King James Version
Judges 21
25 verses with commentary
Wives for the Benjamites
Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.</strong> The Hebrew verb <em>nishba</em> (נִשְׁבַּע, "had sworn") indicates a solemn oath taken before God during the assembly at Mizpeh (20:1). This rash vow created an impossible dilemma: Israel had reduced Benjamin to 600 men who needed wives to survive, yet they had bou...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Had sworn.**—The circumstance has not been mentioned in the account of the proceedings at Mizpeh. It is clear from the sequel (Judges 21:18) that the oath was not only an oath but “a vow under a curse,” as in Acts 23:14.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands--**The straightforward answer of Jephthah shows that their charge was false; their complaint of not being treated as confederates and allies entirely without foundation; and their boast of a ready contribution of their services came with an ill grace from people who had purposely delayed appearing till the crisis was past.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And the people came to the house of God , and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.</strong> After destroying Benjamin and realizing they had nearly annihilated an entire tribe (only 600 men survived), Israel came to "the house of God" (Bethel, where the ark temporarily resided) in grief and repentance. The phrase "abode there till even before God" ind...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **To the house of God.**—Rather, *to Bethel, *as in Judges 20:18; Judges 20:27.
**Wept sore.**—As after their defeat (Judges 20:26); but this time they were remorseful for the fate of those whom they were then pledged to destroy.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands--**A common form of speech in the East for undertaking a duty of imminent peril. This Jephthah had done, having encountered and routed the Ammonites with the aid of his Gileadite volunteers alone; and since the Lord had enabled him to conquer without requiring assistance from any other tribe, why should the Ephraimites take offens...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?</strong> The question "why is this come to pass" (<em>lamah haytah zot</em>, לָמָּה הָיְתָה זֹּאת) reveals Israel's confusion at finding themselves responsible for nearly exterminating a brother tribe. The phrase "one tribe lacking" (<em>shevet echad</em>, שֵׁבֶט אֶח...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Why is this come to pass . . .?**—This is not so much an inquiry into the cause, which was indeed too patent, but a wail of regret, implying a prayer to be enlightened as to the best means of averting the calamity. The repetition of the name “Israel” three times shows that the nation had not yet lost its sense of corporate unity, often as that unity had been rent asunder by their civil disse...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 12:4-15. Discerned by the Word Sibboleth, Are Slain by the Gileadites.
**4-6. the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim--**The remonstrances of Jephthah, though reasonable and temperate, were not only ineffectual, but followed by insulting sneers that the Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts--the s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.</strong> Israel built an altar at Bethel despite the ark and tabernacle being present with their existing altar. The Hebrew <em>mizbeach</em> (מִזְבֵּחַ, "altar") suggests this was an additional altar, possibly indicating their desperation to seek atonem...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Built there an altar.**—We find David doing the same at the threshing-floor of Araunah (2Samuel 24:25), and Solomon at Gibeon. Unless the entire tabernacle had, for the time, been removed to Bethel, there was no regular altar there. It has been suggested that in any case this altar must have been necessitated by the multitude of sacrifices required for the holocausts and the food of the peop...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 12:4-15. Discerned by the Word Sibboleth, Are Slain by the Gileadites.
**4-6. the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim--**The remonstrances of Jephthah, though reasonable and temperate, were not only ineffectual, but followed by insulting sneers that the Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts--the s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD?</strong> The question reveals a second rash oath beyond the marriage prohibition: Israel had sworn that anyone not joining the assembly at Mizpeh <strong>"shall surely be put to death"</strong> (<em>mot yumat</em>, מוֹת יוּמָת, the emphatic Hebrew death formula...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Who is there . . .?**—This verse is anticipatory of Judges 21:8.
**They had made a great oath.**—Another detail which has been omitted up to this point. The spirit of this *cherem *was exactly the same as that which we find in Judges 5:23 : “Curse ye Meroz . . . because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Now that these victories had been so co...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 12:4-15. Discerned by the Word Sibboleth, Are Slain by the Gileadites.
