1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.
7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
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.
13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
1 And it came to pass in those days, H3117 when there was no king H4428 in Israel, H3478 that there was a certain H376 Levite H3881 sojourning H1481 on the side H3411 of mount H2022 Ephraim, H669 who took H3947 to him a concubine H802 H6370 out of Bethlehemjudah. H1035 H3063
2 And his concubine H6370 played the whore H2181 against him, and went away H3212 from him unto her father's H1 house H1004 to Bethlehemjudah, H1035 H3063 and was there four H702 whole months. H2320 H3117
3 And her husband H376 arose, H6965 and went H3212 after H310 her, to speak H1696 friendly H3820 unto her, and to bring her again, H7725 having his servant H5288 with him, and a couple H6776 of asses: H2543 and she brought H935 him into her father's H1 house: H1004 and when the father H1 of the damsel H5291 saw H7200 him, he rejoiced H8055 to meet H7125 him.
4 And his father in law, H2859 the damsel's H5291 father, H1 retained H2388 him; and he abode H3427 with him three H7969 days: H3117 so they did eat H398 and drink, H8354 and lodged H3885 there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth H7243 day, H3117 when they arose early H7925 in the morning, H1242 that he rose up H6965 to depart: H3212 and the damsel's H5291 father H1 said H559 unto his son in law, H2860 Comfort H5582 thine heart H3820 with a morsel H6595 of bread, H3899 and afterward H310 go your way. H3212
6 And they sat down, H3427 and did eat H398 and drink H8354 both H8147 of them together: H3162 for the damsel's H5291 father H1 had said H559 unto the man, H376 Be content, H2974 I pray thee, and tarry all night, H3885 and let thine heart H3820 be merry. H3190
7 And when the man H376 rose up H6965 to depart, H3212 his father in law H2859 urged H6484 him: therefore he lodged H3885 there again. H7725
8 And he arose early H7925 in the morning H1242 on the fifth H2549 day H3117 to depart: H3212 and the damsel's H5291 father H1 said, H559 Comfort H5582 thine heart, H3824 I pray thee. And they tarried H4102 until afternoon, H3117 H5186 and they did eat H398 both H8147 of them.
9 And when the man H376 rose up H6965 to depart, H3212 he, and his concubine, H6370 and his servant, H5288 his father in law, H2859 the damsel's H5291 father, H1 said H559 unto him, Behold, now the day H3117 draweth H7503 toward evening, H6150 I pray you tarry all night: H3885 behold, the day H3117 groweth to an end, H2583 lodge H3885 here, that thine heart H3824 may be merry; H3190 and to morrow H4279 get you early H7925 on your way, H1870 that thou mayest go H1980 home. H168
10 But the man H376 would H14 not tarry that night, H3885 but he rose up H6965 and departed, H3212 and came H935 over against H5227 Jebus, H2982 which is Jerusalem; H3389 and there were with him two H6776 asses H2543 saddled, H2280 his concubine H6370 also was with him.
11 And when they were by Jebus, H2982 the day H3117 was far H3966 spent; H7286 and the servant H5288 said H559 unto his master, H113 Come, H3212 I pray thee, and let us turn in H5493 into this city H5892 of the Jebusites, H2983 and lodge H3885 in it.
12 And his master H113 said H559 unto him, We will not turn aside H5493 hither into the city H5892 of a stranger, H5237 that is not of the children H1121 of Israel; H3478 we will pass over H5674 to Gibeah. H1390
13 And he said H559 unto his servant, H5288 Come, H3212 and let us draw near H7126 to one H259 of these places H4725 to lodge all night, H3885 in Gibeah, H1390 or in Ramah. H7414
14 And they passed on H5674 and went their way; H3212 and the sun H8121 went down H935 upon them when they were by H681 Gibeah, H1390 which belongeth to Benjamin. H1144
1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.
2 And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.
3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
4 And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.
6 So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together: and the damsel's father said unto the man, Be pleased, I pray thee, to tarry all night, and let thy heart be merry.
7 And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day declineth; and they did eat, both of them.
9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thy heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.
