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Texts -- Judges 19:1-28 (NET)

Context
Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited
19:1 In those days Israel had no king . There was a Levite living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country . He acquired a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah . 19:2 However, she got angry at him and went home to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah . When she had been there four months , 19:3 her husband came after her, hoping he could convince her to return . He brought with him his servant and a pair of donkeys . When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly . 19:4 His father-in-law , the girl’s father , persuaded him to stay with him for three days , and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there . 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave . But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law , “Have a bite to eat for some energy , then you can go .” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together . Then the girl’s father said to the man , “Why not stay another night and have a good time !” 19:7 When the man got ready to leave , his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night . 19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave , but the girl’s father said , “Get some energy . Wait until later in the day to leave !” So they ate a meal together . 19:9 When the man got ready to leave with his concubine and his servant , his father-in-law , the girl’s father , said to him, “Look ! The day is almost over ! Stay another night ! Since the day is over , stay another night here and have a good time . You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home .” 19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left and traveled as far as Jebus (that is, Jerusalem ). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine . 19:11 When they got near Jebus , it was getting quite late and the servant said to his master , “Come on , let’s stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. We will travel on to Gibeah .” 19:13 He said to his servant , “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah .” 19:14 So they traveled on , and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin . 19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night in Gibeah . They came into the city and sat down in the town square , but no one invited them to spend the night . 19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field . The man was from the Ephraimite hill country ; he was living temporarily in Gibeah . (The residents of the town were Benjaminites .) 19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler in the town square , the old man said , “Where are you heading ? Where do you come from ?” 19:18 The Levite said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country . That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah , but now I’m heading home . But no one has invited me into their home . 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys , and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant , and the young man who is with your servants . We lack nothing .” 19:20 The old man said , “Everything is just fine ! I will take care of all your needs . But don’t spend the night in the town square .” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys . They washed their feet and had a meal . 19:22 They were having a good time , when suddenly some men of the city , some good-for-nothings , surrounded the house and kept beating on the door . They said to the old man who owned the house , “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” 19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No , my brothers ! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house . Don’t do such a disgraceful thing ! 19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s concubine . I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like . But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man !” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside . They raped her and abused her all night long until morning . They let her go at dawn . 19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master was staying until it became light . 19:27 When her master got up in the morning , opened the doors of the house , and went outside to start on his journey , there was the woman , his concubine , sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold . 19:28 He said to her, “Get up , let’s leave !” But there was no response . He put her on the donkey and went home .

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Gibeah

    [ebd] a hill or hill-town, "of Benjamin" (1 Sam. 13:15), better known as "Gibeah of Saul" (11:4; Isa. 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite's concubine which led to the almost utter extirpation ...
    [isbe] GIBEAH - gib'-e-a (gibh`ah, "hill"): The Hebrew word denotes generally an eminence or hill, in distinction from har, which is used for mountain, or mountain range. It occurs, however, in two instances, as a place-name. Under...
    [smith] a word employed in the Bible to denote a hill. Like most words of this kind it gave its name to several towns and places in Palestine, which would doubtless be generally on or near a hill. They are -- Gibeah, a city in the m...
    [nave] GIBEAH 1. Of Judah, Josh. 15:57. 2. Of Saul. Called also Gibeah of Benjamin. The people's wickedness, Judg. 19:12-30; Hos. 9:9; 10:9. Destroyed by the Israelites, Judg. 20. The city of Saul, 1 Sam. 10:26; 15:34; 22:6. Th...

  • Wolf

    [ebd] Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob's prophecy, "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf" (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe (see Judg. 19-21). Isaiah ...

  • ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA

    [isbe] ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA - ze'-ba (zebhach, "victim"), zal-mun'-a (tsalmunna`, "protection refused"): Two Midianite kings or chiefs whom Gideon slew (Jdg 8:4-21; Ps 83:11 (Hebrew text, verse 12)). The name zebhach (Zebee) is very ...

