His master said to him, “We won’t enter into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.” He said to his servant, “Come and let’s draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.” So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.
Behold, an old man came from his work out of the field at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites. He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”
He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem Judah. I am going to Yahweh’s house; and there is no one who has taken me into his house. Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your servant, and for the young man who is with your servants. There is no lack of anything.”
The old man said, “Peace be to you! Just let me supply all your needs, but don’t sleep in the street.” So he brought him into his house, and gave the donkeys fodder. Then they washed their feet, and ate and drank. As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain wicked fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we can have sex with him!”
The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, don’t do this folly. Behold, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man don’t do any such folly.”
But the men wouldn’t listen to him; so the man grabbed his concubine, and brought her out to them; and they had sex with her, and abused her all night until the morning. When the day began to dawn, they let her go. Then the woman came in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, until it was light. Her lord rose up in the morning and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
He said to her, “Get up, and let’s get going!” but no one answered. Then he took her up on the donkey; and the man rose up, and went to his place.
When he had come into his house, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel. It was so, that all who saw it said, “Such a deed has not been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day! Consider it, take counsel, and speak.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30 Though in these days there were most horrible corruptions,…
Though in these days there were most horrible corruptions, yet very necessity could not compel them, to have to do with them that professed not the true God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv12–30 Jdg 19:12 And his master said unto him, We…
Jdg 19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
Ver. 12. We will pass over to Gibeah.] But where can a man be safe from the devil and his imps? And what place but hell itself can yield a worse creature than a depraved Israelite, than a profligate professor? We used to say that an Englishman Italianate is a devil incarnate. In Mexico and other parts of America, whoredom and sodomy - those Spanish virtues - are common without reproof among the pseudo-Catholics; whereas the Indians abhor this most loathsome living; showing themselves in respect of the Spaniards, as the Scythians did in respect of the Grecians, whom they so far excelled in life and behaviour, as they were short of them in learning and knowledge.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Of a stranger, i.e. of a strange nation, which…
Of a stranger, i.e. of a strange nation, which the Canaanites possess; for though the city Jerusalem had been taken by Caleb, Jdg 1, yet the strong fort of Zion was still in their hands, 2Sa 5:6,7, whence it is likely they did much molest, and afterwards, by God’s permission, and for the punishment of their sin, drive out the Israelites who dwelt there.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv16, 22 Though there as not one of Gibeah, yet it…
Though there as not one of Gibeah, yet it proved there was one in Gibeah, that showed some civility to this distressed Levite, who was glad that any one took notice of him. It was strange that some of those wicked people, who, when it was dark, designed so ill to him and his concubine, did not, under pretence of kindness, invite them in, that they might have a fairer opportunity of perpetrating their villany; but either they had not wit enough to be so designing, or not wickedness enough to be so deceiving. Or, perhaps, none of them separately thought of such a wickedness, till in the black and dark night they got together to contrive what mischief they should do. Bad people in confederacy make one another much worse than any of them would be by themselves. When the Levite, and his wife, and servant, were beginning to fear that they must lie in the street all night (and as good have laid in a den of lions) they were at length invited into a house, and we are here told,
I. Who that kind man was that invited them. 1. He was a man of Mount Ephraim, and only sojourned in Gibeah, Jdg 19:16. Of all the tribes of Israel, the Benjamites had most reason to be kind to poor travellers, for their ancestor, Benjamin, was born upon the road, his mother being then upon a journey, and very near to this place, Gen 35:16, Gen 35:17. Yet they were hard-hearted to a traveller in distress, while an honest Ephraimite had compassion on him, and, no doubt, was the more kind to him, when, upon enquiry, he found that he was his countryman, of Mount Ephraim likewise. He that was himself but a sojourner in Gibeah was the more compassionate to a wayfaring man, for he knew the heart of a stranger, Exo 23:9; Deu 10:19. Good people, that look upon themselves but as strangers and sojourners in this world, should for this reason be tender to one another, because they all belong to the same better country and are not at home here. 2. He was an old man, one that retained some of the expiring virtue of an Israelite. The rising generation was entirely corrupted; if there was any good remaining among them, it was only with those that were old and going off. 3. He was coming home from his work out of the field at eventide. The evening calls home labourers, Psa 104:23. But, it should seem, this was the only labourer that this evening brought home to Gibeah. The rest had given themselves up to sloth and luxury, and no marvel there was among them, as in Sodom, abundance of uncleanness, when there was among them, as in Sodom, abundance of idleness, Eze 16:49. But he that was honestly diligent in his business all day was disposed to be generously hospitable to these poor strangers at night. Let men labour, that they may have to give, Eph 4:28. It appears from Jdg 19:21 that he was a man of some substance, and yet had been himself at work in the field. No man's estate will privilege him in idleness.
