19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite 1 living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine 2 from Bethlehem 3 in Judah. 19:2 However, she 4 got angry at him 5 and went home 6 to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came 7 after her, hoping he could convince her to return. 8 He brought with him his servant 9 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. 10 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. 11 But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, 12 then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. 13 Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” 14 19:7 When the man got ready to leave, 15 his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. 16
1 tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”
2 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
4 tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).
6 tn Heb “went from him.”
7 tn Heb “arose and came.”
8 tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”
9 tn Or “young man.”
10 tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”
11 tn Heb “and he arose to go.”
12 tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”
13 tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”
14 tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”
15 tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”
16 tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”