**4-6. the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim--**The remonstrances of Jephthah, though reasonable and temperate, were not only ineffectual, but followed by insulting sneers that the Gileadites were reckoned both by the western Manassites and Ephraimites as outcasts--the s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.</strong> The Hebrew <em>nicham</em> (נִחַם, "repented," or "had compassion") indicates grief and change of mind, though not necessarily full moral repentance. The phrase "Benjamin their brother" (<em>Binyamin achihem</em>, בִּנְיָמִן אֲחִיהֶם) reveals belated reco...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. Jephthah died--**After a government of six years, this mighty man of valor died; and however difficult it may be for us to understand some passages in his history, he has been ranked by apostolic authority among the worthies of the ancient church. He was followed by a succession of minor judges, of whom the only memorials preserved relate to the number of their families and their state [Jud 1...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?</strong> The question "How shall we do" (<em>mah-naaseh</em>, מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה) reveals Israel's dilemma: they recognize Benjamin's survival requires wives but feel bound by their oath. The phrase "sworn by the LORD" (<em>nishbanu ba-YHWH</em>, נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ ב...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.</strong> The discovery that Jabesh-gilead failed to attend the assembly provided Israel their legalistic solution. The phrase "came not up" (<em>lo alah</em>, לֹא עָלָה) echoes their earlier question (verse 5), now wit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **There came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead.**—Jabesh-Gilead, which Josephus calls the metropolis of Gilead (*Antt. vi.* 5, § 1), is probably to be identified with the ruins now called El-Deir in the Wady Yabes (Robinson, 3:319). It was six miles from Pella, on the top of a hill which lies on the road from Pella to Gerasa. For some reason with which we are unacquainted, there seems to hav...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 21
Chapter Outline
Cities for the Levites.
(1-8)
The cities allotted to the Levites.
(9-42)
God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise.
(43-45)
**Verses 1-8**
The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own ...
Read full commentary →For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.</strong> The verb "were numbered" (<em>hitpaqed</em>, הִתְפָּקֵד, "were mustered" or "were counted") indicates a formal census to verify assembly attendance. The emphatic "behold, there were none" (<em>hinneh ein sham</em>, הִנֵּה אֵין שָׁם) confirms Jabesh-gilead's complete absence—not ev...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **For the people were numbered.**—It is doubtful whether this implies another numbering besides that at Mizpeh (Judges 20:1-17). In the tale which had then been made up, the absence of inhabitants of a single town might for the present escape notice. It would be sufficient now merely to refer to the lists then made (Judges 20:1-17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest , and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.</strong> The phrase "twelve thousand men of the valiantest" (<em>ish gibbor chayil</em>, אִישׁ גִּבּוֹר חַיִל, "mighty men of valor") indicates elite warriors—the same term used of Gid...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Twelve thousand men.**—The Vulgate has 10,000, but it is doubtless meant to imply that each tribe sent a thousand “valiant men” (Genesis 47:6, &c.), as in the war against the Midianites, in which Balaam was slain and at which Phinehas had been present (Numbers 31:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. hath lain: Heb. knoweth the lying with man
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.</strong> The command "utterly destroy" (<em>tacharim</em>, תַּחֲרִימוּ, from charam, חָרַם, the herem or "ban" meaning total consecration to destruction) applies standard Canaanite conquest language to fellow Israelites. The specification to kill "every male" (<em>kol zachar<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Ye shall utterly destroy.**—The verb is *tacharîmû*—i.e., *Ye shall place under the ban *(*cherem*)*, ye shall devote to destruction. *The words of the *cherem *are almost identical with those of the indignant command of Moses after the war with Midian alluded to in the last verse (Numbers 31:17-18), and there the same exception is made. (Comp. Leviticus 27:21-28; Numbers 21:2-3.) The words...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. young: Heb. young women virgins