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II. How free and generous he was in his invitation. He did not stay till they applied to him to beg for a night's lodging; but when he saw them (Jdg 19:17) enquired into their circumstances, and anticipated them with his kindness. Thus our good God answers before we call. Note, A charitable disposition expects only opportunity, not importunity, to do good, and will succour upon sight, unsought unto. Hence we read of a bountiful eye, Pro 22:9. If Gibeah was like Sodom, this old man was like Lot in Sodom, who sat in the gate to invite strangers, Gen 19:1. Thus Job opened his doors to the traveller, and would not suffer him to lodge in the street, Job 31:32. Observe, 1. How ready he was to give credit to the Levite's account of himself when he saw no reason at all to question the truth of it. Charity is not apt to distrust, but hopeth all things (Co1 13:7) and will not make use of Nabal's excuse for his churlishness to David, Many servants now-a-days break away from their masters, Sa1 25:10. The Levite, in his account of himself, professed that he was now going to the house of the Lord (Jdg 19:18), for there he designed to attend, either with a trespass-offering for the sins of his family, or with a peace-offering for the mercies of his family, or both, before he went to his own house. And, if the men of Gibeah had any intimation of his being bound that way, probably they would therefore be disinclined to entertain him. The Samaritans would not receive Christ because his face was towards Jerusalem, Luk 9:53. But for this reason, because he was a Levite and was now going to the house of the Lord, this good old man was the more kind to him. Thus he received a disciples in the name of a disciple, a servant of God for his Master's sake. 2. How free he was to give him entertainment. The Levite was himself provided with all necessaries (Jdg 19:19), wanted nothing but a lodging, but his generous host would be himself at the charge of his entertainment (Jdg 19:20): Let all thy wants be upon me; so he brought him into his house, Jdg 19:21. Thus God will, some way or other, raise up friends for his people and ministers, even when they seem forlorn.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv12–30 And his master said unto him, we will not…
And his master said unto him, we will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger,.... A city of the children of the Gentiles, as the Targum, as the Jebusites were, being one of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, who were to be dispossessed and destroyed; and which, one would think, he would not have so called, had it been inhabited, though but in part, by the children of Judah and Benjamin: by this it appears, that this Levite was a good man, and conscientious, and shunned all appearance of evil, and the company of wicked men, as became his character and profession: and it is added:
that is not of the children of Israel; which further confirms the above conjecture, that this city was not as yet at all in the hands of the Israelites; or if it had been, was retaken, and now in the hands of the Jebusites:
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we will pass over to Gibeah; which was in the tribe of Benjamin, and inhabited by men of that tribe, and so more agreeable to this Levite, though it proved fatal to him; this was, as Josephus says (r) thirty furlongs, or near four miles from Jebus or Jerusalem; and though it was near sun setting, he chose rather to proceed on to this place, than to lodge at Jebus, and the rather it may be, as it was a Levitical city, Jos 21:17.