11 When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.
13 And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
14 So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
1 And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah;
2 and commit whoredom against him doth his concubine, and she goeth from him unto the house of her father, unto Beth-Lehem-Judah, and is there days -- four months.
3 And her husband riseth and goeth after her, to speak unto her heart, to bring her back, and his young man `is' with him, and a couple of asses; and she bringeth him into the house of her father, and the father of the young woman seeth him, and rejoiceth to meet him.
4 And keep hold on him doth his father-in-law, father of the young woman, and he abideth with him three days, and they eat and drink, and lodge there.
5 And it cometh to pass, on the fourth day, that they rise early in the morning, and he riseth to go, and the father of the young woman saith unto his son-in-law, `Support thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye go on.'
6 And they sit and eat both of them together, and drink, and the father of the young woman saith unto the man, `Be willing, I pray thee, and lodge all night, and let thy heart be glad.'
7 And the man riseth to go, and his father-in-law presseth on him, and he turneth back and lodgeth there.
8 And he riseth early in the morning, on the fifth day, to go, and the father of the young woman saith, `Support, I pray thee, thy heart;' and they have tarried till the turning of the day, and they eat, both of them.
9 And the man riseth to go, he and his concubine, and his young man, and his father-in-law, father of the young woman, saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, the day hath fallen toward evening, lodge all night, I pray thee; lo, the declining of the day! lodge here, and let thine heart be glad -- and ye have risen early to-morrow for your journey, and thou hast gone to thy tent.'
10 And the man hath not been willing to lodge all night, and he riseth, and goeth, and cometh in till over-against Jebus (It `is' Jerusalem), and with him `are' a couple of asses saddled; and his concubine `is' with him.
11 They `are' near Jebus, and the day hath gone greatly down, and the young man saith unto his lord, `Come, I pray thee, and we turn aside unto this city of the Jebusite, and lodge in it.'
12 And his lord saith unto him, `Let us not turn aside unto the city of a stranger, that is not of the sons of Israel, thither, but we have passed over unto Gibeah.'
13 And he saith to his young man, `Come, and we draw near to one of the places, and have lodged in Gibeah, or in Ramah.'
14 And they pass over, and go on, and the sun goeth in upon them near Gibeah, which is to Benjamin;
1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of E'phraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
2 And his concubine became angry with him, and she went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months.
3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of asses. And he came to her father's house; and when the girl's father saw him, he came with joy to meet him.
4 And his father-in-law, the girl's father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days; so they ate and drank, and lodged there.
5 And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go; but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go."
6 So the two men sat and ate and drank together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry."
7 And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law urged him, till he lodged there again.
8 And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart; and the girl's father said, "Strengthen your heart, and tarry until the day declines." So they ate, both of them.
9 And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Behold, now the day has waned toward evening; pray tarry all night. Behold, the day draws to its close; lodge here and let your heart be merry; and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home."
10 But the man would not spend the night; he rose up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled asses, and his concubine was with him.
11 When they were near Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, "Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jeb'usites, and spend the night in it."
12 And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel; but we will pass on to Gib'e-ah."
13 And he said to his servant, "Come and let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night at Gib'e-ah or at Ramah."
14 So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gib'e-ah, which belongs to Benjamin,
1 It happened in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.
2 His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there the space of four months.
3 Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
4 His father-in-law, the young lady's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there.
5 It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.
6 So they sat down, and ate and drink, both of them together: and the young lady's father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.
7 The man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
8 He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them.
9 When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady's father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.
10 But the man wouldn't stay that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of donkeys saddled; his concubine also was with him.
11 When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Please come and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
12 His master said to him, We won't turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.
13 He said to his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
14 So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
1 Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was living in the inmost parts of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he got for himself a servant-wife from Beth-lehem-judah.
2 And his servant-wife was angry with him, and went away from him to her father's house at Beth-lehem-judah, and was there for four months.
3 Then her husband got up and went after her, with the purpose of talking kindly to her, and taking her back with him; he had with him his young man and two asses: and she took him into her father's house, and her father, when he saw him, came forward to him with joy.
