| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The narrative uses the waw-consecutive wayya‘an {וַיַּ֜עַן | wayya‘an} “and he answered” followed by an appositional subject chain ha-’îš ha-lēwî {הָאִ֣ישׁ הַלֵּוִ֗י | ha-’îš ha-lēwî} “the man, the Levite,” then the participial phrase ū-pîlāgšî ha-niṛṣāḥâ {וּפִֽילַגְשִׁי הַנִּרְצָחָה | ū-pîlāgšî ha-niṛṣāḥâ} “and my concubine, the murdered woman.” The second waw-consecutive wayyō’mer {וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | wayyō’mer} “and he said” introduces direct speech. The locative expression ha-gībāṯâ ’ăšer lĕ-binyāmîn {הַגִּבְעָתָה אֲשֶׁר לְבִנְיָמִ֔ן | ha-gībāṯâ ’ăšer lĕ-binyāmîn} specifies the town in Benjamin’s territory using the directional he and a relative clause. Finally, the infinitive lālûn functions as a purpose clause indicating intent “to lodge.” English rendering coordinates the actions to preserve clarity and purpose. |