(r) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30 A stranger - That is, of a strange nation:…
A stranger - That is, of a strange nation: which the Canaanites possess; for though the city Jerusalem had been taken by Caleb, chap. i, 8, yet the strong fort of Zion was still in their hands, whence it is likely they did much molest, and afterwards by God's permission, drive out the Israelites who dwelt there.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Verse 15. No man - took them into his…
Verse 15. No man - took them into his house to lodging.] 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. To say that there were no inns in those primitive times, is not true; there were such places, though not very frequent. Joseph's brethren found their money in their sacks when they loosed them at an inn, Ge 42:27. The house of Rahab was an inn, Jos 2:1. And the woman whose house Samson frequented at Gaza was a hostess, or one who kept a place of public entertainment.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30 Jdg 19:12. The city of a stranger — That…
Jdg 19:12. The city of a stranger — That is, of a strange nation; a city which the Canaanites possess. For though Jerusalem had been taken by Caleb, (chap. 1.,) yet the strong fort of Zion was still in their hands, whence it is likely they did much molest, and afterward, by God’s permission, drive out the Israelites who dwelt there.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, 29 City of a stranger - This shows how completely,…
City of a stranger - This shows how completely, even in these early days, the Jebusite population had excluded both the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 Rama was not so far as Gabaa; so that,…
Rama was not so far as Gabaa; so that, if they could not travel to the latter place, they might turn to the former, and lodge all night. They held on their journey, however, till they came not very late, to Gabaa.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v22 The wicked deed of the Gibeathites, and the measure…
The wicked deed of the Gibeathites, and the measure taken by the Levite to invoke the judgment of the nation on the perpetrators.
Jdg_19:22-30
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22Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain [omit: certain] sons of Belial [worthless fellows], beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. 23And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man Isaiah 24 come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden [virgin], and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing 25[lit.the matter of this folly]. But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 26Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, [and lay there] till it was light. 27And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. 28And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an 29[the] ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with [according to] her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts [country] of Israel. 30And it was so, that all that saw it, said,14 There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children [sons] of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[1 Jdg_19:30.—“The perfects וְהָיָה ,וְאָמַר, Jdg_19:30, do not stand for the imperfects with vav consecutive, וַיְהִי ,וַיּאֹמֶר, as Hitzig, Bertheau, and others suppose, but are perfecta consequentiœ, expressive of the result which the Levite expects from his action. It is only necessary to supply a לֵאמֹר before וְהָיָה, which in lively narration or agitated discourse is frequently omitted (cf. e.g. Exo_8:5 with Jdg_7:2). The narrator uses the perfects, instead of the imperfects with simple ו, usual in clauses expressive of design, quia quod futurum esse prœvidebat tanquam factum animo suo obversabatur (Rosenmüller). The Levite’s expectation that the moral indignation of all the tribes will be roused against such wickedness, and will lead them to resolve on punishment, is thus represented not as a doubtful conjecture, but as the confident anticipation of a certainly ensuing fact” (Keil). It is impossible to imitate this exactly in English, but the better rendering of the passage would be: “sent her into all the territory of Israel, saying [or, as we would say, thinking] it shall be that all who see shall say. There was no such deed done or seen,” etc. Chapter 20 shows, as Keil remarks, that the Levite was right in his anticipations. Dr. Cassel translates as the E. V.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Jdg_19:22 ff. The narrator is aware that he has to relate a history similar to the one that occurred in Sodom in the days of Lot; for at suitable points his language takes the same turns of expression (cf. Gen_19:5; Gen_19:7-8). Lot was only a resident in Sodom, just as here the aged Ephraimite is in Gibeah. He, like the latter, had invited the guests to his house. The Sodomites surrounded the house, and demanded the surrender of the strangers, as the Gibeathites do here. Lot proposes to bring forth his daughters, and the aged host of our history makes the same proposition. The dissimilarities, it is true, are equally conspicuous. The guests of Lot were angels, who frustrated all sinful designs: here, the entertainer receives but an imperfect Levite. Although the aged host cannot be compared with the hospitable nephew of Abraham, it must be admitted that he acts like a good Israelite. The men of Gibeah were personally sinners even beyond those of Sodom, for they had a God who does not tolerate such abominations. But their sin was the outbreaking of individual depravity; in Sodom it was the fruit of the national life. Hence, both were punished according to their guilt. Benjamin perished almost; Sodom was wholly destroyed. In Sodom all sinned, from the youth to the gray head (Gen_19:4): in Gibeah, the criminals were “sons of wickedness,” who, however, by being called אַנְשֵׁי הָעיר, “men of the city,” are shown to belong to the higher classes, which circumstance also accounts for their unchecked attainment of such great proficiency in evil. This nightly vagabondizing of wanton youth was but too well known to antiquity, even in Roman times, when Roman emperors took part in it. Here, however, unholy, idolatrous usages seem also to have come into play, according to which strangers were abused for purposes of sensuality, as, contrariwise, in the service of the Syrian Goddess natives were given up to the stranger. It was a night-riot, which began with sundown and ceased with the morning. Hence, the Levite probably remained unmolested until night had fully set in, and could depart unhindered when the day broke.
