10 And the congregation H5712 sent H7971 thither twelve H8147 H6240 thousand H505 men H376 of the valiantest, H1121 H2428 and commanded H6680 them, saying, H559 Go H3212 and smite H5221 the inhabitants H3427 of Jabeshgilead H3003 H1568 with the edge H6310 of the sword, H2719 with the women H802 and the children. H2945
11 And this is the thing H1697 that ye shall do, H6213 Ye shall utterly destroy H2763 every male, H2145 and every woman H802 that hath lain H4904 by man. H3045
12 And they found H4672 among the inhabitants H3427 of Jabeshgilead H3003 H1568 four H702 hundred H3967 young H5291 virgins, H1330 that had known H3045 no man H376 by lying H4904 with any male: H2145 and they brought H935 them unto the camp H4264 to Shiloh, H7887 which is in the land H776 of Canaan. H3667
13 And the whole congregation H5712 sent H7971 some to speak H1696 to the children H1121 of Benjamin H1144 that were in the rock H5553 Rimmon, H7417 and to call H7121 peaceably H7965 unto them.
14 And Benjamin H1144 came again H7725 at that time; H6256 and they gave H5414 them wives H802 which they had saved alive H2421 of the women H802 of Jabeshgilead: H3003 H1568 and yet so they sufficed H4672 them not.
15 And the people H5971 repented H5162 them for Benjamin, H1144 because that the LORD H3068 had made H6213 a breach H6556 in the tribes H7626 of Israel. H3478
16 Then the elders H2205 of the congregation H5712 said, H559 How shall we do H6213 for wives H802 for them that remain, H3498 seeing the women H802 are destroyed H8045 out of Benjamin? H1144
17 And they said, H559 There must be an inheritance H3425 for them that be escaped H6413 of Benjamin, H1144 that a tribe H7626 be not destroyed H4229 out of Israel. H3478
18 Howbeit we may H3201 not give H5414 them wives H802 of our daughters: H1323 for the children H1121 of Israel H3478 have sworn, H7650 saying, H559 Cursed H779 be he that giveth H5414 a wife H802 to Benjamin. H1144
19 Then they said, H559 Behold, there is a feast H2282 of the LORD H3068 in Shiloh H7887 yearly H3117 H3117 in a place which is on the north side H6828 of Bethel, H1008 on the east side H4217 H8121 of the highway H4546 that goeth up H5927 from Bethel H1008 to Shechem, H7927 and on the south H5045 of Lebonah. H3829
20 Therefore they commanded H6680 the children H1121 of Benjamin, H1144 saying, H559 Go H3212 and lie in wait H693 in the vineyards; H3754
21 And see, H7200 and, behold, if the daughters H1323 of Shiloh H7887 come out H3318 to dance H2342 in dances, H4246 then come ye out H3318 of the vineyards, H3754 and catch H2414 you every man H376 his wife H802 of the daughters H1323 of Shiloh, H7887 and go H1980 to the land H776 of Benjamin. H1144
22 And it shall be, when their fathers H1 or their brethren H251 come H935 unto us to complain, H7378 that we will say H559 unto them, Be favourable H2603 unto them for our sakes: because we reserved H3947 not to each man H376 his wife H802 in the war: H4421 for ye did not give H5414 unto them at this time, H6256 that ye should be guilty. H816
23 And the children H1121 of Benjamin H1144 did so, H6213 and took H5375 them wives, H802 according to their number, H4557 of them that danced, H2342 whom they caught: H1497 and they went H3212 and returned H7725 unto their inheritance, H5159 and repaired H1129 the cities, H5892 and dwelt H3427 in them.
24 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 departed H1980 thence at that time, H6256 every man H376 to his tribe H7626 and to his family, H4940 and they went out H3318 from thence every man H376 to his inheritance. H5159
25 In those days H3117 there was no king H4428 in Israel: H3478 every man H376 did H6213 that which was right H3477 in his own eyes. H5869
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 21
Commentary on Judges 21 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 21
Jud 21:1-15. The People Bewail The Desolation of Israel.
2-5. the people came to the house of God, … and lifted up their voices, and wept sore—The characteristic fickleness of the Israelites was not long in being displayed; for scarcely had they cooled from the fierceness of their sanguinary vengeance, than they began to relent and rushed to the opposite extreme of self-accusation and grief at the desolation which their impetuous zeal had produced. Their victory saddened and humbled them. Their feelings on the occasion were expressed by a public and solemn service of expiation at the house of God. And yet this extraordinary observance, though it enabled them to find vent for their painful emotions, did not afford them full relief, for they were fettered by the obligation of a religious vow, heightened by the addition of a solemn anathema on every violator of the oath. There is no previous record of this oath; but the purport of it was, that they would treat the perpetrators of this Gibeah atrocity in the same way as the Canaanites, who were doomed to destruction; and the entering into this solemn league was of a piece with the rest of their inconsiderate conduct in this whole affair.
6. There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day—that is, in danger of becoming extinct; for, as it appears from Jud 21:7, they had massacred all the women and children of Benjamin, and six hundred men alone survived of the whole tribe. The prospect of such a blank in the catalogue of the twelve tribes, such a gap in the national arrangements, was too painful to contemplate, and immediate measures must be taken to prevent this great catastrophe.
8. there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly—This city lay within the territory of eastern Manasseh, about fifteen miles east of the Jordan, and was, according to Josephus, the capital of Gilead. The ban which the assembled tribes had pronounced at Mizpeh seemed to impose on them the necessity of punishing its inhabitants for not joining the crusade against Benjamin; and thus, with a view of repairing the consequences of one rash proceeding, they hurriedly rushed to the perpetration of another, though a smaller tragedy. But it appears (Jud 21:11) that, besides acting in fulfilment of their oath, the Israelites had the additional object by this raid of supplying wives to the Benjamite remnant. This shows the intemperate fury of the Israelites in the indiscriminate slaughter of the women and children.
Jud 21:16-21. The Elders Consult How to Find Wives for Those That Were Left.
16. the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain—Though the young women of Jabesh-gilead had been carefully spared, the supply was found inadequate, and some other expedient must be resorted to.
17. There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin—As they were the only rightful owners of the territory, provision must be made for transmitting it to their legitimate heirs, and a new act of violence was meditated (Jud 21:19); the opportunity for which was afforded by the approaching festival—a feast generally supposed to be the feast of tabernacles. This, like the other annual feasts, was held in Shiloh, and its celebration was attended with more social hilarity and holiday rejoicings than the other feasts.
19. on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem—The exact site of the place was described evidently for the direction of the Benjamites.
21, 22. daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances—The dance was anciently a part of the religious observance. It was done on festive occasions, as it is still in the East, not in town, but in the open air, in some adjoining field, the women being by themselves. The young women being alone indulging their light and buoyant spirits, and apprehensive of no danger, facilitated the execution of the scheme of seizing them, which closely resembles the Sabine rape in Roman history. The elders undertook to reconcile the families to the forced abduction of their daughters. And thus the expression of their public sanction to this deed of violence afforded a new evidence of the evils and difficulties into which the unhappy precipitancy of the Israelites in this crisis had involved them.