Juízes 19
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Juízes 19
NJB (MT versing) A Levite's Concubine Degraded The Levite's Concubine The Failure of the Israelite Tribes (17:1-21:25) The Levite and His Concubine The Levite of Ephraim and His Concubine The Levite and His Concubine 19:1-9 19:1-4 19:1-9 19:1-5 19:1-10 19:5-9 19:6 19:7-8 The Incident at Gibeah 19:9 19:10-15 19:10-15 19:10-15 19:10-11 The Crime of the Men of Gibeah 19:11-15 19:12-15 19:16-21 19:16-21 19:16-21 19:16-17 19:16-21 19:18-19 Gibeah's Crime 19:20-21 19:22-26 19:22-26 19:22-26 19:22 19:22-25 19:23-25 19:26-30 19:26-30 19:27-30 19:27-28 19:27-30 19:29-30 Etc. BACKGROUND The central figure of Judges 17-18 is a Levite from Bethlehem, traveling in the hill country of Ephraim; strangely the same type of person is also the object of Judges 19. The chronological order of Judges 19-21 does not follow 17-18, but appears to be very early in the period of the Judges. The purpose of this section is to show the moral and legal problems involved when there is no central, strong, godly leadership. The horror of this crime is matched only by the over reaction of the tribes. Josephus, Antiq. 7.2.8, changes the story in several ways (i.e., traditions passed on to him). the lady was a very beautiful wife the men of Gibeah saw his wife and wanted her; this is different from the MT, which asserts clearly the homosexual nature of the event the woman felt her Levite husband would not forgive her and would feel great shame, so she voluntarily died This shows how Jewish tradition tried to spare the Levite the shame he so deserved! This account has similarity to Genesis 19 and 1 Samuel 11:7. Some think it is a merging of two different accounts. I am very uncomfortable with the J.E.P.D. mentality. Moderns do not know the time, process, or date of how the OT books reached their final form. Believers accept, by faith, that the Spirit guided the process. We cannot superimpose modern textual criticism onto ancient ANE texts. SPECIAL TOPIC: PENTATEUCH SOURCE CRITICISM
Juízes 19:1-9
19:1 "in those days" Though this idiom is not specific, it is a textual marker for a later editor/compiler. Judges was written during the United Monarchy (i.e., Saul and David). See note at Jdgs. 17:6. ▣ "concubine" This was a second level, legal wife whose children had no inheritance rights. 19:2 "played the harlot against him" This is the reading of the MT and Peshitta, but the Vulgate has "she was angry and left him." The LXX A has "became angry with him," like the Vulgate, but LXX B has "left him." It seems that the context supports the MT, if understood in the sense of the Vulgate. For a wife to leave her husband was not allowed. When she left, everyone would assume she had committed an unfaithful act and was put away by her husband (cf. Matt. 19:9; Mark 10:11-12). The UBS Text Project, p. 120, says there were three meanings for the VERB (BDB 275, KB 278). play the harlot ‒ זנה I, KB 275 became angry with ‒ זנה II, KB 275 (Akkadiana root) go away In this context, #2 fits best. 19:3 NASB, NRSV "to speak tenderly to her" "to speak kindly to her" "to appeal to her affections" "to woo. . .to win her back" "to appeal to her" "to speak to her heart" "to speak lovingly to her" The MT is literally "to speak to her heart" (BDB 524). This is an idiom for "wooing" or "courting" (i.e., intimate love conversations, cf. Gen. 34:3; Ruth 2:13). ▣ "his servant and a pair of donkeys" In the culture of the day these donkeys would have carried a gift for the father of the concubine. This apparently was a wealthy Levite. It is also possible that these donkeys were merely transportation for the concubine to return home provisions for the trip (Jdgs. 19:19) a ride for the Levite 19:4-9 This describes the father-in-law's joy and hospitality over the reunion and gift from the Levite. It includes many IMPERATIVES OF REQUEST. Jdgs. 19:5 ‒ "sustain yourself with a piece of bread" ‒ Qal MPERATIVE Jdgs. 19:6 "please be willing to spend the night" ‒ Hiphil MPERATIVE and Qal IMPERATIVE; this VERB (BDB 533, KB 529) is used eleven times in this chapter Same as 1. "let your heart be merry" ‒ Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense Jdgs. 19:8 "please sustain yourself" ‒ like Jdgs. 19:5 "wait" ‒ Hithpael IMPERATIVE Jdgs. 19:9 "please spend the night" ‒ like 19:6, #1 "spend the night" (twice) ‒ Qal IMPERATIVE, like 19:6, #1 and 19:9, #1 "that your heart be merry" ‒ like 19:6, #3