4 And his father-in-law, the girl's father, kept him there for three days; and they had food and drink and took their rest there.
5 Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning and he made ready to go away; but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, Take a little food to keep up your strength, and then go on your way.
6 So seating themselves they had food and drink, the two of them together; and the girl's father said to the man, If it is your pleasure, take your rest here tonight, and let your heart be glad.
7 And the man got up to go away, but his father-in-law would not let him go, so he took his rest there again for the night.
8 Then early on the morning of the fifth day he got up to go away; but the girl's father said, Keep up your strength; so the two of them had a meal, and the man and his woman and his servant did not go till after the middle of the day.
9 And when they got up to go away, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, Now evening is coming on, so do not go tonight; see, the day is almost gone; take your rest here and let your heart be glad, and tomorrow early, go on your way back to your house.
10 But the man would not be kept there that night, and he got up and went away and came opposite to Jebus (which is Jerusalem); and he had with him the two asses, ready for travelling, and his woman.
11 When they got near Jebus the day was far gone; and the servant said to his master, Now let us go from our road into this town of the Jebusites and take our night's rest there.
12 But his master said to him, We will not go out of our way into a strange town, whose people are not of the children of Israel; but we will go on to Gibeah.
13 And he said to his servant, Come, let us go on to one of these places, stopping for the night in Gibeah or Ramah.
14 So they went on their way; and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Judges 19
Commentary on Judges 19 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
War of the Congregation with the Tribe of Benjamin on Account of the Crime at Gibeah - Judges 19-20
This account belongs to the times immediately following the death of Joshua, as we may see form the fact that Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the contemporary of Joshua, was high priest at that time (Judges 20:28). In Judg 19 we have an account of the infamous crime committed by the inhabitants of Gibeah, which occasioned the war; in Judg 20 the war itself; and in Judg 21 an account of what was afterwards done by the congregation to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, which was almost annihilated by the war.
Infamous Crime of the Inhabitants of Gibeah. - Judges 19:1-14. At the time when there was no king in Israel, a Levite, who sojourned (i.e., lived outside a Levitical town) in the more remote parts of the mountains of Ephraim, took to himself a concubine out of Bethlehem in Judah, who proved unfaithful to him, and then returned to her father's house. הר־אפרים ירכּתי , the hinder or outermost parts of the mountains of Ephraim, are the northern extremity of these mountains; according to Judges 19:18, probably the neighbourhood of Shiloh. עליו תּזנה , “ she played the harlot out beyond him, ” i.e., was unfaithful to her husband, and then went away from him, ” back to her father's house.
Some time afterwards, namely at the end of four months ( הדשׁים ארבּעה is in apposition to ימים , and defines more precisely the ימים , or days), her husband went after her, “ to speak to her to the heart, ” i.e., to talk to her in a friendly manner (see Genesis 34:3), and to reconcile her to himself again, so that she might return; taking with him his attendant and a couple of asses, for himself and his wife to ride upon. The suffix attached to להשׁיבו refers to לבּה , “to bring back her heart,” to turn her to himself again. The Keri השׁיבהּ is a needless conjecture. “ And she brought him into her father's house, and her father received his son-in-law with joy, and constrained him ( יהזק־בּו , lit . held him fast) to remain there three days. ” It is evident from this that the Levite had succeeded in reconciling his wife.
Also on the fourth day, when he was about to depart in the morning, the Levite yielded to the persuasion of his father-in-law, that he would first of all strengthen his heart again with a bit of bread ( לב סעד as in Genesis 18:5; the imperative form with ŏ is unusual); and then afterwards, whilst they were eating and drinking, he consented to stay another night.
When he rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him; then he turned back ( ויּשׁב is quite in place, and is not to be altered into ויּשׁב , according to the lxx and one Heb. Cod.), and remained there for the night.
And even in the morning of the fifth day he suffered himself to be induced to remain till the afternoon. התמהמהוּ is an imperative, “Tarry till the day turns,” i.e., till mid-day is past.
