The Book of Judges
Judges 19
Chapter XIX · Vol. II, pp. 618–619
1 A Levite goeth to Bethlehem to fetch home his concubine. 16 An old man entertaineth him at Gibeah. 22 The Gibeonites abuse his concubine to death. 29 He divideth her into twelve pieces, which he sendeth to the twelve tribes of Israel.
1 And it came to pass in those days, awhen there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mountb Ephraim, who took to him ca concubine1 out of dBeth-lehem-judah.
2 And his concubine eplayed the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there2 four whole months.3
3 And her husband arose, and fwent after her, gto speak hfriendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
4 And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, iComfort thine heart with a morsel of bread,4 and afterward go your way.
i Heb. Strengthen, Ge.18.5. Ps.104.15. 1 Ki.13.7.
4 The orientals have generally two meals a day, one from ten to twelve in the morning, and the other, which is the principal, about seven in the evening. As they usually rise as soon as it is light, and there is a long interval to breakfast, they usually take some small matter that cannot be called a meal, such as a crust of bread and a cup of coffee.—I.
6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be kmerry.5
k ch.16.25; 9.27. 1 Sa.25.36. Est.1.10. Lu.12.19. 1 Th.5.3. Re.11.10,13. ver.9,22.
5 This narrative, at once so simple and so tragical, is in this part calculated and intended to convey a great moral lesson—the dangers resulting to families and friends from indiscreet hospitality. This man had a kind and hospitable spirit, but not under the restraint of moderation and prudence: the result is seen in the light conduct and melancholy end of his daughter.—Note, Hospitality is a duty of perpetual obligation, but must be limited by the restraints of temperance and piety.—C.
7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's 6father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon,7 and they did eat both of them.
6 The woman's father seems to have been highly pleased with the reconciliation of the parties. Of the grounds of that reconciliation we are not informed; but we may remark, that it is not certain that the woman had been guilty of the crime which our rendering of ver.2 would imply. Several versions simply state that she had disliked her husband.—I.
7 Heb. till the day declined.
9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening,8 I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end;9 lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and lto-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.1
10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came 2over against mJebus, (which is Jerusalem,) and there were with him two asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.
11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in unto this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into nthe city of a 3stranger, that is not of the children of Israel: we will pass over to Gibeah.
n Ge.10.16. Jos.15.63; 18.28. ch.1.8. 2 Sa.5.6.
3 The king of Jebus was conquered by Joshua, ch.10.1,23, and the territory occupied by Israel, ver.42; but the Jebusites continued in copartnership in the city of Jebus, Jos.15.63; and at this time had, most probably, expelled the Israelites entirely.—C.
13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in oGibeah, or in Ramah.
A.M. 2579 B.C. 1425
o Jos.18.25,28. ver.14,16; ch.xx. 1 Sa.13.2,16. Is.10.29. Ho.5.8; 9.9; 10.9.
14 And they passed on, and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.3
3 Bethlehem is about 4 miles or 1½ hour's travel south of Jerusalem. Gibeah is nearly 3 miles north of the city, and Ramah 2 miles north of Gibeah. They are all upon the direct route from Bethlehem to Mount Ephraim. Gibeah was strongly situated on the top and sides of a conical hill, on the very crest of the mountain range. It was the native place of Israel's first king, and was thence called 'Gibeah of Saul.'—P.
15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city; for there was no man that ptook them into his house to lodging.4
p Heb. gathered, He.13.2. Mat.25.35,43.
4 A note of the manners of the times is of some importance in settling the meaning of the Hebrew word translated harlot. For the honour of the character of Rahab, Jos.2.1, of the mother of Jephthah, Ju.11.1, some strenuously contend it should be translated hostess or tavern-keeper. The text clearly shows there were in those days and countries no such persons; had there been an accustomed lodging-house, the Levite would not have rested with his wife and servant in the street.—C.
16 And, behold, there came an old man fromq his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.r
17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to thes house of the LORD;5 and there is no man that treceiveth me to house.
s ch.18.31; 20.18,26; 21.12. Jos.18.1. 1 Sa.1.3,7.
5 The Hebrew words may be translated as follows: 'And the house of Jehovah I walk in (as an attendant Levite).' The meaning is not that he was now going to the house of the Lord, for he states positively that he is going to Mount Ephraim. The object of the remark seems to be, 'Though I serve in God's house, and would be welcomed there, yet there is no man in this inhospitable town to receive me into his house.'—P.
t Heb. gathereth, ver.15.
