Judges 19
Meaning of Judges 19
Judges 19 is a chapter in the Bible, specifically in the Old Testament.
This chapter tells a disturbing, quite tragic and violent story that is part of the history of Israel during a time “when there was no king in Israel” (Judges 19:1). It starts with a Levite residing in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim who takes a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. The woman leaves him and goes back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. After four months, the Levite goes to Bethlehem to persuade her to return.
Following days of feasting, he and his concubine along with their two servants journey back to their home. However, the journey is slow and they find themselves in Gibeah, a city in Benjamin, as the sun sets.
In this foreign city, an old man insists on showing them hospitality. The Levite and his party choose to stay in the safety of the man’s house, ignoring the public square considering the overall lack of law and order in the city. During the night, wicked men surround the house, demanding to sexually violate the Levite man. To protect himself, he sends out his concubine who is then raped and abused by the men throughout the night. When dawn breaks, she manages to return to the doorstep of the house where she dies.
The Levite, upon finding her on the doorstep, carries her body home. He then does the unthinkable: he cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel as a shocking message. The chapter concludes with a verse that underscores Israel’s chaotic state: “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This horrific event leads to a civil war in Israel, which is the focus of the chapters that follow.
Judges 19, while difficult to read, provides a picture of how chaotic and depraved things can become when there is no strong leadership or moral guidance – when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.
Judges 19 kjv
Judges Chapter 19 from the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is a tragic and horrific story that is set during the time when Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Because of the complex storyline and mature content, a basic understanding of the Old Testament is necessary to grasp it. This is a cautionary tale demonstrating societal decay, injustice, and its terrible consequences.
The chapter begins with a Levite from Ephraim who took a concubine from Bethlehem. The woman was unfaithful to him and ran away to her father’s house. After four months, the Levite man went to reconcile with her. He was warmly received by his father-in-law, and stayed with him for several days.
On the fifth day, the Levite, his concubine, and his servant embarked on a journey back home, but they began the journey late in the day so didn’t get far. They reached Gibeah, a city of the Benjamites, expecting hospitality from their fellow Israelites. However, no one offered them a place to stay but an old man who was also from Ephraim.
This is where the story takes a horrific turn. That evening, some wicked men of Gibeah surrounded the house, intending to harm the Levite man. In a desperate attempt to protect himself, the Levite pushed his concubine outside to them. The woman was abused throughout the night and was found dead at the doorstep the following morning.
In anger and grief, the Levite cut her body into twelve pieces and sent a piece to each tribe of Israel as a dramatic call for justice. This shocking act led to civil war against the tribe of Benjamin and caused near annihilation of the tribe.
The chapter does not advocate the horrific actions it describes. It is meant to illustrate the moral and societal decay of the period and the disastrous effects of turning away from God’s law. It provides historical context that sets the stage for the need of a king in Israel, which is introduced in the following book, 1 Samuel.
Judges 19 nkjv
Judges 19 in the New King James Version is a tragic and complex passage that is part of a longer story spanning chapters 19-21. It fundamentally intends to portray the moral degradation that occurred in the nation of Israel during a period “when there was no king in Israel.”
The chapter begins with the account of a Levite from the hill country of Ephraim who takes a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. However, she is unfaithful to him and returns to her father’s house. After several months, the Levite goes to Bethlehem to persuade her to return.
After spending five days there, they leave for home very late. They bypass Jebus (Jerusalem) because it is a Jebusite city, instead deciding to push on to Gibeah or Ramah. However, they cannot reach Ramah before nightfall and stop at Gibeah, which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin.
Despite the custom of hospitality towards strangers at that time, initially, no one in Gibeah offers them a place to stay. An old man from the hill country of Ephraim eventually offers them shelter. As they are enjoying his hospitality, wicked men from the city surround the house and demand to sexually abuse the Levite.
To protect himself and his guests, the old man offers his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine instead. The wicked men refuse the old man’s offer and the Levite ends up having to push his concubine outside. The men of Gibeah abuse her all night, and she dies on the threshold of the house in the morning.
To avenge her brutal treatment, the Levite cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each of the tribes of Israel to spur them into retributive action against the city.
The chapter concludes here, but the narrative continues into the subsequent chapters with the war between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.
This passage is one of the most disturbing in scripture, illustrating the depravity to which Israel had fallen in those days.
Judges 19 niv
Judges 19 tells a harrowing story that takes place in the period of the history of Israel when there was no king. In this chapter, we learn about a Levite from the remote hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. However, his concubine ran away to her father’s house.
After some days, the Levite went to bring her back, and her father, glad to see him, detained him for three days. On the fourth day, when they wanted to return home, the concubine’s father tried to persuade them to stay longer, but they left late in the afternoon and did not make it home before dark. Rather, they halted at Gibeah, a city of the Benjamites.
