Judges 21 Study Notes: Wives for Benjamin's Survivors
Grieving that a tribe is nearly lost, Israel seeks wives for the Benjamite survivors without breaking its oath. The assembly strikes Jabesh-gilead and takes four hundred unmarried women, then lets the Benjamites seize more at a feast in Shiloh. The book ends noting Israel had no king and each man did as he saw fit.
General
How does the narrator sum up the era in the final verse of Judges?
Answer: Israel had no king, and each did as he saw fit
Judges ends with the narrator’s verdict: in those days Israel had no king, and everyone followed his own judgment (21:25). The same refrain appears in full at the start of the book’s final section (17:6), and in shorter form in 18:1 and 19:1, framing the idolatry, violence, and disorder of chapters 17-21. Following one’s own judgment is exactly what God’s law had warned against (Deuteronomy 12:8). The law had also looked ahead to a king chosen by the LORD (Deuteronomy 17:14-15), so the refrain points to Israel’s need for a righteous king who would lead the people in God’s ways. Many Christians have seen this longing finally answered in Christ, the King whose just and righteous reign never ends (Isaiah 9:7).
- Judges 21:25 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The book of Judges ends with the narrator’s refrain about Israel having no king.
- Judges 17:6 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The same refrain opens the final section of the book.
- Deuteronomy 12:8 (BSB)“You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.”The law warned against everyone doing what seems right in his own eyes.
- Deuteronomy 17:14-15 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.”The law looked ahead to a king chosen by the LORD for Israel.
- Isaiah 9:7 (BSB)“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.”Isaiah foretells a King on David’s throne who will reign with justice and righteousness forever.
Theological
What is the narrator’s closing verdict on the period in 21:25?
Answer: Israel had no king, and each did as he saw fit
The book closes with the refrain that Israel had no king and each man acted by his own judgment (21:25), the same refrain that opens the final section in full (17:6) and recurs in abbreviated form at 18:1 and 19:1, bracketing the religious and moral collapse of chapters 17-21. Such autonomy is precisely what the law forbade (Deuteronomy 12:8), and the law anticipated a king of the LORD’s choosing (Deuteronomy 17:14-15); the refrain thus expresses Israel’s need for a righteous king who would govern under God’s law. Many Christians have seen that need ultimately met in Christ, whose righteous reign Isaiah foretells (Isaiah 9:7).
- Judges 21:25 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The book of Judges ends with the narrator’s refrain about Israel having no king.
- Judges 17:6 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The same refrain opens the final section of the book.
- Deuteronomy 12:8 (BSB)“You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.”The law warned against everyone doing what seems right in his own eyes.
- Deuteronomy 17:14-15 (BSB)“When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.”The law looked ahead to a king chosen by the LORD for Israel.
- Isaiah 9:7 (BSB)“Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.”Isaiah foretells a King on David’s throne who will reign with justice and righteousness forever.
General
True or False: After the war, the Israelites mourned the Benjamites and spoke of them as their brothers.
Answer: True
This is true. The Israelites mourned for Benjamin, calling them their brothers, and said that a whole tribe had been cut away from Israel that day (21:6). Even while fighting, they had called the Benjamites their brothers (20:23). The same people who had nearly wiped out Benjamin now mourned the loss and searched for a way to keep the tribe alive. Scripture describes harmony among brothers as good and pleasant (Psalm 133:1), and the end of Judges shows how far Israel had fallen from it.
- Judges 21:6 (BSB)“And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.”The Israelites grieve for the Benjamites as their brothers and say a tribe is cut off.
- Judges 20:23 (BSB)“They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.””Even during the war, Israel spoke of the Benjamites as its brothers.
- Psalm 133:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”Scripture celebrates brothers living together in harmony.
Theological
True or False: In 21:6 the Israelites mourned for the Benjamites, calling them their brothers.