It was at all events a fearful crime in Israel. The Mosaic law punished it with death (Lev_20:13; cf. Jdg_18:22, etc.). Even the infringement of the rights of hospitality was in Hesiod’s opinion, which was followed by the later Greeks, a crime of equal magnitude with adultery or the defilement of a father’s bed (Nägelsbach, Nachhom. Theol. 252 f.). The aged host was, therefore, right in speaking of the matter as a נְבָלָה, an abominable crime. But the savage Benjamites are no more willing to hear reason than the men of Sodom were. Their violent thundering at the door (מִתְדַּפְּקִים), and their language (cf. Gen_19:9), afforded sufficient occasion to the host to fear that they would soon break into the house itself. He is most especially concerned to shield the Levite, for in this direction lay the chief crime. Hence, no requisition is made upon the servant to give himself up for his master—for that would not have changed the nature of the crime,—but the host, like Lot, offers them women,15 his own daughter being one. But he is not called upon to make this sacrifice: the Benjamites will not have his daughter; for she is no stranger, and belongs to their neighbor. It is especially to this offer of his daughter that the opening words of Jdg_19:25 apply: “they would not hearken.” Hereupon the Levite takes his resolution, and leads forth his concubine. Her beauty pacifies the violent wantons; but she herself falls a victim to their horrible lusts. The beastly treatment she receives deprives her of life. What an awful lesson! The same woman, whose sensuality was heretofore unsatisfied, is now killed by excess of illicit intercourse. The Levite who, notwithstanding her wanton disposition, runs after her, is now obliged to give her up to others.16 She who would not live for him, must now die for him.—In Christendom, also, similar horrors have occurred. Who could bear to write the history of licentiousness! At the close of the fourteenth century a Thuringian knight abducted a maiden. Placing her on his horse behind himself, he intended to reach Erfurt the same evening before the closing of the city-gates. He failed, and was compelled to seek shelter with the maiden in the hospital situated outside of the city. The inmates, when they saw the beautiful woman, murdered the knight, and abused her until she died. The crime being discovered, the house was burned down, together with the criminals (Falkenstein, Hist. von Erfurt, p. 277).
