And the man prepared to depart, but his father-in-law urged him strongly; so he turned back and spent the night there (וַיִּשְׁשׁ הָאִישׁ וַיָּלֶךְ וַיִּשְׁמְרוּ עַד־הָעֶרֶב וַיִּשְׁתְּקוּ־גַם־זֶה מַה־עֲלֵיהֶם) — the back-and-forth delays continue; the Levite is repeatedly urged to stay and repeatedly succumbs. The repetition of this cycle of attempted departure and enforced hospitality suggests either the power of social obligation or the Levite's own reluctance to depart, using the father's persistence as an excuse to remain. Evening falls, and another night passes in hospitality and presumably intimate reunion with the concubine.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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