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.</strong> The phrase "found... four hundred young virgins" (<em>betulot</em>, בְּתוּלוֹת, "virgins") who "had known no man" (the verb <em>yada</em>, יָדַע, "to know," used biblically for...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **They brought them.**—It can hardly be doubted that the “them” means the young virgins, although the pronoun is masculine (*otham*)*, *as in Judges 21:22. If so, the idiom is like the Greek one in which a woman speaking of herself in the plural uses the masculine (*Brief Greek Syntax, *p. 61). There is no other trace of this idiom in Hebrew, but we can hardly suppose that many Jabesh-Gileadi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. to speak: Heb. and spake and called call: or, proclaim peace
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.</strong> After the devastating civil war that killed 25,100 Benjamites (20:35, 46), the congregation sent messengers <strong>to call peaceably</strong> (<em>liqro shalom</em>, לִקְרֹא שָׁלוֹם) to the 600 survivors at the rock of Rimmon. The Hebrew <em>sha...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **To call peaceably**—i.e., proclaim peace.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead : and yet so they sufficed them not.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.</strong> The remnant of Benjamin accepted the peace terms and received <strong>wives which they had saved alive</strong> from Jabesh-gilead's destruction (21:8-12). The phrase "saved alive" (<em>chayah</em>, חָיָה) reveals the brutal co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Came again**—i.e., returned to their desolate towns.
**Yet so they sufficed them not.**—There would still be 200 Benjamites left without wives.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →Women from Shiloh
And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.</strong> This verse attributes Benjamin's near-extinction to "the LORD"—recognizing divine sovereignty even in tragic events resulting from human sin. The word "breach" (<em>perets</em>, פֶּרֶץ) means a break, gap, or rupture, often used for breached walls (Nehemiah 6:1) or broken co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The Lord had made a breach.**—The breach (*perets, *1Kings 11:24) had been caused by their own headstrong fury and unreasoning passion, even though it had been in a righteous cause; but in the Hebrew conception the results even of man’s sin and follies is referred to Jehovah as overruled by Him (Amos 3:6; Isaiah 45:7). It was therefore needless, and not quite honest of St. Jerome in the Vul...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?</strong> The elders' question reveals their dilemma: <strong>the women are destroyed out of Benjamin</strong> (<em>nishmadah ishah miBinyamin</em>, נִשְׁמְדָה אִשָּׁה מִבִּנְיָמִן). Israel's scorched-earth campaign against Benjamin (20:48) had killed wom...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **How shall we do . . .*?****—*They want to keep their vow in the letter, while they break it in the spirit. The sense of the binding nature of the “ban” was intensely strong (Exodus 20:7; Ezekiel 17:18-19), but, as is so often the case among rude and ignorant people, they fancied that it was sufficient to keep it *literally, *while in effect they violated it. Similarly in Herodotus (iv. 154)...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 13 Jud 13:1. Israel Serves the Philistines Forty Years.
**1. the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years--**The Israelites were represented (Jud 10:6, 7) as having fallen universally into a state of gross and confirmed idolatry, and in chastisement of this great apostasy, the Lord raised up enemies that harassed them in various quarters, especially the Ammonites a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.</strong> This verse articulates the theological concern driving Israel's actions: <strong>that a tribe be not destroyed</strong> (<em>velo yimacheh shevet miYisrael</em>, וְלֹא יִמָּחֶה שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל). The verb <em>machah</em> (מָחָה, "blotted out") appears ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **There must be an inheritance.**—Rather, *possession of the remnant shall be for Benjamin*—*i.e., *We will leave untouched their land and possessions. “We give you leave to take the whole land of Benjamin to yourselves” (Jos. *Antt. v.* 3, § 12).
**That a tribe be not destroyed.**—Benjamin never quite recovered this crushing blow. Even though it furnished the second judge (Ehud) and the firs...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Jud 13:2-10. An Angel Appears to Manoah's Wife.