Jdg_19:29 f.. And he came into his house. It must have been a fearful night for the Levite, knowing that his concubine was in the power of the wanton mob, and it was a terrible morning when he found her dead on the threshold of the house. He had risen early, and made better haste to get away from the house of his host than he had done to leave that of his father-in-law, in order to avoid a meeting with the inhabitants.17 His journey was a sad one; for his second ass carried the lifeless body of the dishonored woman. Filled with these horrors, perpetrated against him in Israel, he appeals to all the people of Israel. He cuts the corpse into twelve pieces, and sends them out in every direction. Expositors have one after another spoken here of Lucian’s narrative (in Toxaris) of the Scythian custom of sitting on the hide: “if any man is injured by another, and is unable to revenge himself, he sacrifices an ox, cuts up the flesh, and dresses it; then spreading the skin on the ground, he sits down on it, etc. Whoever pleases then comes, takes a part of the flesh, and placing his right foot on the hide, makes a solemn promise to assist him to the utmost of his abilities.” It must be said that there is no analogy whatever between this usage and the act of the Levite. The Scythian usage is the symbolical formula of an oath, by which all who take part in it promise to unite themselves into one body with the supplicant. But such is not the idea in our passage, nor yet in 1Sa_11:7. Saul sends out the pieces of the divided oxen with the threatening message, that thus it shall be done to the oxen of every one who does not take the field after him. The Levite has no right to do anything of this kind. He issues no threat which he himself can execute. Nor does he place Israel under oath18 to avenge his wrong. But he shows the nation what is possible within its borders, and what may happen to any one in Israel as well as it has happened to himself. Hence, he sends not a divided ox, but the divided woman. Saul threatens that the oxen of those who do not follow him, shall be cut to pieces. The Levite intimates that unless such practices are abolished in Israel, the same fate may befall any woman. He points to the anarchy which breaks out in Israel, when the rights of hospitality are no longer respected, and the rights of the householder no longer secure, and when heathen abominations like those of Sodom are practiced in the land.19 The woman cut in pieces speaks more loudly than any other language could do. Of course, a message accompanied the pieces of the body, the contents of which are given in verse 30. Every one who saw must say that anything like this had not occurred in Israel since the nation dwelt in Canaan. It closed with the words: “Take the matter to heart, advise, and speak.”
Doubtless, the divided body spake loudly to all the tribes of Israel. But it spoke not of repentance, but only of the necessity of taking prudent measures against the recurrence of similar outrages, of which any one might himself become the victim. And yet the thing needed was not merely the removal of the abomination which was manifest, but the conversion of the heart, whose hidden wickedness had produced the abomination. The Levite points to the sins that had been committed; but does he also confess the share he himself had in them, and in the guilt that attached to them? The same self-righteousness is revealed by the whole people, as is shown by Judges 20.
Footnotes:
[14][Jdg_19:30.—“The perfects וְהָיָה ,וְאָמַר, Jdg_19:30, do not stand for the imperfects with vav consecutive, וַיְהִי ,וַיּאֹמֶר, as Hitzig, Bertheau, and others suppose, but are perfecta consequentiœ, expressive of the result which the Levite expects from his action. It is only necessary to supply a לֵאמֹר before וְהָיָה, which in lively narration or agitated discourse is frequently omitted (cf. e.g. Exo_8:5 with Jdg_7:2). The narrator uses the perfects, instead of the imperfects with simple ו, usual in clauses expressive of design, quia quod futurum esse prœvidebat tanquam factum animo suo obversabatur (Rosenmüller). The Levite’s expectation that the moral indignation of all the tribes will be roused against such wickedness, and will lead them to resolve on punishment, is thus represented not as a doubtful conjecture, but as the confident anticipation of a certainly ensuing fact” (Keil). It is impossible to imitate this exactly in English, but the better rendering of the passage would be: “sent her into all the territory of Israel, saying [or, as we would say, thinking] it shall be that all who see shall say. There was no such deed done or seen,” etc. Chapter 20 shows, as Keil remarks, that the Levite was right in his anticipations. Dr. Cassel translates as the E. V.—Tr.]
[15]He imitates the example of Lot. Therein lies his excuse. He seeks to prevent one sin, and commits another without knowing whether he can prevent the first.
[16]This act of his also testifies to the degeneracy of the Levitical body. He has not moral strength enough to die in order to preserve himself from defilement, and hence thinks himself obliged to surrender his concubine. His own head, therefore, shares in the guilt of the crime done on the woman.
[17][He probably gave up all idea of recovering his concubine, as being hopeless. So Bertheau and Keil. He may have entertained plans for rescuing her in some more effective way. There is at all events nothing in the text that justifies us to suppose that he went on his way, “as if he did not once think what had become of his unhappy companion,” and was “reminded of her only by stumbling upon her lifeless corpse,” as Bush rather wildly comments—Tr.]
