The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Judges 21
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in
Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his
daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
2 The people came to Bethel and satthere
until evening before God, and lifted up
their voices, and wept severely.
3 They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel,
why has this happened in Israel, that there
should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”
4 On the next day, the people rose early
and built an altar there, and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings.
5 The children of Israel said, “Who is
there among all the tribes of Israel who
didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made a great oath
concerning him who didn’t come up to
Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely
be put to death.”
6 The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one
tribe cut off from Israel today.
7 How shall we provide wives for those
who remain, since we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our
daughters to wives?”
8 They said, “What one is there of the
tribes of Israel who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah?” Behold, no one came
from Jabesh Gilead to the camp to the assembly.
9 For when the people were counted,
behold, there were none ofthe inhabitants
of Jabesh Gilead there.
10 The congregation sent twelve thousand of the most valiant men there, and
commanded them, saying, “Go and strike
the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the
edge ofthe sword, with the women and the
little ones.
11 This is the thing that you shall do: you
shall utterly destroy every male, and every
woman who has lain with a man.”
12 They found among the inhabitants of
Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins
who had not known man by lying with
him; and they brought them to the camp to
Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 The whole congregation sent and
spoke to the children of Benjamin who
were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
14 Benjamin returned at that time; and
they gave themthe women whomtheyhad
saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead.
There still weren’t enough for them.
15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a breach in the
tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation
said, “How shall we provide wives for
those who remain, since the women are
destroyed out of Benjamin?
17 They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of
Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from
Israel.
18 However, 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.
19 They 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.
20 They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying,
“Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21 and 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.
22 It 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.
23 The 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.
24 The 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.
25 In those days there was no king in
Israel. Everyone did that which was right
in his own eyes.