Juízes 19:10-15
19:10 "Jebus (that is, Jerusalem)" The city was first called Salem (cf. Gen. 14:18). Later it was called Jebus after its inhabitants, the Jebusites, origin unknown. Finally, it was called Jerusalem, possibly after David made it his capital (cf. 2 Sam. 5:6-9). SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, ZION, JERUSALEM 19:11-13 The servant requests that they stay in Jebus. "please come" ‒ Qal IMPERATIVE "let us turn aside" ‒ Qal COHORTATIVE "spend the night" ‒ Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense But the Levite did not want to stay in a Canaanite city (Jdgs. 19:12, irony). So, they moved on. "come" ‒ Qal IMPERATIVE, like Jdgs. 19:11, #1 "let us approach. . ." ‒ Qal COHORTATIVE The servant requested but the Levite commanded. 19:13 "Gibeah" The town was 4 miles north of Jerusalem. It was Saul's birthplace and capital (cf. 1 Sam. 10:26; 11:4; 15:34). However, because of robbers, one could not travel at night. There may be a purposeful comparison of the cities associated with Saul (i.e., Gibeah) and the cities associated with David (Bethlehem, Jebus, Ramah). Remember, Judges was written during the United Monarchy (i.e., Saul then David). There are three Gibeahs. in Judah ‒ Joshua 15:20, 57 in Ephraim ‒ Joshua 24:33 Saul's capital ‒ Jdgs. 20:31; 2 Sam. 10:26; 11:4 ▣ "Ramah" Ramah was 2 miles farther. It was the hometown of Samuel. 19:15 "they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house" This was a shameful act of the citizens not offering hospitality, which was so important in that day.
Juízes 19:16-21
19:16 "the man was from the hill country of Ephraim" This is the same area that the Levite was from. 19:18 NASB, NRSV "to my house" NKJV, JPSOA, Peshitta "to the house of the Lord" "to our home" NJB, REB, LXX "I am going home" The MT has "to the house of YHWH," but the LXX has "to my home." The difference between "my" (LXX) and "YHWH" (MT) is very close in Hebrew. Possibly the final yod (י) was mistakenly made the first letter (aberration) of the divine name, יהוה, by later Hebrew scribes. Since the VERB "cut" in Jdgs. 19:29 has sacrificial connotations, some think the Levite dismembered his concubine at the shrine at Shiloh (cf. Jos. 18:1; Jdgs. 18:31) or even at Bethel (cf. Jdgs. 20:26-28) in a ritual manner. 19:19 The Levite is clearly stating he brought all the provisions for his trip. He needs no assistance of any kind, except a place to stay (i.e., house). The lavish hospitality of his concubine's father is not expected. However, the culture demanded the host provide the needs and protection of guests (BDB 533, KB 529, Qal JUSSIVE, Jdgs. 19:20, cf. 19:21). washed their feet, cf. Gen. 18:4; 24:32; 43:24 provided food provided drink provided a place to sleep tended to their animals It was not as elaborate as the concubine's father, but still very expensive for this poor farmer and his unmarried daughter. ▣ "your servants" The MT (LXX B ) has the PLURAL but the context demands the SINGULAR (Targum, Peshitta, Vulgate). The JPSOA footnote implies the PLURAL reflects: the concubine the servant the host and his daughter also called "your servants" (i.e., Oriental eastern hospitality) Same as 3. ▣ "they washed their feet and ate and drank" This is normal etiquette. The "they" may refer to the Levite's servant or the man and his daughter.
