| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect verb wayyāsûrû {וַיָּסֻרוּ | way-yā-sû-rû} ‘and they turned aside’, immediately followed by the chained infinitives lāḇōʼ {לָבוֹא | lā-ḇōʼ} ‘to enter’ and lālûn {לָלוּן | lā-lûn} ‘to spend the night’, which express purpose. The locative phrase ba-gî‘â {בַּגִּבְעָה | ba-gî-‘â} ‘in Gibeah’ establishes setting. The narrative then shifts to singular perspective with wayyāḇōʼ {וַיָּבֹא | way-yā-ḇōʼ} ‘and he came’ and wayyēšeḇ {וַיֵּשֶׁב | way-yē-šeḇ} ‘and he sat’, focusing on the principal actor. The expression birrāḥōv hā‘îr {בִּרְחֹב הָעִיר | bir-rā-ḥōv hā-‘îr} ‘in the open square of the city’ denotes a public gathering place. 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. |