Judges 21:1-25
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 laina by man.
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred youngb 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 speakc 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 yearlyd 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 favourablee 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.
Judges 21:4. Built there an altar, in Mizpeh. This altar had long existed. Exodus 38:1. Altars were erected in many places: Samuel, David, and Elijah officiated at those altars. Yea, more; the Lord's anger was appeased at those altars, and fire descended from heaven to denote the acceptance of the sacrifices. The altar at the sanctuary was for the regular oblations, but was never designed to supersede the extraordinary occasions of the nation.
Judges 21:8. None from Jabesh-gilead. The tribes would keep their oath against citizens or delinquents in war, but not their oath with the Lord against idolaters! The inhabitants being Joseph's descendants, would not arm against the favourite brother of their father.
Judges 21:12. Four hundred virgins, known by their ornaments and dress. The Lacedemonians were remarkable for distinguishing all orders of persons by dress; and this custom still prevails in the east, though with numerous variations.
Judges 21:19. Behold, there is a feast to the Lord in Shiloh. The feast of tabernacles, when the people rejoiced with sacred songs. Those elders were so very religious that they would not break their oath; they only gave advice how it might be violated with impunity.
REFLECTIONS.
In the preseding chapter we have seen the sad effects of wickedness, contumacy, and civil war. The tribe of Benjamin, which filled fourteen cities and villages, contained a population of nearly two hundred thousand persons, besides Jabesh-gilead, and the forty thousand of Israel who fell. Surely, when in arms, brothers are the worst of foes. Benjamin had no pity on Israel in his days of victory; and Israel in return had no pity on Benjamin. How impetuous are human passions when excited by the ardour of battle, and by the sight of blood. To give quarter to a vanquished foe was not the law of war in that age, and would to God it had been only that age. Real courage is never divested of humanity: to vanquish and to spare are indications of a great and generous soul. During the battle, the crime was equal on both sides. When the vanquished fly, retaining their arms, they are pursued with slaughter. But those who cast away their arms, and on their knees beg for life, it is cruelty, nay, it is murder, to give them the stroke of death. The man who does this is not a hero, and he must expect a similar visitation in return.
We see farther, that the stronger passions of man turn as the tide. Israel had carried his vengeance on his brother far beyond his first intentions. Now he weeps for his brother; but tears are unable to restore him to life. Strong passions, excess of punishment, and rash oaths, are sure to be followed with humiliating reflections. Let us ever hold the reins of passion by reason; for strong passions when directed by wisdom may be attended with honour, not with shame.
We see also the great regard which the ancients paid to an oath of the Lord. Whether right or wrong, rash or prudent, they considered it as inviolable; and that no man, no nation would be safe, if an oath were left to the decisions of interest. It is an adage, that rash vows are better broken than kept: it would be better however for every man, before he breaks an oath, to consult the safety of his conscience. What we should principally learn from the errors of Israel is, to vow with prudence, and to perform with fidelity.
The smiting of any city or tribe which came not up to war, it would seem, was another breach of the oath Israel had made in Shiloh. And alas, Jabesh- gilead, of the tribe of Joseph, would not arm against his brother Benjamin. This was a breach of the national covenant, and very often acted upon. But as so much blood had been spilt, it would have been better to have said, sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.
Israel, impressed with sorrow for the loss of one tribe, next proceeds to provide wives for the six hundred of their brethren who had escaped the common carnage. The four hundred virgins of Jabesh were disposed of in fair marriage, and without scruple; and to husbands who had now large tracts of land. But the two hundred remaining men, were directed by the elders to catch virgins in the dance at a festival in Shiloh, while they were singing and playing sacred songs in their approach to the house of God. This was a singular step, but an act of necessity, by no means to be imitated in future life. There were many things lamentable in it. It forced the women's affections, it deprived the parents of their right in the disposal of their daughters, and it estranged them to a distance, where they could not console their parents in old age. But withal it was done by the advice of the magistrates, and it did the captives no wrong in point of landed property; otherwise it had been an action worthy of death. The rape of the Sabine women under Romulus, differs widely from this case. They were allured to a festival by a stratagem; and the elders of their country being totally ignorant of the crime, they armed to avenge their wrongs.