Wives for the men of Benjamin
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¶ 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? |
1 -
sworn ... not ... give his daughter Oaths were considered inviolable.
jg1130,
jg1701f,
Compare. da0608. Promises
are important to keep unless they violate the requirements of God. "The
oath was probably sworn under a curse as in ac2314.
The action of the Benjamites in supporting the evil men of Gibeah aroused
the anger of the Israelits to the extant that they vowed not to intermarry
with the Benjamites." For a different reason the Israelites were forbidden
to intermarry with the Canaanites de0701-4.
3 - One tribe lacking Cutting off the tribe of Benjamin was the result of the oath. |
| 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? |
6 -
Children of Israel repented The miserable civil war could have been
even worse had they not turned to the Lord.
7 - Wives for them that remain In the previous chapter those of the rest of Israel had killed all the people of Benjamin including the women, except 600 men who escaped jg2047. Thus the appeal for replacement wives. |
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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. |
10 - Smite Jabeshgilead A shameful solution to a shameful problem. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. See 1sa3111. - |
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| .25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. | 25 - No king A good king would have helped but most that came along were evil. This statement may be seen as rebellion against the system of Judges and the call for a king 1ki0806. |
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The
end of the book of Judges
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