Chapter 21

1 The people bewail the desolation of Benjamin. 8By the destruction of Jabesh-gilead they provide them four hundred wives. 16 They advise them to surprise the virgins that danced at Shiloh.

1. Had sworn. No mention of this oath has been made in the preceding record. Evidently the tribes entered into it soon after they first assembled at Mizpeh, before any open hostilities began. The ancients regarded an oath as inviolable (see on chs. 11:30; 17:1, 2).

Although such oaths could not be broken or withdrawn, the Israelites, especially in later times, found many ways to keep the letter of an oath but break the spirit by trickery or some other evasion. However, no one is under obligation to keep his pledged word if it requires him to commit a wrong act.

Give his daughter. The oath was probably sworn under a curse as in Acts 23:14. The action of the Benjamites in supporting the evil men of Gibeah aroused the anger of the Israelites to the extent that they vowed not to intermarry with the Benjamites, in the same manner as they had been commanded by the Lord not to intermarry with the seven heathen nations of Canaan (Deut. 7:1–4).

2. House of God. Perhaps Shiloh. Some believe that the words should again be translated as the proper name “Bethel” (see on ch. 20:18, 27).

Wept sore. After their fierce anger was gone, the people recognized that they had gone too far in their revenge upon one of their own tribes. How much better it would have been if their weeping had come earlier, before the deed had been done.

3. Why is this? This question implies that the Israelites accused God of having brought the tribe of Benjamin to virtual extinction (see v. 15). The assembled tribes should have known that it was their anger and their desire for revenge engendered by the two defeats administered upon them by the army of Benjamin that was the real cause of the near extinction of the tribe.

4. Built there an altar. This statement has been offered as proof that the Israelites were assembling at Bethel instead of at Shiloh, since an altar must have already existed in connection with the tabernacle at Shiloh. On the other hand, those who believe that the reference is to Shiloh take the passage to mean that the people built a new altar at Shiloh, either because the old one was in disrepair, or because another one was needed to handle the large number of sacrifices being made (see on ch. 20:18, 27; 21:2).

5. Came not up. After the battle was all over, the Israelites began an investigation to ascertain whether the entire nation had responded to the summons to take part in the war against Benjamin. When the army first assembled, the tribes had sworn an oath against any segment of the Israelites that refused to support the undertaking. The extreme measures were perhaps necessary to enforce cooperation.

8. Jabesh-gilead. Identified with Tell elРMeqbereh and Tell Abuµ Kharaz, about 9 1/2 mi. (15 km.) southeast of Bethshan in the Wadi elРYaµbis to the east of the Jordan. A bond of affinity seems to have existed between the tribe of Benjamin and the city of Jabesh-gilead. The affinity seems to have continued even after the city was destroyed and rebuilt. Saul, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, performed his first exploit by saving Jabesh-gilead from the Ammonites (1 Sam. 11:3–15). At the time of Saul’s death the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead paid back their debt by rescuing Saul’s body from public exposure on the walls of Beth-shan (1 Sam. 31:8–13).

10. Twelve thousand. This method of levying an army representative of the whole group had been used before (Num. 31:1–6).

Go and smite. The adoption of this expedient for obtaining wives for the 600 survivors of the tribe of Benjamin who were hiding in caves in the hill of Rimmon helps us to realize the limited spiritual enlightenment of those times. Such ruthless measures in the name of religion are revolting and must be understood in the light of the times in which they occurred.

11. Every woman. Every inhabitant was to be destroyed except single girls of marriageable age. The other members of the families were in actuality no more guilty than these girls. The whole ruthless procedure, though carried out under the guise of fulfilling a sacred oath to the Lord, was but a brutal expedient to prevent the extinction of the tribe of Benjamin.

12. Four hundred. They lacked 200 of having enough for the 600 Benjamites who were still alive in the caves.

Shiloh. See on vs. 2, 4; ch. 20:18. The camp may have removed to Shiloh shortly after the conclusion of hostilities with Benjamin.

15. The Lord had made a breach. The breach, or gap, in the circle or chain of the 12 tribes really had been made by the Israelites themselves in their own unreasoning excesses in punishing the foul deed of certain Benjamites. Had they acted at all times in the spirit of true brotherly love, they could have accomplished the desired end without the purposeless slaughter and atrocities which they committed.

16. How shall we do? The elders knew that these men would, of necessity, marry wives of the Canaanites. To avoid this calamity, they employed devious means to get around the letter of their oath even though they violated its spirit. Instead of courageously repudiating their vow in the first place and allowing the Benjamites to marry from the other tribes, they were led by their mistaken belief that an oath is always inviolable, to perpetrate the butchery of innocent men, women, and children.

17. An inheritance. This likely does not refer to property or real estate, though some have suggested that the elders were advising the victorious army not to divide the territory of Benjamin among themselves. They meant that there must be a family succession for the remaining Benjamites.

19. A feast. There were three feasts during the year which all male Israelites were required to attend (Ex. 23:17). Inasmuch as the tabernacle at this time was situated at Shiloh, these gatherings would be held there. It is questionable whether in those unsettled times, there was any large-scale attempt to follow the prescribed ritual. From 1 Sam. 1:3 it is evident that even pious families did not always attend all three of these feasts.

Which is on the north side. The author of Judges gives an elaborate description of the location of Shiloh. The fact that the author felt it necessary to explain to his readers the location of Shiloh has led many to fix the date for the writing of Judges many years after the Philistines destroyed Shiloh at the end of the judgeship of Eli. It does seem that the author regarded the people of his day as unacquainted with the location of the city. Yet, on the other hand, it is a fact that Shiloh has been mentioned many times previously by the author of Judges without any attempt to explain its location.

Lebonah. Now called Lubban. It was 3 mi. (5 km.) west-northwest of Shiloh.

21. Daughters of Shiloh. Only the males were commanded to come to these feasts (Ex. 23:17; Deut. 16:16). Sometimes the men were accompanied by their wives and daughters, but the majority of the women present would be those who lived in or near Shiloh.

Dance. At the harvest festivals social occasions were provided as well as religious services (see PP 540).

22. Brethren. Anciently the brothers of a girl who was abducted were prominent in demanding satisfaction for her mistreatment (see Gen. 34:7–31; 2 Sam. 13:20–38).

That ye should be guilty. The elders of Israel promised to placate the fathers and brothers of the abducted girls on two counts: first, the council of elders had agreed that the men of Benjamin must have wives from some source; and second, the vow was not being violated by the parents, for their daughters had not been given in marriage but had been taken by force.

24. Departed. After the feast was over and the surviving Benjamites had secured wives, the army was disbanded. The troops must have been away from their homes for at least 5 or 6 months, for the 600 men of Benjamin were hiding in Rimmon for 4 months (ch. 20:47).

25. No king in Israel. The statement makes a suitable transition to the book of Samuel, which describes the beginning of the monarchy.