**2. Zorah--**a Danite town (Jos 15:33) lying on the common boundary of Judah and Dan, so that it was near the Philistine border.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.</strong> The phrase <strong>we may not give them wives</strong> (<em>lo nukhal latet lahem nashim</em>, לֹא נוּכַל לָתֵת לָהֶם נָשִׁים) expresses their perceived impossibility—not God's command, but their own rash oath now binding them. The curse ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. the angel of the Lord--**The messenger of the covenant, the divine personage who made so many remarkable appearances of a similar kind already described.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. yearly: Heb. from year to year on the east: or, toward the sunrising of the highway: or, on the highway
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.</strong> This verse introduces the scheme's setting: a <strong>feast of the LORD in Shiloh</strong> (<em>chag-YHWH beShiloh</em>, חַג־יְהוָה בְּשִׁלוֹ). The phrase "feast o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **A feast of the Lord in Shiloh.**—It is unlikely that the reference is to a local feast; but it is impossible to say which of the three yearly feasts is meant. The most natural would be the Feast of Tabernacles. We see from 1Samuel 1:3 that even among pious families the trying custom of going up to the Tabernacle three times a year had fallen into complete abeyance.
**A place which is on the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards.</strong> The elders <strong>commanded</strong> (<em>vayetzavvu</em>, וַיְצַוּוּ) the Benjamites—using the same verb for God's authoritative commands—to <strong>lie in wait</strong> (<em>va'aravtem</em>, וַאֲרַבְתֶּם) in ambush. The Hebrew root <em>arav</em> (אָרַב) means to lurk or ambush, commo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(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.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. thou shalt conceive, and bear a son--**This predicted child was to be a Nazarite. The mother was, therefore, for the sake of her promised offspring, required to practice the rigid abstinence of the Nazarite law (see on Nu 6:2).
**he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines--**a prophecy encouraging to a patriotic man; the terms of it, however, indicated that the peri...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.</strong> The command to <strong>catch you every man his wife</strong> (<em>u-chataftem lakem ish ishto</em>, וַחֲטַפְתֶּם לָכֶם אִישׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ) uses the verb <em>chataf</em> (חָטַף), me...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. then Manoah entreated the Lord--**On being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. Be favourable: or, Gratify us in them
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.</strong> This verse reveals the elders' prepared response to anticipated complaints—a casuistic argument that the kidn...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Be favourable unto them for our sakes.**—Rather, *Present them *(*otham, *masc., as in Judges 21:12) *to us; *or (as in the margin), *Gratify us in them. *The verse is somewhat obscure, but its general drift is a promise to pacify the parents of the damsels, by showing them that thus they did not violate the *cherem, *and that the cause was pressing. Perhaps they would be more readily conso...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. then Manoah entreated the Lord--**On being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.</strong> The phrase <strong>did so</strong> (<em>vaya'asu-khen</em>, וַיַּעֲשׂוּ־כֵן) indicates Benjamin's obedience to the elders' command, executing the mass kidnapping. T...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. then Manoah entreated the Lord--**On being informed by his wife of the welcome intimation, the husband made it the subject of earnest prayer to God. This is a remarkable instance, indicative of the connection which God has established between prayer and the fulfilment of His promises.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.</strong> This verse describes the assembly's dissolution—<strong>every man to his tribe... to his family... to his inheritance</strong> (<em>ish lishveto u-lemishpachto... ish lenachalato</em>, אִישׁ לְשִׁבְטוֹ וּלְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ... ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
This sobering conclusion to Judges encapsulates the book's central problem: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (<em>ba'yamim hahem ein melek beYisrael ish hayashar be'einav ya'aseh</em>). The phrase appears four times in Judges (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25), forming an inclusio framing the book's final chapters depicting Israel's moral and s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **In those days . . . **This verse, already occurring in Judges 17:6; Judges 18:1; Judges 19:1, is here added once more by way of apology for the lawless crimes, terrible disasters, evaded vows, and unhallowed excesses of retribution, which it has been the painful duty of the sacred historian thus faithfully and impartially to narrate. Out of these depths the subsequent Judges, whose deeds ha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-42**
By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, ble...
Read full commentary →