Deeper Commentary
Jdg 19:1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel-
This implies that the book of Judges as we have it was edited, under
Divine inspiration, some time after Israel began to have kings. Perhaps
during the exile, when again they had no king; and therefore the book
becomes a warning to the exiles about likely apostacy. The lament may be
that there was no authority, no teacher, no modelling of Godly living;
because every man did what was right in his own eyes, rather than doing what
was right in the eyes of Yahweh. For so often we read of Israel being
condemned for doing what was wrong in His eyes. This is clear enough
evidence that 'just follow your heart' is poor advice. For what is right in
our own eyes results in the Godless confusion of what we find now at the
time of the Judges. However it could be argued that having no human king was
a good thing; for God didn't want them to have one. And therefore a
situation where everyone judges things by their own judgment is in fact
good; the problem was that the people didn't base their view upon God's
word, His "eyes" or perspective, but solely upon their own unenlightened
opinions.
There was a Levite living on the farther side of the hill country
of Ephraim, who took a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah-
Jdg 19:2 His concubine was unfaithful to him, and went away from him to
her father’s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there for four months-
Again the impression is reinforced that neither this Levite nor his
woman on the side were very spiritual people. He was effectively
unfaithful to his wife, and she was unfaithful to him. The fact she left
him and returned to her family may have been because she feared he would
physically abuse her- which he eventually does by cutting up her body into
parts, showing himself no better than the men who raped her to death. And
suggesting she indeed had reason to fear his abuse. Her unfaithfulness to
him could have been punished by death. And yet the huge fuss made about
her death therefore seems inappropriate to the fact that in God's book,
she deserved death anyway.
Jdg 19:3 Her husband went after her to persuade her to return. He had his
servant with him and a couple of donkeys, and she brought him into her
father’s house. When her father saw him, he was pleased to meet him-
I noted on :2 that the Levite hardly loved his concubine. And yet it
seems that on another level he did. This is typical of the theme of mixed
motives in Judges. We note too that girl's father seemed to like her
married lover. We get the impression that this was a case of male drinking
partners getting on well with each other, and not interested in the fact
she had been unfaithful; they just wanted to get the family relationship
back together. She may well have been pregnant by the Levite- hence his
interest in having her back. For he couldn't have really loved her to cut
up her body as he later does. The "couple" of donkeys were literally two
donkeys (:2). As he was wealthy enough to have a concubine, a servant and
donkeys, we wonder why he didn't bring a third donkey- for the concubine
to ride on. The conclusion is surely that he didn't care for her; and his
desire to get her back may well have been because she was pregnant with
his child.
Jdg 19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay, and
he stayed with him three days, eating and drinking and sleeping there-
Eating and drinking are associated with illicit sexual behaviour, so
we wonder whether the "sleeping" was also in this area. Hence in :6 "enjoy
yourself" comes after eating and drinking. We can assume that the drinking
involved drinking alcohol to excess, and we note that the Levite mentions
that he is carrying plenty of wine with him in :19. It all builds up the
impression that this Levite is not a very spiritual person; and neither is
his concubine nor her family.
Jdg 19:5 On the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he got ready
to depart-
LXX "he stood up to depart" could imply he had been drunk before
that.
And the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen yourself
with something to eat and then go on your way-
The man clearly likes the Levite and wants him to stay with him at
all costs, recalling the apostate Micah of Jud. 17 by all means wanting
the unspiritual Levite to stay with him.
Jdg 19:6 So they sat down, ate and drank together, and then the girl’s
father said to the man, Please stay another night and enjoy yourself-
"Enjoy yourself" clearly suggests these men were drinking to excess
and possibly misbehaving sexually; see on :4. AV "let thine heart be
merry", the phrase used of the apostate Levite in Jud. 18:20.
Jdg 19:7 When the man got up to go, his father-in-law urged him to stay,
so he stayed there again-
We get the impression that the Levite just couldn't resist the
temptation to drink.