When at length he rose up, with his concubine and his attendant, to go away, the father entreated his daughter once more: “ Behold the day has slackened to become evening, spend the night here! Behold the declining of the day, spend the night here, ” etc. חנות inf. of חנה , to bend, incline. The interchange of the plural and singular may be explained from the simple fact that the Levite was about to depart with his wife and attendant, but that their remaining or departing depended upon the decision of the man alone. But the Levite did not consent to remain any longer, but set out upon the road, and came with his companions to before Jebus, i.e., Jerusalem, which is only two hours from Bethlehem (compare Rob . Pal. ii. 375 and 379). עד־נכח , to before Jebus, for the road from Bethlehem to Shiloh went past Jerusalem.
But as the day had gone far down when they were by Jebus ( רד , third pers . perf ., either of ירד with י dropped like תּתּה in 2 Samuel 22:41 for נתתּה , or from רדד in the sense of ירד ), the attendant said to his master, “ Come, let us turn aside into this Jebusite city, and pass the night in it .” But his master was unwilling to enter a city of the foreigners ( נכרי( sre is a genitive), where there were none of the sons of Israel, and would pass over to Gibeah. “ Come ( לך = לכה , Numbers 23:13), we will draw near to one of the places (which he immediately names), and pass the night in Gibeah or Ramah .” These two towns, the present Jeba and er Râm , were not a full hour's journey apart, and stood opposite to one another, only about two and a half or three hours from Jerusalem (see at Joshua 18:25, Joshua 18:28).
Then they went forward, and the sun went down upon them as they were near (at) Gibeah of Benjamin.
And they turned aside thither to pass the night in Gibeah; and he (the Levite) remained in the market-place of the town, as no one received them into his house to pass the night.
Judges 19:16-19
Behold, there came an old man from the field, who was of the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt as a stranger in Gibeah, the inhabitants of which were Benjaminites (as is observed here, as a preliminary introduction to the account which follows). When he saw the traveller in the market-place of the town, he asked him whither he was going and whence he came; and when he had heard the particulars concerning his descent and his journey, he received him into his house. ואת־בּית י הלך אני (Judges 19:18), “ and I walk at the house of Jehovah, and no one receives me into his house ” ( Seb. Schm ., etc.); not “I am going to the house of Jehovah” ( Ros., Berth ., etc.), for את הלך does not signify to go to a place, for which the simple accusative is used either with or without ה local. It either means “to go through a place” (Deuteronomy 1:19, etc.), or “to go with a person,” or, when applied to things, “to go about with anything” (see Job 31:5, and Ges . Thes. p. 378). Moreover, in this instance the Levite was not going to the house of Jehovah (i.e., the tabernacle), but, as he expressly told the old man, from Bethlehem to the outermost sides of the mountains of Ephraim. The words in question explain the reason why he was staying in the market-place. Because he served at the house of Jehovah, no one in Gibeah would receive him into his house,
(Note: As Seb. Schmidt correctly observes, “the argument is taken from the indignity shown him: the Lord thinks me worthy to minister to Him, as a Levite, in His house, and there is not one of the people of the Lord who thinks me worthy to receive his hospitality.”)
although, as he adds in Judges 19:19, he had everything with him that was requisite for his wants. “ We have both straw and fodder for our asses, and bread and wine for me and thy maid, and for the young man with thy servants. No want of anything at all, ” so as to cause him to be burdensome to his host. By the words “thy maid” and “thy servants” he means himself and his concubine, describing himself and his wife, according to the obsequious style of the East in olden times, as servants of the man from whom he was expecting a welcome.
Judges 19:20
The old man replied, “Peace to thee,” assuring him of a welcome by this style of greeting; “ only all thy wants upon me, ” i.e., let me provide for them. Thus the friendly host declined the offer made by his guest to provide for himself. “ Only do not pass the night in the market-place. ”
Judges 19:21
He then took him into his house, mixed fodder for his asses ( יבול from בּלל , a denom . verb from בּליל , to make a mixture, to give fodder to the beasts), and waited upon his guest with washing of feet, food, and drink (see Genesis 18:4., Judges 19:2).