  • JUDGES, PERIOD OF

    [isbe] JUDGES, PERIOD OF - || I. SOURCES II. CHRONOLOGY III. GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION 1. The Canaanites 2. Foes Without IV. MAIN EVENTS 1. Struggles of Individual Tribes 2. Civil Strife 3. The Six Invasions 4. Need of Central Go...

  • Benjamin

    [nave] BENJAMIN 1. Son of Jacob by Rachel, Gen. 35:18, 24; 46:19. Taken into Egypt, Gen. 42-45. Prophecy concerning, Gen. 49:27. Descendants of, Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38-41. Tribe of Census of, at Sinai, Num. 1:37; in the plain ...

  • Micah

    [ebd] a shortened form of Micaiah, who is like Jehovah? (1.) A man of Mount Ephraim, whose history so far is introduced in Judg. 17, apparently for the purpose of leading to an account of the settlement of the tribe of Dan in Nort...

  • Hospitality

    [smith] Hospitality was regarded by most nations of the ancient world as one of the chief virtues. The Jewish laws respecting strangers (Leviticus 19:33,34) and the poor, (Leviticus 23:14) seq. Deuteronomy 15:7 And concerning redempt...
    [nave] HOSPITALITY. Ex. 22:21; Ex. 23:9; Lev. 19:10, 33, 34; Lev. 24:22; Deut. 10:18, 19; Deut. 26:12, 13; Deut. 27:19; Prov. 9:1-4; Prov. 23:6-8; Isa. 58:6, 7; Matt. 22:2-10; Matt. 25:34-46; Luke 14:12-14; Rom. 12:13; Rom. 16:1, ...

  • Adultery

    [nave] ADULTERY. Gen. 20:3; 2 Sam. 12:14; Job 24:15-17 v. 18.; Job 31:1, 9-12; Prov. 2:16, 18, 19 v. 17.; Prov. 5:3, 4 vs. 5-22.; Prov. 6:24-29, 32, 33; Prov. 7:5-23; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 22:14; Prov. 23:27, 28; Prov. 29:3; Prov. ...

  • Rape

    [nave] RAPE Law imposes death penalty for, Deut. 22:25-27. Captives afflicted with, Isa. 13:16; Lam. 5:11; Zech. 14:2. Instances of Of the servant of a Levite, by Benjamites; tribe of Benjamin nearly exterminated by the army of ...

  • Beneficence

    [nave] BENEFICENCE. Deut. 15:7-15, 18. Lev. 25:35-43. Psa. 41:1; Psa. 112:9; Prov. 3:27, 28; Prov. 11:25; Prov. 22:9; Prov. 25:21, 22; Prov. 28:27; Isa. 58:6, 7, 10, 11; Ezek. 18:5, 7-9; Matt. 5:42; Matt. 19:21 Mark 10:21. Matt. 2...

  • Father-in-Law

    [nave] FATHER-IN-LAW Hospitable to son-in-law, a man of Bethlehem-judah, Judg. 19:3-9. Unjust, Laban to Jacob, Gen. 29:21-23; 31:7, 39-42.

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • HILL, HILL COUNTRY

    [isbe] HILL, HILL COUNTRY - hil'-kun-tri: The common translation of three Hebrew words: (1) gibh`ah, from root meaning "to be curved," is almost always translated "hill"; it is a pecuIiarly appropriate designation for the very roun...

  • JEBUS

    [ebd] trodden hard, or fastness, or "the waterless hill", the name of the Canaanitish city which stood on Mount Zion (Josh. 15:8; 18:16, 28). It is identified with Jerusalem (q.v.) in Judg. 19:10, and with the castle or city of Da...
    [isbe] JEBUS - je'-bus (yebhuc; Iebous): In Jdg 19:10,11, "Jebus (the same is Jerusalem)"; 1 Ch 11:4,5, "Jerusalem (the same is Jebus)." It was once thought that this was the first name of Jerusalem, as indeed might be suggested by...
    [smith] (threshing-floor), one of the names of Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites, are called JEBUSI. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28; Judges 19:10,11; 1 Chronicles 11:4,5) [JERUSALEM]

  • ASS

    [isbe] ASS - as (chamowr or chamor, compare Arabic chamar, apparently connected with Arabic root 'achmar, "red," but referred by some to root hamal, "to carry"; also, but less commonly, both in Hebrew and in Arabic, 'athon, Arabic ...

