Judges 19:16

In this passage, we encounter an unexpected figure stepping into the events of Judges 19. The verse says, *“Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening; now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites.”* (v.16). The old man, despite being a resident alien in Gibeah, notices the traveling Levite looking for a place to spend the night. This brief mention highlights a setting filled with tension, since the hill country of Ephraim was some distance away, and yet this old man offered hospitality in a foreign region. In the broader narrative of the Book of Judges—which spans events occurring after Israel’s entry into the Promised Land (late 14th century B.C. to around the 11th century B.C.)—the old man’s simple kindness contrasts with the moral confusion rampant in many towns at that time.

*“Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening...”* (v.16) underscores the daily, agrarian lifestyle prevalent in ancient Israel. This man was toiling in fields outside the city until sunset, illustrating how labor was tied to the land. He was “from the hill country of Ephraim,” a geographically rugged region centrally located in Israel, often associated with sites like Shiloh and Shechem. Yet, he was staying in Gibeah, a Benjaminite city situated just a few miles north of Jerusalem. His presence there demonstrates how members of Israel’s different tribes sometimes resettled or sojourned in each other’s territories, highlighting both a unifying bond and cultural differences that occasionally arose.

The phrase *“the men of the place were Benjamites”* (v.16) sets up the context for an intertribal dynamic, foreshadowing the tension in the larger story. While the Benjamites were descendants of Jacob’s youngest son, they occupied a strategically significant area near southern Ephraim. Because of their proximity, interactions between the two tribes occurred regularly. In the New Testament, hospitality gains renewed significance (Romans 12:13 NASB-95), and this single verse opens a window into the perilous state of Israel’s hospitality at the time of the judges. The old man’s willingness to assist a stranger points ahead to a broader biblical principle that God’s people should care for travelers, reflecting the virtue Jesus would later exemplify in His teachings on compassion.

The verse demonstrates the crucial practice of hospitality during a dark era in Israel’s history.