Judges 19:1--21:25
king <04428> [when there.]
hill country <02022> [mount.]
acquired <0802> [a concubine. Heb. a woman, a concubine, or, a wife, a concubine.]
Bethlehem <01035> [Beth-lehem-judah.]
angry <02181> [played.]
[four whole months. or, a year and four months. Heb. days, four months.]
<03212> [went.]
hoping <01696> [speak.]
convince .... return <03820 07725> [friendly unto her. Heb. to her heart.]
return <07725> [to bring.]
servant <05288> [his servant.]
energy <05582> [Comfort. Heb. Srengthen.]
bite <06595> [with a morsel.]
time <03820> [let thine heart.]
[until afternoon. Heb. till the day declined.]
Merely that they might avoid the heat of the day, which would have been very inconvenient in travelling.
day .......... day <03117> [the day.]
<07503> [draweth, etc. Heb. is weak. the day groweth to an end. Heb. it is the pitching time of the day, Jer 6:4.]
That is, it was near the time in which travellers ordinarily pitched their tents, to take up their lodging for the night. In the latter part of the afternoon, eastern travellers begin to look out for a place for this purpose. So Dr. Shaw observes, "Our constant practice was to rise at break of day, set forward with the sun, and travel to the middle of the afternoon; at which time we began to look out for encampments of Arabs; who, to prevent such parties as ours from living at free charges upon them, take care to pitch in woods, valleys, or places the least conspicuous."
tomorrow <04279> [to morrow.]
home <0168> [home. Heb. to thy tent.]
<05227> [over against. Heb. to over against. Jebus.]
Jebusite <02983> [the Jebusites.]
Gibeah <01390> [Gibeah.]
Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, and the birth-place of Saul, was situated near Rama and Gibeon, according to Josephus, thirty furlongs north from Jerusalem; or, according to Jerome, about two leagues.
Gibeah <01390> [Gibeah.]
one <0376> [no man.]
There was probably no inn, or house of public entertainment in this place; and therefore they could not have a lodging unless furnished by mere hospitality. But these Benjamites seem to have added to their other vices, avarice and inhospitality, like the inhabitants of Akoura in mount Lebanon, mentioned by Burckhardt.
work <04639> [his work.]
<03212> [whither.]
heading <01980> [I am now.]
The LXX. read, [eis ton oikon mou ego poreuomai:] "I am going to my own house;" which is probably the true reading, as we find (ver. 29) that he really went home; yet he might have gone previously to Shiloh, or to "the house of the Lord," because that was also in mount Ephraim.
home .......... home <01004> [the house.]
invited <0622> [receiveth. Heb. gathereth.]
straw ... grain <04554 08401> [straw and provender.]
In those countries principally devoted to pasturage, they made little or no hay: but as they raised corn, they took great care of their straw for cattle, which by their mode of threshing was chopped very small. See note on Ge 24:32.
just fine ..... care ...... But <07965 07535> [Peace be.]
needs <04270> [let all thy wants.]
Here was genuine hospitality: "Keep your bread and wine for yourselves, and your straw and provender for your asses; you may need them before you finish your journey: I will supply all your wants for this night; only do not lodge in the street."
spend ....... square <03885 07339> [lodge not.]
brought <0935> [So he brought.]
washed <07364> [they washed.]
good time <03820> [they were.]
<0582> [the men.]
good-for-nothings <01121 01100> [sons of Belial.]
Send out <03318> [Bring forth.]
man ....................... man <0376> [the man.]
do .... disgraceful thing <06213 05039> [do not this folly.]
daughter <01323> [Behold.]
The rites of hospitality are regarded as sacred and inviolable in the East: and a man who has admitted a stranger under his roof, is bound to protect him even at the expense of his life. On these high notions only, the influence of which an Asiatic mind alone can appreciate, can the present transaction be either excused or palliated.
send ... out ........ do .... whatever you like .... do <03318 06213 05869> [them.]
abuse .... do ......... do <06031 06213> [humble ye.]
disgraceful thing <05039 01697 02063> [so vile a thing. Heb. the matter of this folly.]
raped .... abused <03045 05953> [knew her.]
abused <05953> [and abused.]
master ....... light <0113 0216> [her lord was.]
response <06030> [But none.]
carved ... up <05408 06106> [divided her.]