They had no place to stay until an old man from Ephraim, who was living temporarily in Gibeah, invited them to his home. As they were enjoying his hospitality, the men of Gibeah surrounded the house and demanded that the old man turn over the Levite so they could sexually abuse him.
To protect their guest, the old man offered them his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine. But they wouldn’t listen. So the Levite gave his concubine to them, and they raped her all night and left her dying at the doorstep.
When the Levite found her the next morning, he cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them throughout all the territories of Israel as a horrifying sign of the brutal crime that had occurred.
Judges 19 signifies a moral low point in Israel’s history when “every man did that which was right in his own eyes,” as Judges 21:25 states. The chapter foreshadows the imminent civil war that would follow in the next chapters.
What is Judges 19 all about?
Judges 19 is a tragic and shocking chapter in the Bible that sets the scene for the civil war against the tribe of Benjamin. The chapter is a part of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament and it focuses on the story of a Levite and his concubine.
At the beginning of the chapter, the Levite’s concubine leaves him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem. After four months, the Levite decides to go and bring her back. He is welcomed by the father of his concubine, and they stay with him for several days. On the fifth day, they leave late in the afternoon, despite the concubine’s father’s pleas for them to stay another night.
They arrive in Gibeah, a city in Benjamin, where an old man offers them hospitality. While they were enjoying his hospitality, the men of the city surround the house and demand to have sex with the Levite. In an attempt to protect himself, the Levite sends out his concubine, and she is abused by the men of the city all night. In the morning, when the Levite opens the door to continue his journey, he finds his concubine dead on the doorstep.
In anger and grief, the Levite cuts his concubine’s body into twelve pieces and sends them throughout all the territories of Israel as a call to arms against this atrocity. This event leads to the subsequent chapters where a civil war is waged against the tribe of Benjamin.
This chapter illustrates the moral and social decay of the Israelite society during the time of the Judges, expressing the need for righteous leadership. It’s one of the disturbing stories in the Bible, dealing with themes of hospitality, violence, and the value of human life.
What does Judges 19 teaches?
Judges 19 is one of the most tragic chapters in the Bible and presents some disturbing themes and events, which can be quite complex to understand outside of historical and biblical context.
At its core, Judges 19 seems to deliver the following teachings:
1. Social Decay: The chapter reflects deep social and moral decay within the Israelite society at the time. It illustrates the depths to which people can sink without the governing hand of a rightful moral authority. From this perspective, Judges 19 teaches about the importance of societal norms and laws, and the ensuing chaos and violence possible in their absence.
2. Degrading Value of Human Life and Dignity: The Levite’s actions towards his concubine convey a disregard for human dignity and life, showing the potential for inhumanity when societal norms erode. This teaches a somber lesson about the sanctity of human life, and how quickly it can be forgotten without a moral compass.
3. Doing what’s Right in Own Eyes: This chapter is set in a time when “everyone did as he saw fit.” The consequences of this mentality are clearly detrimental, leading to social unrest and cruel behavior, teaching us the dangers of moral relativism and the importance of a stable and universally-accepted moral code.
4. Dire Need for a King: The writer of Judges recounts this dramatic story as an illustration of Israel’s need for a king to enforce law and order. The chapter turns the readers’ attention to the importance of having a wise and just leadership to guide a society towards righteousness and peace.
5. Repentance and Turning to God: Like the rest of the book of Judges, it suggests the inevitable downward spiral of sin and highlights the necessity of repentance and turning back to God for redemption.
Remember, interpretation of Biblical texts can vary widely based on different theological understandings or contextual readings. Therefore, this information may not reflect all interpretations of Judges 19. It’s always beneficial to study the Bible with guidance from a knowledgeable source that aligns with your religious doctrines and beliefs.
A Sermon on Judges 19
Judges chapter 19 is undoubtedly one of the most horrific and tragic chapters in the Bible. It tells a story that emphasizes the moral degradation of Israel and underlines the chaos ensuing due to the lack of centralized leadership (judges).
The chapter narrates the story of a Levite from the hill country of Ephraim who had a concubine from Bethlehem. She leaves him and goes back to her father’s house in Bethlehem for four months. The Levite goes to Bethlehem to convince her to return. After several days at her father’s house, the Levite and his concubine, accompanied by two servants, leave and make it as far as Gibeah, a city of the Benjamites.
What unfolds in Gibeah reveals the moral and ethical degradation of the time. Comparable to the story of Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19), an old man takes them into his house, and the men of the city surround the house, demanding to have sex with the male guest. To protect their host and the Levite, the concubine is thrown out to the men of the city who sexually abuse her throughout the night. When the dawn comes, they let her go.
