And his master said to him: 'We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel; we shall pass on to Gibeah' (וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אִישׁוֹ לֹא־נָסוּר אֶל־עִיר־נָכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לוֹא מִבְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא וְנַעֲבַר עַד־גִּבְעָה) — the Levite refuses to lodge with ``foreigners'' (נָכְרִי), insisting on proceeding to Gibeah, an Israelite city in Benjamin. His determination to remain among his own people despite the late hour and approaching darkness suggests tribal consciousness and loyalty to Israelite territory. Yet his decision to continue traveling at night proves fatally consequential.

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