It is probable, that with the pieces he sent to each tribe a circumstantial account of the barbarity of the men of Gibeah; and that they considered each of the pieces as expressing an execration. That a similar custom prevailed in ancient times is evident from 1 SA 11:7. It had an inhuman appearance, thus to mangle the corpse of this unhappy woman; but it was intended to excite a keener resentment against so horrible a crime, which called for a punishment proportionally severe.
<06106> [with her bones.]
Take careful <07760> [consider.]
Israelites <01121> [Then all.]
together <0259 0376> [as one man.]
Dan <01835> [from Dan.]
land <0776> [with the.]
Lord <03068> [unto the.]
Mizpah <04709> [in Mizpeh.]
It does not appear that the Israelites on this occasion, were summoned by the authority of any one common head, but they came together by the consent and agreement, as it were, of one common heart, fired with a holy zeal for the honour of God and Israel. The place of their meeting was Mizpeh; they gathered together unto the Lord there; for Mizpeh was so very near to Shiloh, that their encampment might very well be supposed to reach from Mizpeh to Shiloh. Shiloh was a small town, and therefore, when there was a general meeting of the people to present themselves before God, they chose Mizpeh for their head quarters, which was the next adjoining city of note; perhaps, because they were not willing to give that trouble to Shiloh, which so great an assembly would occasion; it being the residence of the priests that attended the tabernacle.
sword-wielding <02719 08025> [drew sword.]
Benjaminites ..... Israelites ......... Israelites <01144 01121> [the children of Benjamin.]
<01961> [how was.]
Levite <03881> [the Levite. Heb. the man the Levite. I came.]
leaders <01167> [And the men.]
surrounded <05437> [beset.]
concubine <06370> [and my concubine.]
badly <06031> [forced. Heb. humbled.]
carved <05408> [cut her.]
Israel ........ atrocity ... Israel <03478 05039> [folly in Israel.]
Israelites <01121> [ye are all.]
make .... here <03051 01988> [give here.]
unison ............ one <0259 0376> [as one man.]
one <0376> [We will not.]
lot <01486> [by lot against it.]
sent men <07971 0582> [sent men.]
hand over <05414> [deliver.]
good-for-nothings ...................... Israelite <01100 01121> [children of Belial.]
purge <01197> [put away.]
refused ... listen <014 08085> [would not.]
The conduct of the Israelites was very equitable in this demand; but perhaps the rulers or elders of Gibeah ought previously to have been applied to, to deliver up the criminals to justice. However, the refusal of the Benjamites, and their protection of those who had committed this horrible wickedness, because they were of their own tribe, prove them to have been deeply corrupted, and (all their advantages considered) as ripe for divine vengeance as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had been. Confiding in their own valour and military skill, they seen to have first prepared for battle in this unequal contest with such superior numbers.
twenty-six <06242> [twenty.]
left-handed <0334> [left-handed.]
{Itter yad yemeeno,} "obstructed in his right hand;" so the Chaldee Targum, {gemid beedaih deyammeena,} contracted or impeded in his right hand." Le Clerc observes, that the 700 men left-handed seem therefore to have been made slingers, because they could not use the right hand, which is employed in managing heavier arms; and they could discharge the stones from the sling in a direction against which their opponents were not upon their guard, and thus do the greater execution.
sling ... stone <068 07049> [sling stones.]
The sling was a very ancient warlike instrument; and, in the hands of those who were skilled in the use of it, produced astonishing effects. The inhabitants of the islands of Baleares, now Majorca and Minorca, were the most celebrated slingers of antiquity. They did not permit their children to break their fast, till they had struck down the bread they had to eat from the top of a pole, or some distant eminence. Vegetius tells us, that slingers could in general hit the mark at 600 feet distance.
four hundred <0702 03967> [four hundred.]
asked <07592> [asked.]
Judah <03063> [Judah.]
got <06965> [rose up.]
Benjaminites <01121> [the children.]
struck down <07843> [destroyed.]
heart <02388> [encouraged.]
wept <01058> [wept.]
Israelites ........ Lord ....... Lord .......... Benjaminites ..... Lord <01121 03068> [And the.]
It seems most evident that the Israelites did not seek the protection of God. When they "went to the house of God," (ver. 18,) it was not to enquire concerning the expediency of the war, nor of its success, but which of the tribes should begin the attack: and here the question is, "Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" Having so much right on their side, they had no doubt of the justice of their cause, and the propriety of their conduct; and having such a superiority of numbers, they had no doubt of success. But God humbled them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and shewed them that the race was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.
struck down <07843> [destroyed.]
