1 And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;
2 and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.
3 And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man `is' with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth to meet him.
4 And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.
5 And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, `Support thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'
6 And they sit and eat both of them together, and drink, and the father of the young woman saith unto the man, `Be willing, I pray thee, and lodge all night, and let thy heart be glad.'
7 And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.
8 And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman saith, `Support, I pray thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the day, and they eat, both of them.
9 And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'
10 And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It `is' Jerusalem), and with him `are' a couple of asses saddled; and his concubine `is' with him.
11 They `are' near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down, and the young man saith unto his lord, `Come, I pray thee, and we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge in it.'
12 And his lord saith unto him, `Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'
13 And he saith to his young man, `Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'
14 And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goeth in upon them near Gibeah, which is to Benjamin;
15 and they turn aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah, and he goeth in and sitteth in a broad place of the city, and there is no man gathering them into the house to lodge.
16 And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man `is' of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he `is' a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place `are' Benjamites.
17 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith, `Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'
18 And he saith unto him, `We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah unto the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim -- thence I `am', and I go unto Beth-Lehem-Judah; and to the house of Jehovah I am going, and there is no man gathering me into the house,
19 and both straw and provender are for our asses, and also bread and wine there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man with thy servants; there is no lack of anything.'
20 And the old man saith, `Peace to thee; only, all thy lack `is' on me, only in the broad place lodge not.'
21 And he bringeth him in to his house, and mixeth `food' for the asses, and they wash their feet, and eat and drink.
22 They are making their heart glad, and lo, men of the city, men -- sons of worthlessness -- have gone round about the house, beating on the door, and they speak unto the old man, the master of the house, saying, `Bring out the man who hath come unto thine house, and we know him.'
23 And the man, the master of the house, goeth out unto them, and saith unto them, `Nay, my brethren, do not evil, I pray you, after that this man hath come in unto my house, do not this folly;
24 lo, my daughter, the virgin, and his concubine, let me bring them out, I pray you, and humble ye them, and do to them that which is good in your eyes, and to this man do not this foolish thing.'
25 And the men have not been willing to hearken to him, and the man taketh hold on his concubine, and bringeth `her' out unto them without, and they know her, and roll themselves upon her all the night, till the morning, and send her away in the ascending of the dawn;
26 and the woman cometh in at the turning of the morning, and falleth at the opening of the man's house, where her lord `is', till the light.
27 And her lord riseth in the morning, and openeth the doors of the house, and goeth out to go on his way, and lo, the woman, his concubine, is fallen at the opening of the house, and her hands `are' on the threshold,
28 and he saith unto her, `Rise, and we go;' and there is none answering, and he taketh her on the ass, and the man riseth and goeth to his place,
29 and cometh in unto his house, and taketh the knife, and layeth hold on his concubine, and cutteth her in pieces to her bones -- into twelve pieces, and sendeth her into all the border of Israel.
30 And it hath come to pass, every one who seeth hath said, `There hath not been -- yea, there hath not been seen like this, from the day of the coming up of the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt till this day; set your `heart' upon it, take counsel, and speak.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 19
Commentary on Judges 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Jud 19:1-15. A Levite Going to Bethlehem to Fetch His Wife.
1. it came to pass in those days—The painfully interesting episode that follows, together with the intestine commotion the report of it produced throughout the country, belongs to the same early period of anarchy and prevailing disorder.
a certain Levite … took to him a concubine—The priests under the Mosaic law enjoyed the privilege of marrying as well as other classes of the people. It was no disreputable connection this Levite had formed; for a nuptial engagement with a concubine wife (though, as wanting in some outward ceremonies, it was reckoned a secondary or inferior relationship) possessed the true essence of marriage; it was not only lawful, but sanctioned by the example of many good men.
2. his concubine … went away from him unto her father's house—The cause of the separation assigned in our version rendered it unlawful for her husband to take her back (De 24:4); and according to the uniform style of sentiment and practice in the East, she would have been put to death, had she gone to her father's family. Other versions concur with Josephus, in representing the reason for the flight from her husband's house to be, that she was disgusted with him, through frequent brawls.