Juízes 19:22-26
19:22 "worthless fellows" This is literally "sons of Belial," from two Hebrew words, "sons of worthlessness" (BDB 116, cf. Deut. 13:13; 1 Sam. 2:12). Later, in the Apocrypha it became a title for Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 6:15). ▣ "that we may have sexual relations with him" This aggressive homosexuality reminds one of Sodom (cf. Genesis 19). These Israelites were acting like perverse Canaanites. Homosexuality was a way to highlight the evil of the day (cf. Rom. 1:26,27, and also note NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 1209, #8). SPECIAL TOPIC: HOMOSEXUALITY 19:23-24 This shows the cultural importance attached to ANE hospitality. 19:23 Notice how this request is characterized. "do not act so wickedly" ‒ BDB 949, KB 1269, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense, cf. Gen. 19:7 "do not commit this act of folly" ‒ BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense; the NOUN "folly" (BDB 615) means "senseless" or "disgraceful," cf. Gen. 34:7; Deut. 22:21; Jos. 7:15; 2 Sam. 13:12; Jer. 29:33; it usually has a sexual connotation There is no NEGATIVE IMPERATIVE, so Hebrew expresses this with a NEGATIVE and a JUSSIVE (cf. Gen. 13:8). 19:24 This shows the low morality and place of women in that day. Notice the IMPERATIVES. The man offers both his virgin (BDB 143) daughter and the Levite's concubine. "to ravish them" ‒ BDB 776, KB 853, Qal IMPERATIVE, which means to humble a woman by sexual relations, cf. Gen. 34:2; Deut. 21:14; 22:24, 29; Jdgs. 20:5; 2 Sam. 13:12, 14, 22, 32; Lam. 5:11; Ezek. 22:10, 11 "do to them whatever you wish" ‒ BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERATIVE This incident is so shocking. One wonders if the man thought that since the crowd wanted to have sex with the Levite, maybe they would not want to have sex with a woman. At any rate, this shows clearly the gracious and absolute requirement of ANE hospitality the cowardly act of these men to save their own lives the terrible plight of women in the ANE (i.e., property) SPECIAL TOPIC: WOMEN IN THE BIBLE 19:25 "the man seized his concubine" There were no more love words (cf. Jdgs. 19:3)! He sacrificed her for his own life. I am surprised this Levite did not offer his male servant to the homosexual mob. Apparently servants were valued more than concubines. Notice the actions of this sex-crazed mob. they raped her ‒ BDB 393, KB 390, Qal IMPERFECT with waw; this is literally "knew," cf. Gen. 4:1 they abused her ‒ BDB 759 I, KB 834, Hithpael IMPERFECT with waw, cf. 1 Sam. 31:4; Jer. 38:19 all night until morning ‒ repeated abuse which caused her death (Jdgs. 19:28) Number 3 shows the prolonged attack by the mob. I must admit this account bothers me! This was a horrible night for this poor woman. I feel the same sinking feeling about Job's family and servants (i.e., Job 1-2). Remember, the Bible records what it does not advocate. In historical narratives one must look for the overall purpose (i.e., Judges 17-21) and not focus on the details of the accounts. SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW SPECIAL TOPIC: GENRE AND INTERPRETATION: OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVES
Juízes 19:27-30
19:27-29 These verses show the Levite's callused feelings toward his concubine (as did his actions in Jdgs. 19:25) the Levite's anger and sense of violation expressed toward the whole tribe of Benjamin (Jdgs. 19:29) The actions of the townspeople of Gibeah (i.e., no offer of shelter) the worthless fellows (i.e., sexual demands) the Levite (i.e., putting his concubine at the door for the mob and his callous reaction to her murder) the tribe of Benjamin (i.e., not punishing the worthless fellows in their midst) the over reaction of the Israeli tribes in destroying a whole tribe (i.e., men, women, and children) This is the theological point of Judges 17-21. The editor/compiler thinks a righteous king would/could solve the problem (cf. Jdgs. 19:1). 19:29 "cut her in twelve pieces" This VERB is often used of sacrificial acts (BDB 677, KB 732, cf. Exod. 29:17; Lev. 1:6, 12; 8:20). A similar act was performed by Saul to call the Twelve Tribes into action (cf. 1 Sam. 11:7). In this case, Benjamin tried to protect these vile men of their tribe! Why, is not stated. 19:30 The terrible acts of this mob became a proverb for evil (cf. Hosea 9:9; 10:9). ▣ Notice the three IMPERATIVES of the last sentence of Jdgs. 19:30. consider ‒ BDB 962, KB 1321, Qal IMPERATIVE take counsel ‒ BDB 734, KB 801, Qal IMPERATIVE speak up ‒ BDB 180, KB 210, Piel IMPERATIVE