16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.
19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.
16 And, behold, there came H935 an old H2205 man H376 from his work H4639 out of the field H7704 at even, H6153 which was also H376 of mount H2022 Ephraim; H669 and he sojourned H1481 in Gibeah: H1390 but the men H582 of the place H4725 were Benjamites. H1145
17 And when he had lifted up H5375 his eyes, H5869 he saw H7200 a wayfaring H732 man H376 in the street H7339 of the city: H5892 and the old H2205 man H376 said, H559 Whither goest H3212 thou? and whence H370 comest H935 thou?
18 And he said H559 unto him, We are passing H5674 from Bethlehemjudah H1035 H3063 toward the side H3411 of mount H2022 Ephraim; H669 from thence am I: and I went H3212 to Bethlehemjudah, H1035 H3063 but I am now going H1980 to the house H1004 of the LORD; H3068 and there is no man H376 that receiveth H622 me to house. H1004
19 Yet there is H3426 both straw H8401 and provender H4554 for our asses; H2543 and there is bread H3899 and wine H3196 also for me, and for thy handmaid, H519 and for the young man H5288 which is with thy servants: H5650 there is no want H4270 of any thing. H1697
16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah unto the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem-judah: and I am `now' going to the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that taketh me into his house.
19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants: there is no want of anything.
16 And lo, a man, an aged one, hath come from his work from the field in the evening, and the man `is' of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he `is' a sojourner in Gibeah, and the men of the place `are' Benjamites.
17 And he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the man, the traveller, in a broad place of the city, and the aged man saith, `Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?'
18 And he saith unto him, `We are passing over from Beth-Lehem-Judah unto the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim -- thence I `am', and I go unto Beth-Lehem-Judah; and to the house of Jehovah I am going, and there is no man gathering me into the house,
19 and both straw and provender are for our asses, and also bread and wine there are for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man with thy servants; there is no lack of anything.'
16 And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening; the man was from the hill country of E'phraim, and he was sojourning in Gib'e-ah; the men of the place were Benjaminites.
17 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfarer in the open square of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going? and whence do you come?"
18 And he said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of E'phraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; and I am going to my home; and nobody takes me into his house.
19 We have straw and provender for our asses, with bread and wine for me and your maidservant and the young man with your servants; there is no lack of anything."
16 Behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 He lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Where go you? and whence come you?
18 He said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem Judah to the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from there am I, and I went to Bethlehem Judah: and I am [now] going to the house of Yahweh; and there is no man who takes me into his house.
19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our donkeys; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man who is with your servants: there is no want of anything.
16 Now when it was evening they saw an old man coming back from his work in the fields; he was from the hill-country of Ephraim and was living in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And when he saw the traveller in the street of the town, the old man said, Where are you going? and where do you come from?
18 And he said to him, We are on our way from Beth-lehem-judah to the inmost parts of the hill-country of Ephraim: I came from there and went to Beth-lehem-judah: now I am on my way back to my house, but no man will take me into his house.
19 But we have dry grass and food for our asses, as well as bread and wine for me, and for the woman, and for the young man with us: we have no need of anything.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 19
Commentary on Judges 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Jud 19:1-15. A Levite Going to Bethlehem to Fetch His Wife.
1. it came to pass in those days—The painfully interesting episode that follows, together with the intestine commotion the report of it produced throughout the country, belongs to the same early period of anarchy and prevailing disorder.
a certain Levite … took to him a concubine—The priests under the Mosaic law enjoyed the privilege of marrying as well as other classes of the people. It was no disreputable connection this Levite had formed; for a nuptial engagement with a concubine wife (though, as wanting in some outward ceremonies, it was reckoned a secondary or inferior relationship) possessed the true essence of marriage; it was not only lawful, but sanctioned by the example of many good men.
2. his concubine … went away from him unto her father's house—The cause of the separation assigned in our version rendered it unlawful for her husband to take her back (De 24:4); and according to the uniform style of sentiment and practice in the East, she would have been put to death, had she gone to her father's family. Other versions concur with Josephus, in representing the reason for the flight from her husband's house to be, that she was disgusted with him, through frequent brawls.
