Judges 21 - Introduction
CHAPTER 21. PRESERVATION OF THE REMNANT OF BENJAMIN.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 21. PRESERVATION OF THE REMNANT OF BENJAMIN.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 21. PRESERVATION OF THE REMNANT OF BENJAMIN. Judges 21:1 ‘ Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, ‘There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin to wife.' This interesting snippet reminds us that a serious covenant had been made at Mizpah once action had been determ... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the people came to Bethel and sat there until the evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept grievously.' Having carried out their dreadful massacre the people suddenly realised the consequences of what they had done, they had destroyed a tribe in Israel. This struck them so vivi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they said, “Oh Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel that there should be today one tribe lacking?” What they were asking was what had been the causes that had brought this about. What had led Benjamin to become caught up in the Canaanite religion and ways? So do men beha... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And so it was that on the next day the people rose early and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.' The ‘building' of an altar refers to refurbishing it since its last use and preparing it for the offering of sacrifices. The ‘rising early' demonstrates that they w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly in Yahweh?” For they had made a great oath concerning such a one as did not come up to Yahweh, to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” ' Included in the oath made at Miz... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the children of Israel repented because of what they had done to Benjamin their brother, and said, ‘There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.' Their musings from one subject to another was to indicate that they were thinking through a solution to the problem of the Benjaminites. ‘Benja... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give of our daughters to be their wives.?' They had decided on mercy for the six hundred holed up in the Rock, but the problem now was how to find wives for them without breaking their solemn oath to Y... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Yahweh, to Mizpah?” And lo, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly. For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.' A check was made of the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the people sent there twelve eleph men of the most valiant, and commanded them saying, “Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. And this is the thing you will do. You will utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known man by lying with him. And they brought them to the camp, to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.' The Ban was carried out and four hundred virgins spared who ‘had not lain with a man'. Or so it... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the Rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead. And yet so there were not sufficient for them... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the people repented themselves for Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.' All that was done was in the end thought of as done by Yahweh, for He was the God of the covenant and of the tribal confederacy. Thus He was seen as over all that they did, even when He mig... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then the elders of the congregation said, ‘How shall we do for wives for those who remain seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?' Compare Judges 21:7. The Ban had (in their view, but some must have survived) resulted in the killing off of all Benjaminite women. Thus the problem was how t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they said, ‘There must be an inheritance for those who have escaped of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not blotted out of Israel.' The feeling was strong. To lose a tribe would be like losing a limb. The inheritance here was children not land. There was plenty of free land in Benjaminite territo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ However, we may not give them wives of our daughters.' For the children of Israel had sworn saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.' The latter phrase was probably literally part of the wording of the covenant made at Mizpah. Blessings and cursings regularly accompanied covenants. The... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they said, ‘Look there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh', which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the South of Lebonah.' They expressed their awareness of a coming feast of Yahweh.The connection with vineyard... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, ‘Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. And watch, and behold if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then you come out of the vineyards and you catch every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And it shall be, when their fathers and their brothers come to complain angrily to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them to us as a gift. For we did not take for each man his wife in battle, nor did you give them to them. Or else you would now be guilty'.' Clearly once news of the kidnappings... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the children of Israel left there at that time, every man to his tribe and every man to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.' The repetition is typical of ancient literature and Hebrew parallelism. Their task finished, and Benjamin on the way to restoration,... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes.' The writer was clearly disillusioned. Even in this matter of Benjamin the people had stooped to subterfuge and hypocrisy, not seeking Yahweh's voice when they had the final difficult decisions to make. From... [ Continue Reading ]