Answer: True
This is true. Israel mourns for Benjamin as its brothers and laments that a tribe has been severed from Israel (21:6). The language of brotherhood was present even in the war’s inquiries (20:23). Those who nearly annihilated Benjamin now mourn it and seek its preservation, a tragic distance from the harmony among brothers that Scripture commends (Psalm 133:1).
- Judges 21:6 (BSB)“And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.”The Israelites grieve for the Benjamites as their brothers and say a tribe is cut off.
- Judges 20:23 (BSB)“They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.””Even during the war, Israel spoke of the Benjamites as its brothers.
- Psalm 133:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”Scripture celebrates brothers living together in harmony.
General
What concern did the congregation’s elders state in 21:17?
Answer: That Benjamin’s survivors needed descendants
The elders asked how to provide wives for the remaining men, since Benjamin’s women had been killed (21:16). They insisted that the survivors must have heirs so that no tribe would disappear from Israel, yet they could not give their own daughters because they had sworn a curse on anyone who did (21:17-18). Their concern was for the full twelve-tribe people of Israel (Genesis 49:28). As a matter of later history, the tribe did survive: centuries afterward the apostle Paul named Benjamin as his own tribe (Romans 11:1).
- Judges 21:16-18 (BSB)“Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.””The elders say Benjamin’s survivors must have heirs, but they cannot give their daughters because of the curse.
- Genesis 49:28 (BSB)“These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.”Israel was made up of twelve tribes descended from Jacob’s sons.
- Romans 11:1 (BSB)“I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.”The apostle Paul later names Benjamin as his own tribe.
Theological
What did the elders insist upon in 21:17 concerning Benjamin’s survivors?
Answer: That Benjamin’s survivors needed descendants
With Benjamin’s women destroyed (21:16), the elders insist that the survivors must have heirs so that no tribe is blotted out of Israel, while acknowledging that the curse they swore on anyone who let a daughter marry into Benjamin binds them (21:17-18). The concern is for the integrity of the twelve-tribe people (Genesis 49:28). Benjamin did endure; Paul would later identify himself as a Benjamite (Romans 11:1).
- Judges 21:16-18 (BSB)“Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.””The elders say Benjamin’s survivors must have heirs, but they cannot give their daughters because of the curse.
- Genesis 49:28 (BSB)“These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.”Israel was made up of twelve tribes descended from Jacob’s sons.
- Romans 11:1 (BSB)“I ask then, did God reject His people? Certainly not! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.”The apostle Paul later names Benjamin as his own tribe.
General
Which town was found to have sent no one to the gathering at Mizpah?
Answer: Jabesh-gilead
Israel had sworn a second solemn oath: whoever stayed away from the gathering at Mizpah was to be executed (21:5). Looking for a way to supply wives for Benjamin, the Israelites asked which tribe had stayed away, and the count showed that the town of Jabesh-gilead had sent no one (21:8-9). So Israel now carried two sweeping oaths, one forbidding marriage to Benjamites and one condemning those who were absent. Scripture teaches that vows to the LORD must be kept and that no one sins by declining to make a vow (Deuteronomy 23:21-23), and it warns that a rash pledge can become a trap (Proverbs 20:25).
- Judges 21:5 (BSB)“The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.”Israel had sworn that anyone who failed to come up to Mizpah would be put to death.
- Judges 21:8-9 (BSB)“So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.”A count reveals that no one from Jabesh-gilead came to the assembly.
- Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (BSB)“If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.”The law warned that vows to the LORD must be kept, and that refraining from a vow is no sin.
- Proverbs 20:25 (BSB)“It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.”Scripture warns that a rash pledge becomes a trap.
Theological
Which town did Israel’s census in 21:8-9 reveal had failed to attend the assembly at Mizpah?
Answer: Jabesh-gilead
A second oath had pronounced death on any who stayed away from the gathering at Mizpah (21:5). Searching for a way to supply wives, Israel asks which tribe was absent and finds that Jabesh-gilead had sent no one (21:8-9). Israel is thus bound by two sweeping oaths, one prohibiting marriage to Benjamites and one condemning the absent. The law insists that vows be kept while noting that abstaining from vows is no sin (Deuteronomy 23:21-23), and wisdom warns that rash pledges ensnare (Proverbs 20:25).
