Judges 8:31

8:31 His concubine, ¹  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ² 

Judges 19:2

19:2 However, she ³  got angry at him ⁴  and went home ⁵  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

Judges 19:10

19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ⁶  and traveled as far as ⁷  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ⁸  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ⁹ 

Judges 19:27

19:27 When her master ¹⁰  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.

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 

Judges 20:4-6

20:4 The Levite, ¹³  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ¹⁴  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹⁵  to spend the night. 20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. ¹⁶  They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces ¹⁷  throughout the territory occupied by Israel, ¹⁸  because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity ¹⁹  in Israel.

Judges 19:1

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ²⁰  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ²¹  from Bethlehem ²²  in Judah.

Judges 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ²³  with his concubine and his servant, ²⁴  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ²⁵  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ²⁶  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ²⁷ 

Judges 19:24-25

19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ²⁸  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ²⁹  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ³⁰  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ³¹  They raped ³²  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

[8:31]  ¹ sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

[8:31]  ² sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”

[19:2]  ³ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[19:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the front of.”

[19:10]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:10]  ⁸ tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”

[19:27]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

[19:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”

[20:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”

[20:4]  ¹² tn Heb “came to.”

[20:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[20:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”

[20:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”

[20:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”

[20:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”

[19:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

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

[19:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ²⁰ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ²² tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ²³ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ²² tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[19:25]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:25]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”

[19:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.