Judges 21:20-23 sits inside this longer paragraph.
13The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. 14Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead. There still weren’t enough for them. 15The people grieved for Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” 17They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. 18However, we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ” 19They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.” 20They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we didn’t take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them; otherwise you would now be guilty.’ ”
23The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them. 24The children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they each went out from there to his own inheritance. 25In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22–23 Though they thought hereby to persuade men that they…
Though they thought hereby to persuade men that they kept their oath, yet before God it was broken.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–23 Jdg 21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,…
Jdg 21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
Ver. 20. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin.] Who should first have examined the commands of their superiors, before they had obeyed them. Obediemus Artridis honesta mandantibus, saith the tragedian {a}
Read full note →
{a} Eurip., in Iphig.
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 vv21–23 The daughters of Shiloh; by whom he may possibly…
The daughters of Shiloh; by whom he may possibly understand not those only who were born or settled inhabitants there, (as many conceive,) but all those who were come thither upon this occasion, and for a time sojourned there; for although only the males were obliged to go up to the three solemn feasts, yet it is apparent that the women had liberty to go, and those who were most devout did usually go, and others, upon special reasons or occasions: see 1Sa 1:7,21,22 2:1; Luk 2:22,23,41-43. And it may be justly presumed, especially concerning those women that lived at no great distance from the place of public worship, that they came thither in great numbers. Moreover, the daughters of Shiloh, strictly so called, are not only they that lived in that town or city, but in the country belonging to it, which off comes under the name of the city to which it belongs. And these may be here particularly named, because though others might come, yet they were under great obligations to come, because of their nearness to the place.
The vineyards were near to their dancing-place.
Read full note →
Catch ye every man his wife; take them away by force or violence; which they might the better do, because mixed dances were not used by the people of God in their solemnities, but the women danced by themselves, and therefore were more liable to this rape.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–23 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,.... The two…
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin,.... The two hundred men of the tribe that wanted wives; they ordered them as follows, and which they spake with authority, being the elders of the congregation, Jdg 21:16.
saying, go and lie in wait in the vineyards; which might belong to Shiloh, or it may be to Lebonah, which perhaps is the same with Bethlaban, famous for its wine with the Misnic writers; who say (g) the second places for wine are Bethrimah and Bethlaban; and I suspect that Bethrimah is the same with Bethrimmon, near which was the rock Rimmon these men were in; now this being the time of year when the vintage was just over, the vines were full of branches and leaves, under which the men might the better hide themselves; and the grapes being gathered, there were no men in the vineyards, and so might lie in wait safely, and under cover.
Read full note →
(g) Misn. Menachot, c. 8. sect. 6.
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 vv21, 23 Daughters of Shiloh - By whom we may understand…
Daughters of Shiloh - By whom we may understand not those only who were born or settled inhabitants there, but all those who were come thither upon this occasion, and for a time sojourned there: for although only the males were obliged to go up to the three solemn feasts; yet the women had liberty to go, and those who were most devout did usually go. Vineyards - Which were near to the green where they danced. Catch - Take them away by force, which they might the better do, because the women danced by themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–23 Verse 21. And catch you every man his wife]…
Verse 21. And catch you every man his wife] That is, Let each man of the two hundred Benjamites seize and carry off a woman, whom he is, from that hour, to consider as his wife.
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 vv21, 23 Jdg 21:21. Daughters of Shiloh — By whom we…
Jdg 21:21. Daughters of Shiloh — By whom we may understand not those only who were born or settled inhabitants there, but all those who were come thither upon this occasion, and for a time sojourned there: for although only the males were obliged to go up to the three solemn feasts, yet the women had liberty to go, and those who were most devout did usually go. Vineyards — Which were near to the green where they danced. Catch — Take them away by force, which they might the better do, because the women danced by themselves. Thus they thought they kept their oath, because they did not give them wives, but only suffered them to take them, and to keep them when they had taken them. But, alas! what better was this than a mere evasion of it, and at the same time an authorizing of fraud, violence, and the marriage of children without the consent of their parents? Which last particular, if it might have been dispensed with, there was no need of this scheme, for the Benjamites could easily have found themselves wives, without the Israelites giving them their daughters.
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 vv22–23 Ye did not give ... - i. e., they…
Ye did not give ... - i. e., they had not broken the oath mentioned in Jdg 21:1, so as to be guilty of taking the Lord’s name in vain. They did not give their daughters to Benjamin: the Benjamites had taken them by force. Such casuistry as this condemns the system of oaths, and illustrates the wisdom of our Lord’s precept Mat 5:33-37.
