Judges21

After nearly annihilating the tribe of Benjamin, the Israelites repented, lamenting the loss of a tribe and their oath not to give their daughters as wives. To provide wives for the remaining 600 Benjamite men, they first destroyed Jabesh-Gilead, taking 400 virgins. When these were insufficient, they devised a plan for the Benjamites to seize wives from the dancing daughters of Shiloh during a feast, thus circumventing their oath.
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Israel Laments the Loss of Benjamin

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?

The Judgment on Jabesh-gilead

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 lain by man. ​
12
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young 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 speak 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. ​

Seeking Wives at the Shiloh Festival

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 yearly 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 favourable 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. ​

Conclusion: Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes

25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. ​

Study Notes for Judges 21

Verse 1

The tribes of Israel had sworn a rash vow at Mizpeh, forbidding any intermarriage with the tribe of Benjamin. This oath, made in the heat of war and vengeance, now directly threatens the existence of one of God’s tribes.

Verse 2

The people came to the 'house of God,' likely Shiloh, the location of the Tabernacle. Their intense weeping reflects a genuine, though tragically delayed, remorse over the near-destruction of the tribe.

Verse 3

The irony here is profound: the tribes ask why God allowed this breach, failing to fully acknowledge that their own zealous actions and adherence to a human oath were the immediate cause of the crisis.

Verse 5

The solution to the marriage dilemma is sought through another act of violence. The Israelites prioritize finding a loophole to uphold their oath of vengeance against non-participants over finding a straightforward way to preserve Benjamin.

Verse 8

Jabesh-gilead, located across the Jordan, was identified as the only community that failed to participate in the judgment against Benjamin. According to the prior oath (v. 5), they were now subject to the death penalty.

Verse 11

The command for *herem* (utter destruction) is ruthlessly applied, yet it is modified for pragmatic purposes. Only virgins are spared, demonstrating that the primary motive was not justice alone, but securing biological continuity for Benjamin.

Verse 12

The four hundred virgins provided wives for only two-thirds of the six hundred Benjamite survivors. This insufficiency necessitated the second, more ethically troubling plan later in the chapter.

Verse 13

The survivors of Benjamin had fled to the Rock Rimmon (20:47). Having satisfied their vengeance and secured some wives, the congregation now seeks peace and reconciliation with their brothers.

Verse 15

The repetition of the people's repentance emphasizes the theological gravity of the situation. The preservation of the twelve tribes was essential for the integrity of the covenant nation.

Verse 16

The elders faced a legal dilemma: they must save Benjamin (v. 17) but cannot violate the oath sworn to God (v. 18). This conflict drives them to devise a complex, morally compromising scheme.

Verse 19

The 'feast of the LORD' refers to one of the annual pilgrimage festivals (likely Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths), held in Shiloh, the central location of the Tabernacle during the early period of the Judges.

Verse 21

This plan involves a mass abduction (a 'raid marriage'), justified by the legal loophole created by their earlier oath. They are commanded to 'catch' (or seize) the women while they are dancing outside the city.

Verse 22

The elders rationalize the abduction: since the fathers of Shiloh did not *give* their daughters, they did not violate the oath. This legalistic maneuvering highlights the moral relativism prevalent during the period of the Judges.

Verse 24

The chapter concludes the horrific civil war narrative. The Israelites return home, believing they have successfully resolved the crisis and preserved the tribal structure, though by profoundly flawed means.

Verse 25

This verse serves as the editorial thesis statement for the entire Book of Judges. It explains the cycle of moral decay and violence: without a king (central authority/covenant fidelity), Israel lacked a standard of righteousness, resulting in chaos and self-serving morality.

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