She arrives back at the old man’s house and collapses, where her master finds her in the morning. After returning to his home, the Levite cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
This deeply shocking act represents the Levite’s call for justice and a war declaration against the Benjamites. This event also leads to Israel’s near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin as seen in the following chapters.
From a sermon perspective, this chapter reflects a society’s spiritual and moral decay without God’s guidance and a strong moral leadership. It emphasizes the need for repentance, moral integrity, respect for human life, and the dangers of not having a unified, godly leadership. The story illustrates what can happen when people do what is right in their own eyes rather than following God’s law.
Key people in Judges 19
Judges 19 is a difficult and violent passage from the Book of Judges in the Bible. There are three key people in this story:
1. A Levite from Ephraim: He is the main character of the story who has a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah. He travelled away from his home in the hill country of Ephraim to get his concubine back from Bethlehem, where she had returned to her father’s house after she was unfaithful to him. They stayed at her father’s house for several days before leaving.
2. The Concubine: She is a young woman who was unfaithful to the Levite and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. Later, she was given back to the Levite and travelled with him. In a terrible event, she was abused by the men of Gibeah and eventually died.
3. The Old Man (offers hospitality): The family met an old man in Gibeah of Benjamin who offered hospitality to the Levite, his concubine, and his servant when no one else would. His actions are significant in this narrative, especially as he tries to protect them from the wicked men of Gibeah. He ends up failing to protect them, resulting in the violent death of the concubine.
These major characters set the stage for the violence, inhospitality, and chaos described in Judges 19, leading to a war between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin.
Real world examples on Judges 19
Judges 19 is a troubling and violent part of the Bible, which tells the story of a Levite and his concubine from Bethlehem. The Levite’s concubine runs away from him, and when he goes to retrieve her, they are taken in by an old man in the town of Gibeah. Men of the town surround the house and demand to sexually abuse the Levite man, but the old man offers his daughter and the Levite’s concubine instead. The men of the town abuse the concubine to death. This leads to a brutal war and the near annihilation of one of the tribes of Israel.
This chapter is certainly a graphic and challenging one, and while real-world examples of such graphic events are thankfully not common, these themes of sexual violence, societal immorality, and retribution do resonate in the real world in different ways:
1. Sexual Violence and Altruism twisted into Evil: In many societies worldwide, women and girls are often victims of sexual violence. The incident of offering someone else for one’s own protection is a horrific one, showing a form of ‘altruism’ twisted into something evil, which reflects societies where individuals commit horrific acts for what they see as ‘greater good’.
2. Lack of Hospitality: Hospitality is considered a virtue in many cultures. The inhabitants of Gibeah not only showed a lack of hospitality but committed atrocious acts against the visitors. Unfortunately, this hatred and hostility towards outsiders or immigrants can be seen in xenophobic behaviors in some societies today.
3. Retribution and Violence: The horrific death of the concubine led to an outburst of violence, with retributive justice leading to even more horrendous acts, including war. Examples of this cycle of violence provoked by acts of injustice are sadly abundant in human history, with wars and rebellions sparked by acts of violence, or perceived injustice.
Remember, these are extremely broad brushstrokes, and this story is one of the most chilling parts of the Bible. Judges 19 is not prescriptive or advocated in any way, but a descriptive part of Israel’s dark history that serves as a warning against lawlessness and departure from God’s laws.
Brief Explanation of Judges 19
Judges 19 is a chapter in the Bible that revolves around a Levite husband and his concubine from Bethlehem. The story takes place during a time when Israel didn’t have a king and everyone did as they saw fit.
The Levite’s concubine leaves him to return home to Bethlehem, but after four months, he goes after her to reconcile. They stay with her father for a few days before deciding to travel back to their home in the late afternoon, despite the father’s repeated entreaties for them to stay another night.
They travel towards Jebus (Jerusalem), but a servant suggests they go onto a city of foreigners where they will not be welcome. So they continue on to Gibeah, a city of the Benjamites. They wait in the town square for someone to offer them shelter, and eventually, an old man permits them to stay at his house.
At night, wicked men of the city surround the house, demanding to have sex with the Levite man. The old man offers his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine instead. The men refuse, so the Levite throws his concubine outside, and she is raped and abused throughout the night.
In the morning, the Levite finds his concubine at the door front, collapses, and dies from her injuries. In his rage and grief, he dismembers her body into 12 pieces and sends them to each of the tribes of Israel as a call to action against this wickedness.
The chapter ends with a statement that such a thing has never been done or seen since the day they came out of the land of Egypt, emphasizing the shock and horror of the act. It sets the stage for war, discussed in the following chapters. The event illustrates the moral and social decay of Israel during a time of leadership void.