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 vv21–22 To dance; not in a lascivious manner, as a…
To dance; not in a lascivious manner, as a certain heretical interpreter would have it, but out of a religious motive. (Menochius) --- Such dances were formerly very common among all nations. The Therapeuts, who are supposed to have been the first Jewish converts to the Christian faith, in Egypt, and were remarkable for their modesty and serious deportment, danced nevertheless in their religious assemblies, first in two separate bands, and afterwards men and women together. (Philo, contemplat.) The women still dance round the tombs of their relatives, in Palestine, with solemn lamentations. (Roger, and Le Brun’s Voyages) --- Come. Josephus insinuates, that the women were to be seized as they came from different parts to the solemnity. But it hance appears that they were coming out to the city; (Calmet) though it is very probable that the virgins did not all belong to it, but came from all Israel: for why should the people of Silo be forced to supply wives for these surviving Benjamites, against whose character they might reasonably entertain such strong objections? But, if all the assembly agreed that the Benjamites should select from among their daughters whomsoever they could lay their hands on, they could not complain that they were treated with peculiar severity. (Haydock) --- But did not the Israelites offend by giving this counsel, so contrary to the import of their vow? And were not the Benjamites equally guilty in following such advice? It is answered that, in odious matters words must be taken in all their rigour, and the person who vows not to give, does not engage himself to reclaim if the thing be taken. Those who gave the advice are not perhaps deserving of excuse, on account of the artifice which they employ to get rid of their oath; but the rest, who were not apprised of it till after the execution, were surely without blame; and the Benjamites, who followed the counsel of respectable men, in such circumstances, cannot be considered as guilty of a rape, &c. (Grotius, Jur. ii. 13.; Cornelius a Lapide) (Calmet) --- St. Ambrose (ep. 6,) seems to be of this opinion. Tostat and others cannot, however, approve of these arguments. "As they erroneously supposed that they were bound by their oath, they prudently turned aside to advise the rape." (Tirinus) --- So Liranus, &c. --- But this was only a human prudence. (Haydock) --- The ancients gave counsel to the Benjamites, to ask the people of Silo to give them their daughters in marriage, knowing they would not grant the request, that they might afterwards have recourse to the expedient of taking them by force. "No doubt they were not without blame. For as they believed that their oath was binding, they ought neither to have done nor to have advised any thing, by which it might be violated." (Salien, in the year of the world 2622.) --- The rape at Silo preceded that of the Sabines, at Rome, about 700 years, and both probably happened in September. (Tirinus)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v21 daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances--The…
daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances--The dance was anciently a part of the religious observance. It was done on festive occasions, as it is still in the East, not in town, but in the open air, in some adjoining field, the women being by themselves. The young women being alone indulging their light and buoyant spirits, and apprehensive of no danger, facilitated the execution of the scheme of seizing them, which closely resembles the Sabine rape in Roman history. The elders undertook to reconcile the families to the forced abduction of their daughters. And thus the expression of their public sanction to this deed of violence afforded a new evidence of the evils and difficulties into which the unhappy precipitancy of the Israelites in this crisis had involved them.
Next: Ruth Introduction
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 vv21–23 21. To dance in dances — As did the…
21. To dance in dances — As did the women of the exodus under the leadership of Miriam, (Exo_15:20;) only they danced for triumph, these for pleasure. “There are not in eastern towns places where assemblies can be held for such festivities. It is, therefore, usual to assemble in such pleasant spots as may be in the neighbourhood — in any small valley through which a stream flows, near some secluded fountain, in gardens or plantations. The women especially affect this mode of enjoyment, which agreeably diversifies their somewhat monotonous existence. A few years ago the ladies of Aleppo bribed an astrologer to predict a coming plague, for no other reason than that they might — as they knew to be usual in such cases — be sent out of the way into the suburban gardens. That these festivities are held by the different sexes apart explains that there were no men present to oppose the Benjamites in carrying off their daughters and their sisters.” — Kitto.
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 vv21–23 21. to dance in the dances] For the religious…
21. to dance in the dances] For the religious dance on occasions of joy cf. Exo_32:19, 2Sa_6:14, Psa_149:3; Psa_150:4.
catch you every man his wife] A legend of early Rome tells how Romulus demanded wives from the neighbouring cities for the men whom he had collected. When this was refused, he announced a festival of the god Consus at the foot of the hill he occupied. Sabines and Latins crowded to the spot with their wives and daughters, when the Roman youth rushed upon them and carried off the women to their stronghold: Livy i. 9.
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 vv20, 22 (20) They commanded.—Rather, they gave notice. This is the…
(20) They commanded.—Rather, they gave notice. This is the keri or marginal reading of the Hebrew; the kethib, or written text, has the verb in the singular, in which case we must take it impersonally, “It was bidden,” and suppose that some leading personage—probably Phinehas, the impress of whose character and reminiscences is observable throughout—is the speaker.
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 vv21–23 Come out. The verb is in the masculine gender,…
Come out. The verb is in the masculine gender, though the daughters of Shiloh is the subject (see above, ver. 12, note), To dance in dances. Bishop Patrick says that the feast of tabernacles was the only feast at which Jewish maidens were permitted to dance. Go to the land of Benjamin. The close vicinity of the high road leading from Shechem to Bethel on the border of Benjamin would facilitate their flight.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv20, 22, 23 each one of you should grab a wife ...…
each one of you should grab a wife ... go back to the land of Benjamin
It it understood that the Benjamites would take these women back to their own land with them. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "each one of you should seize one of the girls of Shiloh, and then take her back with you to the land of Benjamin to become your wife" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Read full note →
translationWords
Benjamin
vineyard
watch
Shiloh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.