Judges 19:1-3

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

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 

Judges 19:29

19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ¹¹  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ¹² 

[19:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ² sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  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).

[19:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

[19:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”