Israelites <01121> [all the children.]
wept <01058> [wept.]
asked <07592> [enquired.]
ark <0727> [the ark.]
The loss of two battles at length brought this stiff-necked people to enquire of the Lord; for all the company at this time met at Shiloh, and kept a day of fasting and prayer with great earnestness and solemnity. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." .# Isa 59:1
Phinehas <06372> [Phinehas.]
It is evident, from this mention of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, that these transactions must have taken place not long after the death of Joshua.
was serving <05975> [stood.]
more <03254> [Shall I yet.]
Attack <05927> [Go up.]
Israel <03478> [Israel.]
Though God had promised them success, they knew they could expect it only by the use of proper means. Hence they used all prudent precaution, and employed all their military skill.
ambush <0693> [liers.]
unguarded <05423> [drawn.]
army ......... strike down ... enemy <05971 02491 05221> [smite of the people, and kill, as at. Heb. smite of the people wounded as at, etc. the house of God. or, Beth-el.]
Gibeah.
thirty <07970> [thirty.]
retreat <05127> [Let us flee.]
This was done, not only because they had placed an ambuscade behind Gibeah, which was to enter and burn the city as soon as the Benjamites left it; but it would seem, that the slingers, by being within the city and its fortifications, had great advantage over the Israelites by their slings, when they could not come among them with their swords, unless they got them in the plain country.
got up <06965> [rose up.]
took their positions <06186> [put themselves.]
There appear to have been three divisions of the Israelitish army: one at Baal-tamar, (which was situated, says Eusebius, near Gibeah;) a second behind the city in ambush; and a third, who skirmished with the Benjamites before Gibeah.
Ten thousand <06235 0505> [ten thousand.]
realize ... disaster <03045 07451> [knew not.]
25,100 <06242> [twenty.]
Though the numbers of the Israelites were immensely superior to those of Benjamin, though the stratagem was well laid and ingeniously executed, and the battle bravely fought, yet the inspired historian ascribes the victory to the hand of the Lord, as entirely as if he had smitten the Benjamites by a miracle.
[for the man.]
hiding in ambush ..... dash .... They <02363 0693> [the liers in wait hasted.]
made a mad <04900> [drew themselves along. or, made a long sound with the trumpets.]
arranged ... signal <04150> [Now there.]
From this verse to the end of the chapter, we have the details of the same operations which are mentioned, in a general way, in the preceding verses of this chapter.
arranged ... signal <04150> [sign. or, time.]
<05973> [and. Heb. with. flame. Heb. elevation.]
Israelites .......... Israelites ....... men <0376> [And when.]
strike down ..... struck down <02491 05221> [smite and kill. Heb. smite the wounded.]
pillar <05982> [a pillar.]
turned <06437> [looked.]
signal .................... whole <04864 03632> [flame. Heb. whole consumption.]
panicked <0926> [were amazed.]
doorstep <05060> [was come upon them. Heb. touched them.]
battle <04421> [the battle.]
surrounded <03803> [inclosed.]
Nohah <04496> [with ease. or, from Menuchah, etc. over against. Heb. unto over against.]
Rimmon <07417> [Rimmon.]
twenty-five <06242> [twenty.]
Six hundred <03967 08337> [six hundred.]
cliff ... Rimmon <07417 05553> [rock of Rimmon.]
The rock Rimmon was doubtless a strong place; but it is uncertain where situated. It is probable however, that it was near, and took its name from, the village of Remmon, mentioned by Eusebius, fifteen miles north from Jerusalem. It appears that rocks are still resorted to in the East, as places of security; and some of them are even capable of sustaining a siege. De La Roque says, that "The Grand Seignior, wishing to seize the person of the emir (Fakr-eddin, prince of the Druses,) gave orders to the pacha to take him prisoner: he accordingly came in search of him, with a new army, in the district of Chouf, which is part of mount Lebanon, wherein is the village of Gesin, and close to it, the rock which served for a retreat to the emir. It is named in Arabic, Magara Gesin, i.e., the cavern of Gessin, by which name it is famous. The pacha pressed the emir so closely, that this unfortunate prince was obliged to shut himself up in the cleft of a great rock, with a small number of his officers. The pacha besieged him there several months; and was going to blow up the rock by a mine, when the emir capitulated."
put <05221 06310> [smote them.]
find <04672> [came to hand. Heb. was found. they came to. Heb. were found.]
oath <07650> [had sworn.]
