Judges 21

Name: Judges
Author: BiblePics
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Almighty Punishment Worship Judgment Repentance Acknowledging Covenant Obedience Death God Family

The Israelites regret their actions and work to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin by allowing the remaining Benjaminite men to take wives from a group of women who had gathered at Shiloh.

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Meet the heroes of Judges

The Levirate Marriage and the Benjamite Remnant

1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

3 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?

4 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.

5 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.

6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

7 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?

8 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.

9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.

10 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.

11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

12 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.

13 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.

14 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.

15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

16 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?

17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

18 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.

19 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.

20 Therefore 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 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.

22 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.

23 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.

24 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.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Commentary

Judges 21 is the final chapter of the book of Judges, and it serves as a fitting conclusion to the tumultuous period of Israelite history that it describes. The chapter begins with the Israelites gathering together in Mizpah to make a solemn vow to God that they will not allow any of their daughters to marry outside of their tribe. This vow is a sign of the Israelites’ commitment to their faith and to their tribal identity, and it serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining the purity of the Israelite people. The chapter then goes on to describe how the Israelites were able to fulfill their vow. They did so by finding a way to provide wives for the remaining 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin who had not been able to find wives among their own people. The Israelites did this by having the men of Benjamin ambush a group of women from the town of Shiloh who were celebrating a festival. The men of Benjamin then took the women as their wives, thus ensuring that the tribe of Benjamin would not be wiped out. The chapter ends with a reminder of the importance of following God’s commands. The Israelites had made a vow to God, and they had kept it. This serves as a reminder to all of us that we should strive to keep our promises to God, no matter how difficult they may be. Overall, Judges 21 serves as a fitting conclusion to the book of Judges. It reminds us of the importance of faithfulness to God and of the need to maintain the purity of the Israelite people. It also serves as a reminder that we should strive to keep our promises to God, no matter how difficult they may be.

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