Judges 19:22
Whilst they were enjoying themselves, some worthless men of the city surrounded the house, knocking continuously at the door ( התדּפּק , a form indicative of gradual increase), and demanding of the master of the house that he would bring out the man who had entered his house, that they might know him,-the very same demand that the Sodomites had made of Lot (Genesis 19:6.). The construct state בני־בליּעל אנשׁי is used instead of בּני־בל אנשׁים (Deuteronomy 13:14, etc.), because בליעל בני is regarded as one idea: people of worthless fellows. Other cases of the same kind are given by Ewald , Lehrb. §289, c .
Judges 19:23-24
The old man sought, as Lot had done, to defend his guests from such a shameful crime by appealing to the sacred rights of hospitality, and by giving up his own virgin daughter and the concubine of his guest (see the remarks on Genesis 19:7-8). נבלה , folly , used to denote shameful licentiousness and whoredom, as in Genesis 34:7 and Deuteronomy 22:21. אותם ענּוּ , “humble them.” The masculine is used in אותם and להם as the more general gender, instead of the more definite feminine, as in Genesis 39:9; Exodus 1:21, etc.
Judges 19:25
But as the people would not listen to this proposal, the man (no doubt the master of the house, according to Judges 19:24) took his (the guest's) concubine (of course with the consent of his guest) and led her out to them, and they abused her the whole night. It is not stated how it was that they were satisfied with this; probably because they felt too weak to enforce their demand. בּ התעלּל , to exercise his power or wantonness upon a person (see Exodus 10:2).
Judges 19:26
When the morning drew on (i.e., at the first dawn of day), the woman fell down before the door of the house in which אדוניה , “her lord,” i.e., her husband, was, and lay there till it was light, i.e., till sunrise.
Judges 19:27-28
There her husband found her, when he opened the house-door to go his way (having given up all thought of receiving her back again from the barbarous crowd), “ lying before the house-door, and her hands upon the threshold ” (i.e., with outstretched arms), and giving no answer to his word, having died, that is to say, in consequence of the ill-treatment of the night. He then took the corpse upon his ass to carry it to his place, i.e., to his home.
Judges 19:29-30
As soon as he arrived there, he cut up the body, according to its bones (as they cut slaughtered animals in pieces: see at Leviticus 1:6), into twelve pieces, and sent them (the corpse in its pieces) into the whole of the territory of Israel, i.e., to all the twelve tribes, in the hope that every one who saw it would say: No such thing has happened or been seen since the coming up of Israel out of Egypt until this day. Give ye heed to it ( שׁימוּ for לב שׂימוּ ); make up your minds and say on, i.e., decide how this unparalleled wickedness is to be punished. Sending the dissected pieces of the corpse to the tribes was a symbolical act, by which the crime committed upon the murdered woman was placed before the eyes of the whole nation, to summon it to punish the crime, and was naturally associated with a verbal explanation of the matter by the bearer of the pieces. See the analogous proceeding on the part of Saul (1 Samuel 11:7), and the Scythian custom related by Lucian in Toxaris, c. 48, that whoever was unable to procure satisfaction for an injury that he had received, cut an ox in pieces and sent it round, whereupon all who were willing to help him to obtain redress took a piece, and swore that they would stand by him to the utmost of their strength. The perfects ואמר - והיה (Judges 19:30) are not used for the imperfects c. vav consec . ויּאמר - ויהי , as Hitzig supposes, but as simple perfects ( perfecta conseq .), expressing the result which the Levite expected from his conduct; and we have simply to supply לאמר before והיה , which is often omitted in lively narrative or animated conversation (compare, for example, Exodus 8:5 with Judges 7:2). The perfects are used by the historian instead of imperfects with a simple vav , which are commonly employed in clauses indicating intention, “because what he foresaw would certainly take place, floated before his mind as a thing already done” ( Rosenmüller ). The moral indignation, which the Levite expected on the part of all the tribes at such a crime as this, and their resolution to avenge it, are thereby exhibited not merely as an uncertain conjecture, but a fact that was sure to occur, and concerning which, as Judg 20 clearly shows, he had not deceived himself.