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Texts -- Judges 21:1-23 (NET)

Context
600 Brides for 600 Brothers
21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah , saying , “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite .” 21:2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening , weeping loudly and uncontrollably . 21:3 They said , “Why , O Lord God of Israel , has this happened in Israel ?” An entire tribe has disappeared from Israel today !” 21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there . They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace . 21:5 The Israelites asked , “Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord ?” They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed . 21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to their brother Benjamin . They said , “Today we cut off an entire tribe from Israel ! 21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left ? After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives .” 21:8 So they asked , “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah ?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering . 21:9 When they took roll call , they noticed none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there . 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors against Jabesh Gilead. They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead , including the women and little children . 21:11 Do this : exterminate every male , as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male . But spare the lives of any virgins.” So they did as instructed. 21:12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins – they had never had sexual relations with a male . They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan . 21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed . 21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time , and the Israelites gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead . But there were not enough to go around . 21:15 The people regretted what had happened to Benjamin because the Lord had weakened the Israelite tribes . 21:16 The leaders of the assembly said , “How can we find wives for those who are left ? After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out . 21:17 The remnant of Benjamin must be preserved . An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out . 21:18 But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, for the Israelites took an oath , saying , ‘Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed !’ 21:19 However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh , which is north of Bethel (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem ) and south of Lebonah .” 21:20 So they commanded the Benjaminites , “Go hide in the vineyards , 21:21 and keep your eyes open . When you see the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration , jump out from the vineyards . Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin . 21:22 When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, for we could not get each one a wife through battle . Don’t worry about breaking your oath! You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” 21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives . They went home to their own territory , rebuilt their cities , and settled down .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Jabesh-gilead

    [ebd] a town on the east of Jordan, on the top of one of the green hills of Gilead, within the limits of the half tribe of Manasseh, and in full view of Beth-shan. It is first mentioned in connection with the vengeance taken on it...
    [isbe] JABESH-GILEAD - ja'-besh-gil'-e-ad (yabhesh gil`adh; or simply yabhish, "dry"): A city East of the Jordan, in the deliverance of which from Nahash the Ammonite Saul's military prowess was first displayed (1 Sam 11:1 ff). At ...
    [nave] JABESH-GILEAD A city E. of the Jordan, Judg. 21:8-15. Besieged by the Ammonites, 1 Sam. 11:1-11. Saul and his sons buried at, 1 Sam. 31:11-13; 1 Chr. 10:11, 12; 2 Sam. 2:4. Bones of Saul and his son removed from, by David...

  • Vows

    [nave] VOWS Mosaic laws concerning, Lev. 23:37, 38; Num. 29:39. Must be voluntary, see below. Must be performed, see below. Estimation of the redemption price of things offered in vows, to be made by the priest, according to age a...

  • Rashness

    [nave] RASHNESS. Psa. 116:11; Prov. 14:29; Prov. 19:2; Prov. 21:5; Prov. 25:8; Prov. 29:20; Eccl. 5:2; Eccl. 7:9 Instances of Moses, in slaying the Egyptian, Ex. 2:11, 12; Acts 7:24, 25. When he struck the rock, Num. 20:10-12. ...

  • Wife

    [nave] WIFE Called Desire of the Eyes, Ezek. 24:16. Help, Gen. 2:18, 20. Fruitful Vine, Psa. 128:3. The judgment denounced against Eve, Gen. 3:16. Relation of, to husband, Gen. 2:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 11:3-12. Domestic duties of,...

  • Discipline

    [nave] DISCIPLINE, of armies, for disobedience of orders, Josh. 7:10-26; Judg. 21:5-12. See: Armies. Church Discipline See: Church, Rules of Discipline in, Mosaic and Christian

  • Government

    [nave] GOVERNMENT Paternal functions of, Gen. 41:25-57. Civil service school provided by, Dan. 1:3-20. Maintains a system of public instruction, 2 Chr. 17:7-9. Executive departments in. See: Cabinet; King; Ruler; Statecraft. Ju...

  • JABESH

    [smith] (dry). Father of Shallum, the fifteenth king of Israel. (2 Kings 15:10,13,14) Jabesh-gilead, or Jabesh in the territory of Gilead. In its widest sense Gilead included the half tribe of Manasseh, (1 Chronicles 27:21) as...

  • DANCE

    [ebd] found in Judg. 21:21, 23; Ps. 30:11; 149:3; 150:4; Jer. 31:4, 13, etc., as the translation of hul, which points to the whirling motion of Oriental sacred dances. It is the rendering of a word (rakad') which means to skip or ...
    [smith] The dance is spoken of in Holy Scripture universally as symbolical of some rejoicing, and is often coupled for the sake of contrast with mourning, as in (Ecclesiastes 3:4) comp. Psal 30:11; Matt 11:17 In the earlier period it...

  • Armies

    [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...

  • Kidnapping

    [nave] KIDNAPPING, forbidden, Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7. Instance of Judg. 21:20-23.

  • BETHEL

    [ebd] house of God. (1.) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The name Bethel was at first app...
    [isbe] BETHEL - beth'-el (beth-'el; Baithel and oikos theou, literally, "house of God"): (1) A town near the place where Abraham halted and offered sacrifice on his way south from Shechem. 1. Identification and Description: It lay ...
    [smith] (the house of God) well known city and holy place of central Palestine, about 12 mlles north of Jerusalem. If we are to accept the precise definition of (Genesis 12:8) the name of Bethel would appear to have existed at this s...

