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Text -- Judges 21:1-19 (NET)
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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 .”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Jabesh-gilead |
Vows |
Rashness |
Wife |
Discipline |
JABESH |
Armies |
BETHEL |
Government |
Lebonah |
Shiloh |
MIZPAH; MIZPEH |
Oath |
Rimmon |
Nation |
Meroz |
ECCLESIASTES, THE PREACHER |
Mizpah |
Captive |
Church |
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