- Judges 21:5 (BSB)“The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.”Israel had sworn that anyone who failed to come up to Mizpah would be put to death.
- Judges 21:8-9 (BSB)“So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there.”A count reveals that no one from Jabesh-gilead came to the assembly.
- Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (BSB)“If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.”The law warned that vows to the LORD must be kept, and that refraining from a vow is no sin.
- Proverbs 20:25 (BSB)“It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.”Scripture warns that a rash pledge becomes a trap.
General
What was the result of the congregation’s expedition against Jabesh-gilead?
Answer: Four hundred unmarried women were taken to Shiloh
The assembly dispatched 12,000 of its strongest fighters with orders to strike Jabesh-gilead and spare only the young women who were virgins (21:10-11). They found 400 such young women and took them back to Shiloh, where the camp was (21:12). These were given to the Benjamites, but there were still too few for every man (21:14). The text records that the order came from the congregation; it records no command from the LORD for it. Israel used one oath to resolve the problem created by another, at terrible cost to a whole town. The narrator reports this plainly without approving it, and the book’s refrain describes the age: everyone did what he himself judged right (17:6). Scripture warns that a path can seem right to people and still end in death (Proverbs 14:12).
- Judges 21:12 (BSB)“So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.”Four hundred young women from Jabesh-gilead are brought to the camp at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:14 (BSB)“And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.”The women are given to the Benjamites, but there are not enough for all of them.
- Proverbs 14:12 (BSB)“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”A course of action can seem right to people and still lead to death.
- Judges 17:6 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The narrator’s refrain sums up a time when everyone acted by his own judgment.
Theological
What did the expedition against Jabesh-gilead in 21:10-14 produce?
Answer: Four hundred unmarried women were taken to Shiloh
On the congregation’s orders, 12,000 warriors struck Jabesh-gilead, sparing only young women who were virgins (21:10-11); they found 400 and took them back to the camp in Shiloh (21:12), where they were given to the Benjamites, though not enough for all (21:14). The text records the order as the assembly’s and records no word from the LORD about it. One oath is invoked to solve the problem created by another, at the cost of an entire town. The narrator records without endorsing, and the refrain of 17:6 characterizes the era. Wisdom warns that a path people think is right may end in death (Proverbs 14:12).
- Judges 21:12 (BSB)“So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.”Four hundred young women from Jabesh-gilead are brought to the camp at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:14 (BSB)“And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.”The women are given to the Benjamites, but there are not enough for all of them.
- Proverbs 14:12 (BSB)“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”A course of action can seem right to people and still lead to death.
- Judges 17:6 (BSB)“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”The narrator’s refrain sums up a time when everyone acted by his own judgment.
General
When the people wept bitterly before God at Bethel, what did they lament?
Answer: That one tribe was now missing from Israel
At Bethel the people sat in God’s presence until evening, crying aloud and weeping bitterly (21:2). They asked Israel’s God why this had happened, since Israel now lacked one of its tribes (21:3). Israel was a people of twelve tribes, descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (Genesis 49:28), and the near loss of Benjamin was a wound to the whole nation. The next day they rose at dawn, set up an altar, and offered both whole burnt and peace offerings (21:4), as they had done at Bethel during the war (20:26). Unlike the inquiries in chapter 20, the chapter records no answer from the LORD to their question.
- Judges 21:2-3 (BSB)“So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!””At Bethel the people weep bitterly and ask why one tribe is now missing from Israel.
- Judges 21:4 (BSB)“The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings.”The next day they build an altar and present offerings.
- Genesis 49:28 (BSB)“These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.”Israel was made up of twelve tribes descended from Jacob’s sons.