<0376> [There.]
daughter <01323> [his daughter.]
<01004> [the house.]
<05375> [lifted.]
Israel ...... Israel ........ Israel <03478> [why is.]
early <07925> [rose early.]
built ... altar <01129 04196> [built there.]
solemn oath <07621 01419> [a great oath.]
regretted ........ Benjamin <05162 01144> [repented them.]
oath <07650> [sworn.]
Jabesh <03003> [Jabesh-gilead.]
This place, as its name imports, was situated in Gilead, east of Jordan. Eusebius and Jerome say it was a great town in their time, standing upon a hill, six miles south from Pella, in the way to Geresa, now Djerash. The Wady Yabes, mentioned by Burckhardt, which empties itself into the Jordan, in the neighbourhood of Bisan or Beth-shan (see 1 Sa 31:11,) and upon which Pella was situated, (celebrated by Pliny, 1. v. c. 18, for its fine waters,) seems to have taken its name from Jabesh. Near this spot, we must therefore look for its site; and the place called Kalaat Rabbad seems to correspond, very nearly, to the spot; though it probably still retains among the Arabs its ancient name.
kill <03212 05221> [Go and smite.]
As they had sworn to destroy those who would not assist in the war (ver. 5,) they determined to destroy the men of Jabesh, and to leave none except the virgins; and to give these to the 600 Benjamites who had escaped to the rock of Rimmon. The whole account is dreadful. The crime of the men of Gibeah was of the deepest dye; the punishment involving both the guilty and innocent, was extended to the most criminal excess, and their mode of remedying the evil they had occasioned was equally abominable.
male .............. male <02145> [every male.]
sexual relations <03045 04904> [hath lain by man. Heb. knoweth the lying with man.]
virgins <01330> [virgins. Heb. women, virgins. Shiloh.]
messengers <01696> [to speak. Heb. and spake and called. the rock Rimmon.]
assured ..... not ... harmed <07965 07121> [call peaceably. or, proclaim peace.]
there were ... enough <04672> [sufficed them not.]
regretted <05162> [repented.]
weakened <06556> [a breach.]
preserved <03425> [an inheritance.]
took an oath <07650> [sworn.]
festival <02282> [a feast.]
annual <03117> [yearly. Heb. from year to year. on the east side. or, toward the sun rising. of the highway. or, on. Lebonah.]
Maundrell supposes, that either Khan Leban, which is situated on the eastern side of a "delicious vale," four leagues south from Shechem, and two leagues north from Bethel, or the village of Leban, which is on the opposite side, occupies the site of the ancient Lebonah. It is eight hours, or about 24 miles, from Jerusalem, according to Dr. Richardson.
<02342> [dance.]
favor .......... get <02603 03947> [Be favourable unto them. or, Gratify us in them.]
each <0376> [each man.]
voluntarily given ... wives <05414 06256> [give unto.]
<03212> [and they went.]
It appears that the Benjamites acted in the most honourable way to the women they had thus violently carried off, and we may rest assured, that they took them to an inheritance more than equal to their own. But this transaction, as well as the indiscriminate massacre of the people of Jabesh-gilead, as Dr. Gray observes, was certainly stamped with injustice and cruelty; and must be condemned on those principles which the Scriptures elsewhere furnish.
rebuilt <01129> [repaired.]
king <04428> [no.]
right <03477> [right.]
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF JUDGES. The book of Judges forms an important link in the history of the Israelites. It furnishes us with a lively description of a fluctuating and unsettled nation; a striking picture of the disorders and dangers which prevailed in a republic without magistracy; when "the high-ways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through by-ways," (ch. 5:6;) when few prophets were appointed to control the people, and "every one did that which was right in his own eyes." (ch. 17:6.) It exhibits the contest of true religion with superstition; and displays the beneficial effects that flow from the former, and the miseries and evil consequences of impiety. It is a most remarkable history of the long-suffering of God towards the Israelites, in which we see the most signal instances of his justice and mercy alternately displayed: the people sinned, and were punished; they repented, and found mercy. These things are written for our warning: none should presume, for God is just; none need despair, for God is merciful. Independently of the internal evidence of the authenticity of this sacred book, the transactions it records are not only cited or alluded to by other inspired writers, but are further confirmed by the traditions current among heathen nations.