Jdg 19:8 On the fifth day he got up early to leave, and the girl’s father
said, Please refresh yourself and stay until the afternoon; and they ate
together-
They ate but didn't drink together as planned. The girl's father
managed to delay him until afternoon, when the logical time to start the
journey was in the morning (:9). But the Levite can't make an early start
because he is always so drunk the night before, and can't get up early.
That is the clear implication. We get the impression of weak will and
carnality in this man. The record focuses upon the two men; the girl, who
may well have been pregnant which was why he wanted her back so as to
claim the child, didn't feature in their behaviour. The Levite is
presented as not caring for her- building up to the impression that what
he will do with her body and the fuss he will make is all hypocritical.
Jdg 19:9 When the man, his concubine and his servant got up to leave, his
father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, Look now, it’s nearly
evening; please stay all night. Stay here and enjoy yourself, and tomorrow
set off early and go home-
Afternoon was an unwise time to start the journey, as they would need
to find somewhere to stay at night; and travel was dangerous and lonely
after dark. The truth is, this Levite is so alcoholic that he was always
drunk at night, and so early morning starts weren't what he was capable
of.
Jdg 19:10 But the man wouldn’t stay that night; he got up and departed,
and went towards Jebus (that is Jerusalem) with his two saddled donkeys
and his concubine-
We are left to wonder as discussed on :3 why a man wealthy enough to
have a servant, a concubine and donkeys didn't bring a third donkey for
the (pregnant?) concubine to ride. We get the impression from "his two
donkeys and his concubine" that the concubine had to walk whilst he and
his male servant rode the donkeys. Continually the impression is built up
that he didn't really care for the girl at all, and the outcry he was to
make was hypocritical.
Jdg 19:11 When they were near Jebus, the light was almost gone, and the
servant said to his master, Please come and let us go into this city of the
Jebusites, and stay the night there-
The servant was clearly fearful of travelling at night, knowing the
dangers from wild animals and robbers. He had no particular fear of the
Jebusites, showing that Israel was reconciled with the local inhabitants-
because they worshipped the same gods.
Jdg 19:12 His master said to him, We won’t go into the city of a foreigner
whose people are not Israelites; we will go on to Gibeah-
Again we see the theme of mixed hearts in Judges. The Levite is
presented as very unspiritual; but he refuses association with non
Israelites. He will not even sleep a night in a Gentile inn- although
there was no Mosaic prohibition of coming into the home of a Gentile. We
recall at the time of Peter that New Testament Judaism had made entering
the home of a Gentile an unlawful thing. And it was the same hypocrisy
behind this Levite here. The unspiritual Levite with his donkey is the
image used by the Lord in His parable of the good Samaritan, and it also
features an inn which the Levite refused to use to assist the injured man.
The Lord therefore presents this Levite in a bad light.
Jdg 19:13 He said to his servant, Come and let us get to one of these
places; we will spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah-
These were about two or three hours journey further on from Jerusalem
where they were.
Jdg 19:14 So they went on and towards evening they were near Gibeah, which
belongs to Benjamin-
This was to be the "Gibeah of Saul". We note Saul was from such an
unspiritual place with such an awful spiritual history. But for all that
bad background, the Spirit of God would have turned him right around- had
he wished it. For bad background is no obstacle to the transforming work
of the Spirit.
Jdg 19:15 They stopped there to spend the night in Gibeah. They went in
and sat down in the street, because no-one took them into his house for
the night-
Again (see on :12), the Lord may have this incident in mind when He
says that He will condemn those at the judgement who in this life did not
take in strangers (Mt. 25:43). We are intended to reflect that he would
have been better treated had he arrived in Jebus that night than he was
amongst the Israelites in Gibeah. The fact nobody showed hospitality was a
reflection of the unspirituality of Gibeah. "The street" is better 'the
square'.
Jdg 19:16 In the evening there came an old man from his work in the field.
He was from the hill country of Ephraim and he lived in Gibeah, but the
men of the place were Benjamites-
He was therefore from the same area where the Levite was living (:1).
This was surely Divine providence. Perhaps the men of Gibeah were so
xenophobic that they also hated even this old man who was from another
tribe.