- Judges 20:26 (BSB)“Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.”After the second defeat Israel had also wept and sacrificed at Bethel.
Theological
What is the substance of Israel’s lament before God at Bethel in 21:2-3?
Answer: That one tribe was now missing from Israel
Weeping bitterly before God at Bethel until evening (21:2), the people ask Israel’s God why one tribe is now lacking from Israel (21:3). The loss strikes at Israel’s identity as the twelve-tribe people descended from Jacob’s sons (Genesis 49:28). The next day they build an altar and offer burnt and peace offerings (21:4), echoing their worship at Bethel during the war (20:26), though this chapter records no answer from the LORD.
- Judges 21:2-3 (BSB)“So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!””At Bethel the people weep bitterly and ask why one tribe is now missing from Israel.
- Judges 21:4 (BSB)“The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings.”The next day they build an altar and present offerings.
- Genesis 49:28 (BSB)“These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.”Israel was made up of twelve tribes descended from Jacob’s sons.
- Judges 20:26 (BSB)“Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.”After the second defeat Israel had also wept and sacrificed at Bethel.
General
What oath had the Israelites sworn at Mizpah concerning the Benjamites?
Answer: Never to let a daughter marry a Benjamite
The chapter opens by revealing an oath sworn earlier at Mizpah: none of the Israelites would allow his daughter to become the wife of a Benjamite (21:1). Once the war had left Benjamin with only the men who escaped to the wilderness (20:47), this oath created a crisis. The people asked how the survivors could find wives when they had bound themselves by an oath in the LORD’s name to withhold their daughters (21:7). God’s law treated an oath sworn to the LORD as binding (Numbers 30:2), and Judges has already shown a man trapped by his own words to the LORD in Jephthah (11:35). Much of the rest of the chapter describes how Israel tried to work around this oath.
- Judges 21:1 (BSB)“Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.””The narrator reports the oath Israel had sworn at Mizpah about marriage to Benjamites.
- Judges 21:7 (BSB)“What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?””The oath leaves Israel unable to provide wives for Benjamin’s survivors.
- Numbers 30:2 (BSB)“If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.”The law required anyone who swore an oath to the LORD to keep his word.
- Judges 11:35 (BSB)“As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.””Earlier in the book Jephthah also found himself bound by words he had spoken to the LORD.
Theological
What oath, disclosed in 21:1, had Israel sworn at Mizpah regarding Benjamin?
Answer: Never to let a daughter marry a Benjamite
21:1 discloses an oath taken at Mizpah that no Israelite would let his daughter marry into Benjamin. With Benjamin left only with the men who escaped (20:47), the oath produces the chapter’s dilemma: how to provide wives when an oath in the LORD’s name forbids it (21:7). Oaths sworn to the LORD were binding under the law (Numbers 30:2), and the book has already shown in Jephthah a man bound by words spoken to the LORD (11:35). The remainder of the chapter narrates Israel’s attempts to circumvent its own oath.
- Judges 21:1 (BSB)“Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.””The narrator reports the oath Israel had sworn at Mizpah about marriage to Benjamites.
- Judges 21:7 (BSB)“What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?””The oath leaves Israel unable to provide wives for Benjamin’s survivors.
- Numbers 30:2 (BSB)“If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.”The law required anyone who swore an oath to the LORD to keep his word.
- Judges 11:35 (BSB)“As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.””Earlier in the book Jephthah also found himself bound by words he had spoken to the LORD.
General
True or False: The whole congregation offered peace to the Benjamite survivors on the rock of Rimmon, and those survivors came back.
Answer: True
This is true. The 600 Benjamites who had escaped had stayed in the wilderness on the rock of Rimmon for four months (20:47). Now the entire assembly sent them word of peace (21:13). The Benjamites came back and received the women brought from Jabesh-gilead (21:14). The former enemies were reconciled, though the way Israel went about restoring the tribe remained deeply troubling. Scripture praises the good of brothers living in harmony (Psalm 133:1).
