la-LUN

   and they turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah and he came and he sat in the open square of the city and there was not a man gathering them in to the house to lodge

Exegesis

The existential clause vəʼên ʼîš {וְאֵין אִישׁ | və-ʼên ʼîš} ‘and there was no man’ heightens exclusion, further defined by the participle məʼassēp-ʼōṯām {מְאַסֵּף־אוֹתָם | mə-ʼas-sēp-ʼō-ṯām} ‘gathering them’ and the directional infinitive habbaytāh lālûn {הַבַּיְתָה לָלוּן | hab-bāy-tāh lā-lûn} ‘into the house to spend the night’. The linked vav forms drive the narrative forward and the shift from plural to singular underscores the travelers’ vulnerability. English mirrors these features through chained infinitives and subject shift.