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Chapter 21

Judges 21 Summaries

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Judges 21:1

In the book of Judges, we read, *“Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, ‘None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage.’”* (v.1) This vow takes place after a near-civil war i...

Judges 21:2

In this poignant moment of Israel’s history, we read that *“So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.”* (v.2). This takes place...

Judges 21:3

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Judges 21:4

We see the people of Israel in a pivotal moment, pursuing reconciliation with the Lord after a season of terrible conflict. In the text, we read that *“It came about the next day that the people arose...

Judges 21:5

*“Then the sons of Israel said, ‘Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?’ For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the...

Judges 21:6

*“And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, ‘One tribe is cut off from Israel today!’”* (Judges 21:6). This verse occurs at a moment when the nation of Israel experiences ...

Judges 21:7

*“What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?”* (v.7). In this verse, the Israelites grapple with the aftermat...

Judges 21:8

In this passage we read, *“And they said, ‘What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah?’ And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assem...

Judges 21:9

In this passage, the verse says, *When the people were numbered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there* (v.9). The account takes place at the tail end of a civil crisis within ...

Judges 21:10

In Judges 21:10, we read, *“And the congregation sent 12,000 of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, ‘Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with...

Judges 21:11

*And this is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every man and every woman who has lain with a man.* (v.11) This directive is one of the most sobering commands within the narrative ...

Judges 21:12

*“And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaa...

Judges 21:13

The verse says, *“Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.” (v.13)* This statement begins by noting that “t...

Judges 21:14

When the tribe of *Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they were not enough for them* (Judges 21:14), we see the ...

Judges 21:15

In this verse, we see *“And the people were sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.”* (Judges 21:15). The phrase *“were sorry”* indicates a deep compassion that ...

Judges 21:16

When we read Judges 21:16, we find the elders of Israel in a desperate situation: *“Then the elders of the congregation said, ‘What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are de...

Judges 21:17

*“They said, ‘There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.’”* (v.17) In this passage, the Israelites, having fought a brutal civil w...

Judges 21:18

In the midst of Israel’s turmoil at the end of the period of the judges, we encounter these words in Judges 21:18: *“But we cannot give them wives of our daughters, for the sons of Israel had sworn, s...

Judges 21:19

In Judges 21:19, we read, *So they said, “Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh (which is on the east side of Bethel on the north side of the highway that goes up from Bethe...

Judges 21:20

The elders of Israel are attempting to find a way to preserve the tribe of Benjamin following a devastating civil war that nearly wiped them out. In their urgency to provide wives for the remaining me...

Judges 21:21

*“And watch, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards, and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, an...

Judges 21:22

The verse says, *“And it shall come about when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we shall say to them, ‘Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of ...

Judges 21:23

In this verse, we witness how *“The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they carried away”* (v.23). This action occurs after the other tribes ...

Judges 21:24

Following a grievous civil conflict in Israel that nearly annihilated the tribe of Benjamin, the other tribes sought to restore unity and ensure Benjamin’s survival by providing them with wives. Soon ...

Judges 21:25

Throughout the Book of Judges, the Israelites wrestled with spiritual and moral leadership in the absence of a central authority. The author underscores this in the statement, *“In those days there wa...