- Judges 21:13 (BSB)“Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.”The congregation sends word of peace to the Benjamites on the rock of Rimmon.
- Judges 20:47 (BSB)“But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.”The 600 Benjamite survivors had fled to the rock of Rimmon and stayed four months.
- Psalm 133:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”Scripture celebrates brothers living together in harmony.
Theological
True or False: In 21:13-14 the congregation proclaimed peace to Benjamin’s survivors on the rock of Rimmon, and they returned.
Answer: True
This is true. The 600 survivors had remained on the rock of Rimmon for four months (20:47). The whole congregation now proclaims peace to them (21:13), and they return and receive the women brought from Jabesh-gilead (21:14). Hostility gives way to reconciliation among brothers (Psalm 133:1), though the means of restoring the tribe remain deeply troubling.
- Judges 21:13 (BSB)“Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.”The congregation sends word of peace to the Benjamites on the rock of Rimmon.
- Judges 20:47 (BSB)“But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.”The 600 Benjamite survivors had fled to the rock of Rimmon and stayed four months.
- Psalm 133:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!”Scripture celebrates brothers living together in harmony.
General
How did the elders argue that the fathers of Shiloh would avoid guilt under the oath?
Answer: They had not handed their daughters over
The elders remembered the annual festival of the LORD held at Shiloh (21:19). They told the Benjamites to lie hidden among the vines, and when the young women of Shiloh came out to dance, each man was to seize one and take her home to Benjamin (21:20-21). If the women’s fathers or brothers complained, the elders would ask them to let it stand, reasoning that the fathers had not actually given their daughters and so had not broken the oath (21:22). The plan kept the letter of the oath while defeating its purpose, and it had the young women seized by force, over the protests their fathers and brothers were expected to make. The text never says that God approved it. Scripture warns against rash words before God (Ecclesiastes 5:2) and reminds us that a person’s ways may look correct to him while the LORD examines the heart (Proverbs 21:2).
- Judges 21:19 (BSB)““But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.””The elders point to a yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:22 (BSB)“When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’””The elders plan what they will tell the fathers and brothers who complain.
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 (BSB)“Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.”Scripture warns against hasty words spoken before God.
- Proverbs 21:2 (BSB)“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.”A person’s ways may seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
Theological
On what reasoning did the elders, in 21:22, claim the fathers of Shiloh would incur no guilt under the oath?
Answer: They had not handed their daughters over
Recalling the annual feast of the LORD at Shiloh (21:19), the elders instruct the Benjamites to lie in wait in the vineyards and seize the young women who come out to dance (21:20-21). Should fathers or brothers protest, the elders will urge them to acquiesce, on the grounds that, since the daughters were taken rather than given, the oath was not broken (21:22). The scheme keeps the letter of the oath while evading its intent, seizing the women by force over their families’ expected protests, and the text nowhere attributes it to God’s approval. Scripture warns against hasty words before God (Ecclesiastes 5:2), and the LORD examines the heart behind ways that seem right to men (Proverbs 21:2).
- Judges 21:19 (BSB)““But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.””The elders point to a yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:22 (BSB)“When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’””The elders plan what they will tell the fathers and brothers who complain.
- Ecclesiastes 5:2 (BSB)“Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.”Scripture warns against hasty words spoken before God.
- Proverbs 21:2 (BSB)“All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.”A person’s ways may seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
General
True or False: The text says the LORD commanded the Benjamites to seize wives at the feast in Shiloh.
Answer: False
This is false. The text records that the command came from the congregation’s elders (21:16, 20). Unlike the inquiries of chapter 20, it records no word from God anywhere in this plan. The Benjamites followed the elders’ instructions, took the women they needed, returned to their own land, rebuilt their towns, and settled there (21:23), and the rest of Israel went home to their own tribes (21:24). The narrator reports these events without approving them. God’s law had warned against a time when everyone did what seemed right to himself (Deuteronomy 12:8), and Scripture cautions that a path can seem right to people and still end in death (Proverbs 14:12).