3, 4. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her—Hebrew, "speak to her heart," in a kindly and affectionate manner, so as to rekindle her affection. Accompanied by a servant, he arrived at the house of his father-in-law, who rejoiced to meet him, in the hope that a complete reconciliation would be brought about between his daughter and her husband. The Levite, yielding to the hospitable importunities of his father-in-law, prolonged his stay for days.
8. tarried—with reluctance.
until afternoon—literally, "the decline of the day." People in the East, who take little or nothing to eat in the morning, do not breakfast till from ten to twelve A.M., and this meal the hospitable relative had purposely protracted to so late a period as to afford an argument for urging a further stay.
9. the day draweth toward evening—Hebrew, "the pitching time of day." Travellers who set out at daybreak usually halt about the middle of the afternoon the first day, to enjoy rest and refreshment. It was, then, too late a time to commence a journey. But duty, perhaps, obliged the Levite to indulge no further delay.
10-12. the man … departed, and came over against Jebus—The note, "which is Jerusalem," must have been inserted by Ezra or some later hand. Jebus being still, though not entirely (Jud 1:8) in the possession of the old inhabitants, the Levite resisted the advice of his attendant to enter it and determined rather to press forward to pass the night in Gibeah, which he knew was occupied by Israelites. The distance from Beth-lehem to Jerusalem is about six miles. The event showed that it would have been better to have followed the advice of his attendant—to have trusted themselves among aliens than among their own countrymen.
13. in Gibeah, or in Ramah—The first of these places was five miles northeast, the other from four to five north of Jerusalem.
15. when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city—The towns of Palestine at this remote period could not, it seems, furnish any establishment in the shape of an inn or public lodging-house. Hence we conclude that the custom, which is still frequently witnessed in the cities of the East, was then not uncommon, for travellers who were late in arriving and who had no introduction to a private family, to spread their bedding in the streets, or wrapping themselves up in their cloaks, pass the night in the open air. In the Arab towns and villages, however, the sheik, or some other person, usually comes out and urgently invites the strangers to his house. This was done also in ancient Palestine (Ge 18:4; 19:2). That the same hospitality was not shown in Gibeah seems to have been owing to the bad character of the people.
Jud 19:16-21. An Old Man Entertains Him at Gibeah.
16. there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim—Perhaps his hospitality was quickened by learning the stranger's occupation, and that he was on his return to his duties at Shiloh.
19, 20. there is no want of any thing—In answering the kindly inquiries of the old man, the Levite deemed it right to state that he was under no necessity of being burdensome on anyone, for he possessed all that was required to relieve his wants. Oriental travellers always carry a stock of provisions with them; and knowing that even the khans or lodging-houses they may find on their way afford nothing beyond rest and shelter, they are careful to lay in a supply of food both for themselves and their beasts. Instead of hay, which is seldom met with, they used chopped straw, which, with a mixture of barley, beans, or the like, forms the provender for cattle. The old man, however, in the warmth of a generous heart, refused to listen to any explanation, and bidding the Levite keep his stocks for any emergency that might occur in the remainder of his journey, invited them to accept of the hospitalities of his house for the night.
20. only lodge not in the street—As this is no rare or singular circumstance in the East, the probability is that the old man's earnest dissuasive from such a procedure arose from his acquaintance with the infamous practices of the place.
Jud 19:22-28. The Gibeahites Abuse His Concubine to Death.
22-24. certain sons of Belial beset the house—The narrative of the horrid outrage that was committed; of the proposal of the old man; the unfeeling, careless, and in many respects, inexplicable conduct of the Levite towards his wife, disclose a state of morality that would have appeared incredible, did it not rest on the testimony of the sacred historian. Both men ought to have protected the women in the house, even though at the expense of their lives, or thrown themselves on God's providence. It should be noted, however, that the guilt of such a foul outrage is not fastened on the general population of Gibeah.
29. divided her … into twelve pieces—The want of a regular government warranted an extraordinary step; and certainly no method could have been imagined more certain of rousing universal horror and indignation than this terrible summons of the Levite.