  • Lebonah

    [ebd] frankincense, a town near Shiloh, on the north side of Bethel (Judg. 21:19). It has been identified with el-Lubban, to the south of Nablus.
    [isbe] LEBONAH - le-bo'-na (lebhonah): A place on the great north road between Shiloh and Shechem (Jdg 21:19). It is represented by the modern Khan el-Lubban, about 3 miles West-Northwest of Seilun ("Shiloh"), on the way to Nablus....
    [smith] (frankincense), a place named in (Judges 21:19) only. Lebonah has survived to our times under the almost identical form of el-Lubban . It lies to the west of and close to the Nablus road, about eight miles north of Beitan (Be...
    [nave] LEBONAH, a city on the highway from Beth-el to Shechem, Judg. 21:19.

  • Shiloh

    [ebd] generally understood as denoting the Messiah, "the peaceful one," as the word signifies (Gen. 49:10). The Vulgate Version translates the word, "he who is to be sent," in allusion to the Messiah; the Revised Version, margin, ...
    [smith] (place of rest), a city of Ephraim. In (Judges 21:19) it is said that Shiloh is "on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and on the south of Lebonah." In agreement wit...
    [nave] SHILOH 1. a title of one from Judah, possibly Jesus, Gen. 49:10. 2. City of Ephraim, north of Beth-el, and on the highway from Beth-el to Shechem, Judg. 21:19. Tabernacle at, Josh. 18:1, 8-10; Judg. 18:31; 21:19; 1 Sam. 1:...

  • Nation

    [nave] NATION Sins of, Isa. 30:1, 2. Chastised, Isa. 14:26, 27; Jer. 5:29; 18:6-10; 25:12-33; Ezek. 2:3-5; 39:23, 24; Dan. 7:9-12; 9:3-16; Hos. 7:12; Joel 1:1-20; Amos 9:9; Zeph. 3:6, 8. Perish, Psa. 9:17; Isa. 60:12. National a...

  • MIZPAH; MIZPEH

    [isbe] MIZPAH; MIZPEH - miz'-pa, miz'-pe: This name is pointed both ways in the Hebrew, and is found usually with the article. The meaning seems to be "outlook" or "watchtower." It is natural, therefore, to look for the places so n...

  • Marriage

    [nave] MARRIAGE In family blood lines, Abraham and Sarah, Gen. 11:29; 12:13; 20:3, 9-16. Isaac and Rebekah, Gen. 24:3, 4, 67; 28:2. Jacob and his wives, Gen. 29:15-30; see below, in the elaborated text. Levirate (the brother requ...

  • Dancing

    [nave] DANCING. Ex. 15:20; Ex. 32:19; Judg. 11:34; Judg. 21:19-21; 1 Sam. 18:6; 1 Sam. 21:11; 1 Sam. 30:16; 2 Sam. 6:14-16; Job 21:11; Psa. 30:11; Psa. 149:3; Psa. 150:4; Eccl. 3:4; Jer. 31:4, 13; Lam. 5:15; Matt. 11:17; Luke 15:2...

  • Rimmon

    [ebd] pomegranate. (1.) A man of Beeroth (2 Sam. 4:2), one of the four Gibeonite cities. (See Josh. 9:17.) (2.) A Syrian idol, mentioned only in 2 Kings 5:18. (3.) One of the "uttermost cities" of Judah, afterwards given to Simeon...
    [smith] (pomegranate) the name of several towns. A city of Zebulun (1 Chronicles 6:77; Nehemiah 11:29) a Levitical city, the present Rummaneh , six miles north of Nazareth. A town in the southern portion of Judah, (Joshua 15:3) a...
    [nave] RIMMON 1. Father of the murderers of Ish-bosheth, 2 Sam. 4:2, 5, 9. 2. A city S. of Jerusalem, Zech. 14:10. Allotted to Judah, Josh. 15:32; Neh. 11:29; afterward to Simeon, Josh. 19:7; 1 Chr. 4:32. Called Remmon, Josh. 19...

  • Meroz

    [ebd] a plain in the north of Palestine, the inhabitants of which were severely condemned because they came not to help Barak against Sisera (Judg. 5:23: comp. 21:8-10; 1 Sam. 11:7). It has been identified with Marassus, on a knol...

  • Oath

    [isbe] OATH - oth (shebhu`ah, probably from shebha`, "seven," the sacred number, which occurs frequently in the ritual of an oath; horkos; and the stronger word 'alah, by which a curse is actually invoked upon the oath-breaker Sept...
    [nave] OATH, a solemn qualification. Used in solemnizing covenants: Between Abraham and the king of Sodom, Gen. 14:22, 23; and Abimelech, Gen. 21:22, 23; between Isaac and Abimelech, Gen. 26:26-29, 31. Abraham requires oath of his ...
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  • [Jdg 21:19] Bless Us Children Now

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 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 ...
  • After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
  • After the process of assigning land to the three tribes mentioned above, Israel's attention turned to relocating the tabernacle in a more central location (v. 1). God undoubtedly made the choice of Shiloh (lit. rest; cf. Deut...
  • 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...
  • The 11 tribes wisely tried to settle this problem with the Benjamites peacefully (v. 12; cf. Josh. 22:13-20). Unfortunately the Benjamites decided to support the residents of Gibeah who were their kinsmen. They should have si...
  • 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 "wife oath"that the Israelites had taken at Mizpah (20:8-11) may have had some connection with God's commands concerning Israel's treatment of the Canaanites (Lev. 7:1-3). Israel was to destroy these enemies utterly and n...
  • Verses 5-7 stress the sorrow and the dilemma the Israelites felt because of the Benjamites' situation. The "great oath"(v. 5) seems to have been that any Israelites who did not participate in the nation's battles against her ...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
  • God's Spirit came on Saul in the sense that He stirred up his spirit (cf. 10:6, 10). His response to the messengers' news was appropriate indignation since non-Israelites were attacking God's covenant people (Gen. 12:3). Saul...
  • 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...
  • 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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