| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the vav-consecutive imperfect verb vayye’asefu {وַיֵּאָסְפוּ | way-ye-ʾā-sĕ-p̄u} ‘and they gathered’, marking sequential narrative action. It is followed by the construct phrase b’nei binyamin {בְנֵי־בִנְיָמִן | bĕ-nê ḇin-ya-min} ‘sons of Benjamin’, identifying the tribal subject. The prepositional clause min he’arim {מִן־הֶעָרִים | min-hê-ʿārîm} ‘from the cities’ specifies points of origin. The destination is expressed by haggîḇ‘āṯāh {הַגִּבְעָ֑תָה | ha-ggîv-‘ā-ṯā} ‘to Gibeah’, featuring a prefixed article plus locative-suffix he on a feminine noun. Two infinitive constructs lā-ṣēʾṯ {לָצֵ֥את | lā-ṣēʾṯ} ‘to go out’ and la-milḥāmah {לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה | la-mil-ḥā-mah} ‘to battle’ function as purpose clauses. Finally, ʿim b’nei yisrā’ēl {עִם־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל | ʿim bĕ-nê yi-srā-’ēl} ‘with the sons of Israel’ designates opponents. This tightly ordered sequence underscores collective mobilization toward armed conflict, a hallmark of Hebrew narrative progression. |