Frequently asked questions for Judges 19
1. What is the main theme of Judges Chapter 19?
– The main theme of Judges 19 is the tragic story of the Levite and his concubine. It deals with themes of immorality, sin, and lawlessness, which are direct consequences of the lack of spiritual leadership and godliness among Israelites at the time.
2. Why did the Levite cut his concubine into 12 pieces?
– The Levite chopped his concubine into 12 pieces and sent each to the twelve tribes of Israel. This drastic action was taken to demonstrate the atrocity that had been committed and to rally the tribes against the tribe of Benjamin where the outrage had occurred.
3. Who were the Benjaminites in this Chapter?
– The Benjaminites were members of the tribe of Benjamin. In Judges Chapter 19, they are portrayed as the offenders who abused the Levite’s concubine, leading to her death.
4. What is significant about the absent king in Judges 19?
– The repeat phrase “In those days there was no king in Israel” signifies that there was no central authority enforcing law and order, thus highlighting the lawlessness and every-man-for-himself attitude that prevailed during this time.
5. What does this chapter signify in the Book of Judges?
– Judges 19 is one of the most cruel and horrifying stories in the Bible, showcasing the depths to which Israel had sunk morally and spiritually at that time.This story started a war within the nation, and thus it marks a significant turning point in Israel’s history.
6. Why does the Levite take his concubine back after she left him?
– The Bible does not provide specific reasons, but it might be suggested that it was a matter of cultural or personal honor, or perhaps the Levite realized he needed or wanted her.
7. What does the hospitable old man represent in this story?
– The hospitable old man in Gibeah represent people who still live by the cultural code of hospitality, despite the moral depravity around them. Despite potential danger to himself, he takes the Levite into his home, embodying an ethos that seems to be lacking in the rest of the society.
Remember, different theologians and Bible scholars may have different interpretations of these verses and themes. It’s always enriching to discuss and explore scripture in community when possible!
Possible References for Judges 19
“Judges 19” is a chapter from the Book of Judges, which is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Here’s a basic explanation of the contents:
Judges 19 describes a series of horrific events taking place during a time “when there was no king in Israel”. It revolves around a Levite and his secondary wife, or concubine, from Bethlehem in Judah.
In this story:
1. The Levite takes his concubine after she ran away from him and stayed in her father’s house for four months (Judges 19:1-2).
2. He tries to persuade her to return, succeeding and staying with her father for some days before they begin their return journey (Judges 19:3-10).
3. The Levite, his concubine, and his servants stay in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, because they can’t reach their original destination before nightfall. An old man offers them hospitality (Judges 19:11-21).
4. The men of the town surround the house, asking for the Levite man to abuse him. The host offers his own daughter and his guest’s concubine instead. The Levite thrusts his concubine outside, and she is abused throughout the night. In the morning, she is found dead on the doorstep (Judges 19:22-27).
5. The Levite places the dead body of the concubine on his donkey and returns home. There, he cuts her body into 12 pieces and sends them throughout the tribes of Israel (Judges 19:28-30).
The story is a condemnation of the moral and social lawlessness of the time, and the immediate context leads to the warfare against the Benjaminites as described in the following chapters.
This chapter is often heavily scrutinized due to its graphic nature and ethical implications. It serves as a stark symbol of the disorder and degeneration of the Israelites at this point in their history. As such, references can come in the form of critiques, discussions on ethics, or analyses of historical lawlessness.
Conclusion on Judges 19
Judges 19 is a troubling chapter in the Bible, one of the bleakest narratives in the Old Testament. It discusses a Levite and his concubine from Bethlehem who traveled through the Benjamite city of Gibeah. Here, they were attacked, and horrible mistreatment of his concubine took place, resulting in her death.
The conclusion of Judges 19 marks the beginning of an escalation in the violence and atrocities committed in the early days of Israel, pointing towards a need for leadership, justice, and benevolent rule in the land. The reason behind this chaotic situation was because every person was doing what they felt right in their own eyes, with no centralized leadership or laws to guide behavior.
The Levite’s response, cutting up his concubine’s body into pieces and sending each to a tribe of Israel, is both gruesome and extreme, but serves to shock the other tribes into action. This act sets off a civil war designed to punish the city of Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin for their crimes. So, the chapter concludes with the people of Israel united in their horror and resolved in their decision to punish the guilty, which leads them to a conflict with the tribe of Benjamin, as we see in subsequent chapters.
This brutal story underscores the lawlessness, disregard for human dignity and moral bankruptcy prevailing in Israel during the time “when there was no king in Israel.” It’s a dark testament to what can happen when societal norms break down and people act only on their impulses without consideration of morality or justice.