3, 4. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her—Hebrew, "speak to her heart," in a kindly and affectionate manner, so as to rekindle her affection. Accompanied by a servant, he arrived at the house of his father-in-law, who rejoiced to meet him, in the hope that a complete reconciliation would be brought about between his daughter and her husband. The Levite, yielding to the hospitable importunities of his father-in-law, prolonged his stay for days.
8. tarried—with reluctance.
until afternoon—literally, "the decline of the day." People in the East, who take little or nothing to eat in the morning, do not breakfast till from ten to twelve A.M., and this meal the hospitable relative had purposely protracted to so late a period as to afford an argument for urging a further stay.
9. the day draweth toward evening—Hebrew, "the pitching time of day." Travellers who set out at daybreak usually halt about the middle of the afternoon the first day, to enjoy rest and refreshment. It was, then, too late a time to commence a journey. But duty, perhaps, obliged the Levite to indulge no further delay.
10-12. the man … departed, and came over against Jebus—The note, "which is Jerusalem," must have been inserted by Ezra or some later hand. Jebus being still, though not entirely (Jud 1:8) in the possession of the old inhabitants, the Levite resisted the advice of his attendant to enter it and determined rather to press forward to pass the night in Gibeah, which he knew was occupied by Israelites. The distance from Beth-lehem to Jerusalem is about six miles. The event showed that it would have been better to have followed the advice of his attendant—to have trusted themselves among aliens than among their own countrymen.
13. in Gibeah, or in Ramah—The first of these places was five miles northeast, the other from four to five north of Jerusalem.
15. when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city—The towns of Palestine at this remote period could not, it seems, furnish any establishment in the shape of an inn or public lodging-house. Hence we conclude that the custom, which is still frequently witnessed in the cities of the East, was then not uncommon, for travellers who were late in arriving and who had no introduction to a private family, to spread their bedding in the streets, or wrapping themselves up in their cloaks, pass the night in the open air. In the Arab towns and villages, however, the sheik, or some other person, usually comes out and urgently invites the strangers to his house. This was done also in ancient Palestine (Ge 18:4; 19:2). That the same hospitality was not shown in Gibeah seems to have been owing to the bad character of the people.
Jud 19:16-21. An Old Man Entertains Him at Gibeah.
16. there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim—Perhaps his hospitality was quickened by learning the stranger's occupation, and that he was on his return to his duties at Shiloh.
19, 20. there is no want of any thing—In answering the kindly inquiries of the old man, the Levite deemed it right to state that he was under no necessity of being burdensome on anyone, for he possessed all that was required to relieve his wants. Oriental travellers always carry a stock of provisions with them; and knowing that even the khans or lodging-houses they may find on their way afford nothing beyond rest and shelter, they are careful to lay in a supply of food both for themselves and their beasts. Instead of hay, which is seldom met with, they used chopped straw, which, with a mixture of barley, beans, or the like, forms the provender for cattle. The old man, however, in the warmth of a generous heart, refused to listen to any explanation, and bidding the Levite keep his stocks for any emergency that might occur in the remainder of his journey, invited them to accept of the hospitalities of his house for the night.
20. only lodge not in the street—As this is no rare or singular circumstance in the East, the probability is that the old man's earnest dissuasive from such a procedure arose from his acquaintance with the infamous practices of the place.
Jud 19:22-28. The Gibeahites Abuse His Concubine to Death.
22-24. certain sons of Belial beset the house—The narrative of the horrid outrage that was committed; of the proposal of the old man; the unfeeling, careless, and in many respects, inexplicable conduct of the Levite towards his wife, disclose a state of morality that would have appeared incredible, did it not rest on the testimony of the sacred historian. Both men ought to have protected the women in the house, even though at the expense of their lives, or thrown themselves on God's providence. It should be noted, however, that the guilt of such a foul outrage is not fastened on the general population of Gibeah.
29. divided her … into twelve pieces—The want of a regular government warranted an extraordinary step; and certainly no method could have been imagined more certain of rousing universal horror and indignation than this terrible summons of the Levite.