[18]It might be thought that an analogy is afforded by the singular oath on the sacrificial pieces of a boar, a ram, and a bull, which Demosthenes mentions as taken by the accuser in cases of murder (adv. Aristocratem, p. 642); but here also none exists.
[19]This sense is also contained in the words of the Levite in Jdg_20:6.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 29 in Gibeah, or in Ramah--The first of these places…
in Gibeah, or in Ramah--The first of these places was five miles northeast, the other from four to five north of Jerusalem.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 24, 29, 30 13. In Gibeah, or in Ramah — Cities of…
13. In Gibeah, or in Ramah — Cities of Benjamin lying northward from Jerusalem, one about an hour, the other two hours, or more, distant. See Jos_18:25; Jos_18:28.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30 12. The text is to be preferred to the…
12. The text is to be preferred to the marg.; but that is not should be construed with a stranger rather than with the city.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 (12) To Gibeah.—This is the “Gibeah of Saul,” where…
(12) To Gibeah.—This is the “Gibeah of Saul,” where the first king of Israel was born (1Sa_11:4). It was one of the fourteen cities of Benjamin (Jos_18:28), and is the modern Tuleil el Ful. It only involved a journey of four miles more (Jos. Antt. v. 2, § 8).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30 Gibeah (or ha-Gibeah, the hill).. In the tribe of…
Gibeah (or ha-Gibeah, the hill).. In the tribe of Benjamin; (Jos_18:28) Saul"s birthplace. Its modern name is Jeba. It would be about two and a half hours" further journey from Jerusalem.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v24 the matter of this folly.
vile
the matter of this folly.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v22 The Shameful Act of the Men of Gibeah
The Shameful Act of the Men of Gibeah
v. 22. Now, as they were making their hearts merry, as they became better acquainted during the evening meal, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, worthless, profitless, vicious fools, among whom, apparently, were also the leaders of the city, beset the house round about, to prevent escape, and beat at the door, becoming more insistent right along, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house that we may know him. They wanted to commit the same revolting crime of Sodomy or pederasty upon the Levite which had brought destruction upon Sodom, Gen 19:6-8.
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v. 23. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, as Lot had done in the same situation, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, being protected by the ancient rules of hospitality, do not this folly.
v. 24. Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, in making them objects of their lust, and do with them what seemeth good unto you; but unto this man do not so vile a thing, in committing an act of infamous immorality.
v. 25. But the men would not hearken to him, for even ordinary fornication did not satisfy their depraved desires; so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them, hoping thereby to save himself, to prevent one sin by committing another; and they, turning their wantonness upon the woman, since no other victim seemed available, knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning, in an orgy of devilish lust; and when the day began to spring, at the first dawn of morning, they let her go.
v. 26. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, just as it was getting light, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord, her husband, was, till it was light, deprived of her life by the beastly treatment accorded her by the mob.
v. 27. And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way, considering the idea of ever recovering his concubine as being utterly hopeless in this den of iniquity; and, behold, the woman, his concubine, was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold, her arms stretched out, as though seeking help.
v. 28. And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. His wife was dead. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up and gat him unto his place.
v. 29. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, divided after the manner of slaughtered animals, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel, messengers going forth to explain the meaning of their gruesome burden, according to an ancient custom of inviting men to join in wreaking vengeance upon the perpetrators of such a beastly act.
v. 30. And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day. Consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds; they were to think over the case, to take counsel one with another, and get ready to act in the matter, for it was out of the question that such a horrible deed should go unpunished. That is the result when men forget and forsake the living God—every form of uncleanness and immorality, the most unnatural horrors: Let the heart of every man be firm in the fear of the Lord, lest he take part in deeds of darkness and become a slave of the Prince of Darkness.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27, 29 turn aside into
turn aside into
This means to take a break from their journey and stop at a place along the route. See how you translated a similar phrase in Judges 19:11. AT: "stop at" (See: Idiom)
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Come, let us
This is an idiom used to make a suggestion. AT: "I suggest that we" (See: Idiom)
translationWords
lord
alien
Israel
Gibeah
Levi
Ramah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.