  • Concubinage

    [nave] CONCUBINAGE. Laws Concerning Ex. 21:7-11; Lev. 19:20-22; Deut. 21:10-14. Concubines might be dismissed, Gen. 21:9-14. Called Wives, Gen. 37:2; Judg. 19:3-5. Children of, not heirs, Gen. 15:4; 21:10. Practiced by Abraha...

  • Lasciviousness

    [nave] LASCIVIOUSNESS. Ex. 32:6; Prov. 2:16-18; Prov. 5:3-5, 8-13; Prov. 7:6-27; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 20:16; Prov. 30:18-20; Joel 3:3; Mark 7:21-23; Rom. 1:22-29; Rom. 7:8; Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10, 13, 15-18; 1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor...

  • Homicide

    [nave] HOMICIDE. Accidental Ex. 21:13, 28-32; Num. 35:11-15, 22-28, 32 Deut. 4:41-43; 19:1-10. Josh. 20:1-9 Felonious or Murder: Gen. 4:9-11 v. 12.; Gen. 9:5, 6; Gen. 49:7; Ex. 20:13 Deut. 5:17; Rom. 13:9. Ex. 21:29-32; Num. 35...

  • DAY AND NIGHT

    [isbe] DAY AND NIGHT - "Day," yom; ordinarily, the Hebrew "day" lasted from dawn to the coming forth of the starts (Neh 4:21). The context usually makes it clear whether the term "day" refers to the period of twenty-four hours or t...