- Judges 21:20 (BSB)“So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards”The elders give the Benjamites their instructions for the feast at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:23 (BSB)“The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.”The Benjamites carry out the plan, return to their land, and rebuild their towns.
- Deuteronomy 12:8 (BSB)“You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.”The law warned against everyone doing what seems right in his own eyes.
- Proverbs 14:12 (BSB)“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”A course of action can seem right to people and still lead to death.
Theological
True or False: According to the text, the plan to seize wives at Shiloh was commanded by the LORD.
Answer: False
This is false. The text attributes the plan to the congregation’s elders (21:16, 20); in contrast to the repeated inquiries of chapter 20, it records no divine word for it. The Benjamites comply, return to their inheritance, rebuild and resettle their towns (21:23), and Israel disperses to its tribes (21:24). The narrator records without endorsing. The law had warned against each one doing what seemed right to himself (Deuteronomy 12:8), and wisdom notes that a path people think is right may end in death (Proverbs 14:12).
- Judges 21:20 (BSB)“So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards”The elders give the Benjamites their instructions for the feast at Shiloh.
- Judges 21:23 (BSB)“The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.”The Benjamites carry out the plan, return to their land, and rebuild their towns.
- Deuteronomy 12:8 (BSB)“You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.”The law warned against everyone doing what seems right in his own eyes.
- Proverbs 14:12 (BSB)“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”A course of action can seem right to people and still lead to death.
General
According to 21:15, who had caused the void among Israel’s tribes?
Answer: The LORD Himself
The narrator explains that the people mourned over Benjamin since it was the LORD who had caused a void among Israel’s tribes (21:15). This matches his earlier statement that the LORD struck Benjamin down before Israel (20:35). The tribe He struck down was the one that had refused to hand over Gibeah’s wicked men for judgment (20:13), and Hosea later recalls the battle at Gibeah as overtaking the wicked (Hosea 10:9). Scripture teaches that when disaster comes on a city, the LORD is the one who brings it (Amos 3:6). Yet God’s rule over the outcome does not make every human act in it right. The people remained responsible for their own choices, including the oaths that now troubled them (21:7, 18).
- Judges 21:15 (BSB)“The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.”The narrator says the people grieved because the LORD had made a void in Israel’s tribes.
- Judges 20:35 (BSB)“The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.”The narrator had said that the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel.
- Judges 20:13 (BSB)“Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites.”Benjamin had refused to hand over the wicked men of Gibeah for judgment.
- Amos 3:6 (BSB)“If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?”Scripture teaches that when calamity comes to a city, the LORD has brought it.
- Hosea 10:9 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?”Hosea recalls the battle at Gibeah as overtaking the wicked.
Theological
To whom does the narrator attribute the void in Israel’s tribes in 21:15?
Answer: The LORD Himself
The narrator attributes the void to the LORD (21:15), consistent with 20:35, where the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel. The LORD ruled over the outcome, for calamity on a city comes from His hand (Amos 3:6); the tribe He struck had refused to surrender Gibeah’s wicked men for judgment (20:13), and Hosea remembers the battle at Gibeah as overtaking the wicked (Hosea 10:9). That sovereignty does not sanctify every human act within it; Israel remains accountable for its own decisions, including the oaths now constraining it (21:7, 18).
- Judges 21:15 (BSB)“The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.”The narrator says the people grieved because the LORD had made a void in Israel’s tribes.
- Judges 20:35 (BSB)“The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.”The narrator had said that the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel.
- Judges 20:13 (BSB)“Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites.”Benjamin had refused to hand over the wicked men of Gibeah for judgment.
- Amos 3:6 (BSB)“If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?”Scripture teaches that when calamity comes to a city, the LORD has brought it.
- Hosea 10:9 (BSB)“Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?”Hosea recalls the battle at Gibeah as overtaking the wicked.