Jdg 19:17 When he saw the traveller in the street the old man said, Where
are you going? Where have you come from?-
These words are a direct quote of the Angel's words to Hagar, when
she is fleeing from Sarah and has nowhere to go, and faces death and
danger alone in the desert (Gen. 16:8). Clearly the old man was faithful
to Yahweh and immediately thought in terms of Biblical and spiritual
precedent, and wished to act as the Angel had acted to Hagar when He
'found' her. We should be the same, always thinking in terms of Biblical
precedent.
Jdg 19:18 He said to him, We are on our way from Bethlehem Judah to the
far side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there and I have been
in Bethlehem Judah. I am going to the house of Yahweh, and no-one has
taken me into his house-
This was a lie; the man was returning home, and not going to Bethel
or to the sanctuary of Yahweh. We note the term "house of Yahweh" again
indicates the records here were edited [under Divine inspiration] during
the exile, or at least after the temple had been built. The Levite may
mean that he was a Levite who served in God's house, and therefore Israel
ought to have taken him into their houses; but they were so apostate and
even against Yahweh's sanctuary and the Levites that they did not. He may
also be implying that it was because he served in Yahweh's house that
these apostates wouldn't have him in their houses. Which may have been
true, but was very hypocritical for a man who has been drunk the last five
days. Maybe indeed the Benjamites despised the sanctuary of Yahweh, and
the Levites; and this was the real reason why Yahweh allowed their
destruction at the hands of the brethren.
Jdg 19:19 Yet we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and
wine also for me and for the maidservant and for the young man who is with
us. We don’t need anything-
The fact the Levite mentions he has plenty of wine with him suggests
he may well have been an alcoholic; for we recall him drinking wine to
excess with his woman's father for some days before this journey. It all
builds up the impression that this Levite with his donkey is not a very
spiritual person, and the Lord's parable of the good Samaritan may well
have this Levite in view- presenting him as an unspiritual man.
Jdg 19:20 The old man said, Peace to you! But I will provide for you;
don’t stay all night in the street-
The story is clearly a repeat of the actions of Lot toward the Angels
he met on the streets of Sodom. Again we are asked to see that situations
repeat within the lives of God's servants. And we are to perceive this,
being always comforted that we are not alone; the biographies we have in
the Bible are to comfort us that we are not travelling unchartered
territory, no experience is not completely unique to us.
Jdg 19:21 So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder,
and they washed their feet and ate and drank-
The old man comes over as spiritually minded (:17) and although an
old man, like a true seed of Abraham, still entertaining strangers.
Jdg 19:22 As they were enjoying themselves-
The same phrase is used about how the Levite got drunk repeatedly
with his father in law. The Levite basically tells the old man that he has
wine with him and they can have a nice time together with it, if he stays
at his place (:19).
The wicked men of the city surrounded the house, beating on the
door; they said to the owner of the house, the old man, Bring out the man
who came into your house, that we may have sex with him!-
This is a repeat of the situation in Sodom, and "that righteous man"
Lot is paralleled in the old man- weak, but spiritual and with God in his
heart.
Jdg 19:23 The owner of the house went out to them and said to them, No my
brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man is my guest don’t
do this disgraceful thing-
The culture of protecting guests was very strong, and the care of the
man was partly from pride, and partly from genuine concern to protect a
Levite. Again, as always in Judges 17-21, a case of mixed motives.
Jdg 19:24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. I will bring
them out now and you can use them and do with them what seems good unto
you, but don’t do any such disgusting thing to this man-
The old man perceived, surely, the similarities with Lot in Sodom.
For we saw on :17 how he knew the book of Genesis very well, and had
already quoted from Genesis 17. And the events of Lot in Sodom were only a
little later, in Gen. 19. So it may be that he made this desperate offer
thinking that he was justified in it by Lot. He failed to perceive that
the Biblical characters are not at all spotlessly righteous, and it is for
us to perceive that and learn from their mistakes- rather than taking a
simplistic approach which considers them all as pale faced, perfect
saints. The wrath of Israel was upon Benjamin and Gibeah for what was
done. But they were overlooking the fact that this man of Ephraim, with
the full consent of the Levite, had in fact offered the Levite's concubine
to these men. They had even invited them to do "whatever seems good unto
you". And the men did so. And yet Benjamin's wrath ignores all this and
focuses instead upon those they wish to focus their wrath upon. There is
very much injustice and lack of consideration of all factors in their
judgment of the situation. And one of the lessons from the errors all
around in this narrative is that we are not to judge- simply because we
cannot judge. We are incapable of factoring in everything.