  • Ramah

    [isbe] RAMAH - ra'-ma (ha-ramah, without the definite article only in Neh 11:33; Jer 31:15): The name denotes height, from root rum, "to be high," and the towns to which it applied seem all to have stood on elevated sites. (1) Code...
    [smith] (a hill). This is the name of several places in the holy land. One of the cities of the allotment of Benjamin. (Joshua 18:25) Its site is at er-Ram , about five miles from Jerusalem, and near to Gibeah. (Judges 4:5; 19:13; 1...
    [nave] RAMAH 1. Called Rama, Matt. 2:18. A city allotted to Benjamin, Josh. 18:25; Judg. 19:13. Attempted fortification of, by King Baasha; destruction of, by Asa, 1 Kin. 15:17-22; 2 Chr. 16:1-6. People of, return from the Babyl...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Chapters 18 and 19 "paint a vivid contrast between the respective patriarchal ancestors, Abraham and Lot, with an obvious moralistic intent (i.e., a demonstration that human initiatives--Lot's choice--always lead to catastrop...
  • Having completed the major addresses to the Israelites recorded to this point in Deuteronomy, Moses needed only to make a few final arrangements before Israel was ready to enter the land. The record of these events concludes ...
  • As preparation for entering Canaan, Joshua sent spies to reconnoiter the area Israel would enter."Although Joshua had received a promise from the Lord of His almighty help in the conquest of Canaan, he still thought it necess...
  • Internal references help us locate the approximate date of composition of this book. The clause, "In those days there was no king in Israel,"(17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) suggests that someone wrote Judges during the monarchical ...
  • Joshua reveals that victory, success, and progress result when God's people trust and obey Him consistently. Judges shows that defeat, failure, and retrogression follow when they fail to trust and obey consistently. In this r...
  • I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
  • The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
  • 1:1 The Book of Judges begins with a conjunction translated "now"or "and."God intended Judges to continue the narrative of Israel's history where the Book of Joshua ended (cf. Josh. 1:1). This verse provides a heading for the...
  • The Moabites and Ammonites were not only neighbors who both lived to the southeast of Canaan, but they were also descendants of the same ancestor, Lot. The Amalekites lived on Israel's southern border and were descendants of ...
  • The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
  • The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
  • God undoubtedly included the story of Micah and the Danites in the sacred record because it relates the establishment of image worship in Israel. This was a new and catastrophic departure from Yahweh for the Israelites. Image...
  • Chapter 19 records an event that provoked civil war in Israel. The account of that war follows in chapter 20. Then the consequences of the war unfold in chapter 21. This section of the book is the climactic and supreme demons...
  • We meet another Levite in verse 1 who was paying no attention to God's directions concerning where the Levites should live (cf. 17:7). Since monogamy was God's standard for marriage the Levite should not have married a concub...
  • The old man who took the Levite and his travelling companions in for the night evidently had moved to Gibeah temporarily, perhaps as a farm laborer (v. 16; cf. v. 23; Gen. 19:9). The contrast between this stranger's hospitali...
  • Only a group of "worthless fellows"("sons of Beliel,"i.e., ungodly men, AV, RV) surrounded the stranger's house (v. 22). However the men of Gibeah as a whole defended the actions of this group. Furthermore the whole tribe of ...
  • "It is not only the action of the men of Gibeah which reveals the abysmally low moral standards of the age; the indifference of the Levite who prepared to depart in the morning without any apparent concern to ascertain the fa...
  • This chapter continues the story begun in chapter 19. The emphasis in chapter 19 was on moral degeneracy and that of chapter 20 is Israel's political disorganization. One man's sin in chapter 19 resulted in over 65,000 deaths...
  • Verses 29-36a give an overview of the battle, and 36b-48 provide a more detailed explanation.Israel's strategy was similar to what God had specified against Ai (Josh. 8:1-29) and what Abimelech used against Shechem (9:33-44)....
  • In chapter 20 Israel tried desperately to destroy the tribe of Benjamin.367In chapter 21 she tried just as hard to deliver this tribe from the extinction that her own excessive vengeance threatened to accomplish. The anarchy ...
  • The writer constructed this section parallel to the previous one (vv. 5-15) to highlight the dilemma Israel continued to face.370About 200 Benjamites still needed wives. Verses 16-18 repeat the dilemma that the Israelites' "w...
  • Verse 25 concludes the story of the atrocity of the men of Gibeah and the Benjamites (chs. 19-21). This second vignette from the period of the judges began and ends with the same statement (cf. 19:1). It reflects the failure ...
  • The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
  • As is often true in literature, the structure of the piece sometimes reveals the purpose of the writer. This is certainly the case in the Book of Ruth. The writer constructed the whole book with a chiastic (crossing) structur...
  • God had promised the Israelites that if they departed from Him He would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised Land (Deut. 28:17, 23, 38-40, 42).16The famine on Israel at this time indicates God's judgment for unfa...
  • We have already seen that Jonathan was a man of faith and courage (14:1-15). Jonathan found a soul brother in David, a man who committed himself to trusting and obeying God as he did. This common purpose on the deepest level ...
  • The last major section of the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 21-24) consists of six separate pericopes that together constitute a conclusion to the whole book (cf. Judg. 17-21). Each pericope emphasizes the theological message of the...
  • The priests presented the evening offering (v. 5) between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. in Jesus' day.130Ezra's prayer contains four primary characteristics: solidarity, confession, readiness to change, and faith in God's mercy.131In hi...
  • David realized God's good loyal love (Heb. hesed) would pursue him throughout his life. To follow here does not mean to bring up the rear but to pursue vigorously (cf. 83:15).67The phrase "goodness and lovingkindness"(NASB) o...
  • 9:7 Israel was to know that the days of her punishment and retribution were imminent because the nation's iniquity was fat and its hostility to the Lord was great. Another reason for her judgment was that the Israelites had r...
  • 10:9 The Israelites had sinned consistently since the days of the atrocity at Gibeah (Judg. 19-20; cf. 9:9; Isa. 1:10). The prophet visualized them as warriors standing at Gibeah. He asked rhetorically if the Lord's battle ag...
  • The theme of discipleship training continues in this section of verses. The 70 disciples that Jesus sent out contrast with the three men Luke just finished presenting (9:57-62). This was a second mission on which Jesus sent a...
  • The first pericope gives hope for the future by showing that even now some Jews believe.11:1 The opening question carries on the rhetorical style of 10:18 and 19. God has not rejected the Israelites because they have, on the ...
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