19 Yet there uis both straw6 and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.
u Ja.2.15,16. 1 Jn.3.17. Mat.10.10. 1 Co.3.14; 9.14.
6 Hay is seldom mentioned in Scripture; straw, frequently. The state of agriculture must have been very imperfect, and all the grass at the time burned up—a thing not only common but constant in many eastern countries during summer, so that the carrying of straw for two asses was necessary in so short a journey; the distance from Bethlehem to Shiloh being not more directly than about thirty miles.—Note, A lawless state of society is as incompatible with prosperity as with morality.—C.
20 And the old man said, xPeace be with thee: howsoever, let all thy wants lie upon me; onlyy lodge not in the street.
21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they zwashed their feet, and did eat and drink.
22 Now, as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sonsa of Belial, beset bthe house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may cknow him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, dNay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly;7 seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this efolly.
A.M. 2579 B.C. 1425
d 2 Sa.13.12. Ge.19.6-8.
7 Eastern notions of hospitality may account for this proposal, but can neither palliate nor defend it. It tells an intelligible but melancholy story of the morals of the times.—C.
e Ge.34.7. De.21.21. Jos.7.15. 2 Sa.13.12,13. ch.20.6.
24 Behold, fhere is my daughter, a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.8
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and gthey knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her hlord was, till it was light.
27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman, his concubine, was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; ibut none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.9
i ch.20.5.
9 He makes no appeal to the local authorities; when it is probable some of the chief men of the city were concerned in the wickedness.—C.
29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and kdivided her,1 together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
k 1 Sa.11.7. Ga.4.18. Ro.10.2.
1 This is a most frightful narrative, and while it awakens thoughts of horror, should equally awaken thoughts of thankfulness for the civilizing power of Christianity, and efficient protection of well-ordered government. The Levite, no doubt, sent a circumstantial account of the wicked conduct of the Gibeonites; and the spectacle of the fragments of the murdered woman was calculated to rouse the tribes to ample vengeance. The practice continued in Israel, but the victim was a bullock, 1 Sa.7.11; and from Lucian we learn that the Scythians and Molossians had a similar custom. The Crean Tarigh, a cross seared in fire and quenched with blood, in which the Highland chieftains of Scotland were wont to summon their clans to battle, seems to have originated in similar ideas.—C.
Notes
[Ver. 1. It came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel. That is, during some of the periods between the death of one judge and the election of another. During these times, however, the country was not altogether without local governments, exercised by the heads of families and territorial princes of the congregation, Jos. 9. 18; but the want of a strong general government permitted such popular outrages against strangers, who had no local friends, as the shocking narrative in this chapter records. C.]
Ver. 2. [His concubine played the whore against him. The translation probably charges the unhappy woman with more guilt than she had really incurred. Josephus and other authorities conceive she had merely separated from her husband. Had her guilt been greater, when eastern manners are considered, it is not probable her father would have received her into his house. C.]
Reflections.—How great is the sovereignty of God in honouring Bethlehem, which lately furnished an idolatrous priest, and now an adulterous concubine, with the birth of his distinguished King and of his only Son! Worthless clergymen and evil women are the greatest plagues to society: and parents' indulgence of their children, and infidelity to marriage-vows, often issue in wide-spread ruin. Frequently the intended kindness of friends is a real injury; and what was designed for our welfare becomes a trap to ensnare us. Where we might reasonably expect distinguished kindness, we often meet with the most abominable neglect and most ruinous abuse. Apostates from God are often void of humanity and natural affection; while truly charitable sojourners on earth are patterns of hospitality and brotherly-kindness; look out for, and are happy in finding, opportunities of doing good, particularly to ministers of Christ. We are apt to hope that our troubles are at an end when the worst storm is but gathering. To what horrible lengths in wickedness will not apostate professors go! and what barefaced impudence continuance in lewdness begets! When sinners are once given up to their own hearts' lust they easily sink into the most unnatural crimes: and when they are become desperate in wickedness, they will neither bear restraint nor hear admonition. When we commit one sin to avoid a greater, we ordinarily plunge ourselves into further snares: and God fearfully marks sin in its punishment. The fleshly lust which had been this woman's sin, is now made her punishment. And in justice never will he extenuate men's wickedness. With the most deliberate concern, unanimity, and faithfulness, ought the important affairs of churches and nations to be transacted. And such as would obtain God's blessing on a land must seek to purge it by the execution of justice on notorious criminals.