Jdg 19:25 But the men wouldn’t listen to him, so the man took his
concubine and brought her out to them and they raped her and abused her
all night until the morning, and when the day began to dawn they let her
go-
This fact was not given its full weight. It was the Levite who had
given his concubine to them. Instead of giving his life for his wife, he
gave her to humiliation and death in order to save his own skin. Again we
see that the Levite didn't love the woman. And if he had, he would not
have cut her body up.
Jdg 19:26 Then the woman went back and fell down at the door of the man’s
house where her master was, and lay there until it was light-
"Her master" is a phrase suddenly used here and in :27. Perhaps the
idea is that she belonged to the Levite. He was her master and should have
been caring towards her as his property. He was not. And so the eager
belief of the narrative that this poor man had cruelly lost his beloved
wife... is suspect. It was created like that, and upon that was built in
any case a huge over reaction. The implication is that she was alive when
she got to the house; she was not murdered by the rapists. She died on the
doorstep- because the Levite didn't open the door and pull her in.
Jdg 19:27 Her master got up in the morning and opened the door and went
out to continue on his way, and there was his concubine fallen down at the
door of the house with her hands on the threshold-
The idea may be that she had been trying to open the door, or at
least knock upon it; hence GNB "with her hands reaching for the door". But
the Levite, who surely didn't go to sleep that night, hadn't opened the
door to pull her in and care for her. See on :26.
Jdg 19:28 He said to her, Get up, and let us be going! but there was no
answer. Then he put her up on the donkey and set off for home-
This clearly reflects his despite of her. It was obvious that she was
either dead, or severely wounded; likely she was covered with blood. But
he gruffly tells her to get up and be going. There is no attempt to
enquire of her welfare or to assist her. It is absolutely clear now that
the Levite doesn't at all love or care for her; indeed it was him who had
given her to the rapists. He was wrong, they were wrong- but Israel were
to make the mistake of so much human 'judgment', and seek to find one
party guilty and the other totally innocent.
Jdg 19:29 When he had come into his house, he took a knife and cut up his
concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent
them throughout all the regions of Israel-
Again as noted on :28, we have the final evidence that he didn't love
her. For a man would never do this to a woman he loved. He was clearly
offended that nobody had taken him in, and that he had been threatened
with male rape. And he was seeking to wreak a terrible vengeance against
the city and tribe- because of his own hurt pride. The twelve pieces going
to the twelve tribes would have included Benjamin.
Jdg 19:30 All who saw it said, Such a deed has never been done or seen from
the day that the children of Israel came up out of Egypt until this day!
Consider it! Decide what should be done-
The gruesome record of the Levite cutting up his wife’s body and
sending parts of the body throughout all Israel has much to teach us of the
power of the memorial service. It was done so that all who received the
parts of that broken body would “take advice and speak [their] minds" (Jud.
19:30). It was designed to elicit the declaration of their hearts, and above
all to provoke to concrete action. Splitting up a body and sharing it with
all Israel was clearly a type of the breaking of bread, where in symbol, the
same happens. Consider some background, all of which points forward to the
Lord’s sufferings:
- The person whose body was divided up was from Bethlehem, and of the tribe
of Judah (Jud. 19:1)
- They were ‘slain’ by permission of a priest
- They were dragged to death by a wicked Jewish mob
- They were “brought forth" to the people just as the Lord was to the crowd
(Jud. 19:25)
- “Do what seemeth good unto you" (Jud. 19:24) is very much Pilate language
- A man sought to dissuade the crowd from their purpose- again, as Pilate.
There should be a like effect upon us as we receive the emblems of the
Lord’s ‘broken body’- the inner thoughts of our hearts are elicited, and we
are provoked to action.
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