This verse shows the desperate attempt of a host trying to protect his guest from a grievous moral evil at the hands of his fellow townspeople.
Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly.” (v.23) This passage takes place in the city of Gibeah, located in the tribal territory of Benjamin, roughly a few miles north of Jerusalem. Chronologically, it falls within the era of the judges of Israel, a period that spanned from approximately 1380 to 1050 BC. The speaker here is an older resident of the city who has offered hospitality to a traveling Levite and his concubine, a common courtesy in the ancient Near East. In his urgent plea—“please do not act so wickedly”—he implores the men of the city not to commit an atrocious sin against the visiting stranger, highlighting the sacred responsibility of a host to protect his guests.
When the man says, “since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly,” he underscores the cultural and moral expectation to treat outsiders with respect. In the Old Testament, showing hospitality was considered both a duty and a reflection of righteousness (Genesis 18:1-8). Here, the emphasis on the traveler’s protection reveals the depth of depravity in Gibeah at this moment, since the household owner must appeal to basic decency to dissuade them from an unspeakable deed. His words echo the shameful reality that this city, within Israel’s borders, exhibits a moral collapse reminiscent of Sodom’s violence in Genesis 19, underscoring the deep consequences of Israel’s drift from God’s ways during the time of the judges.
A key lesson is the contrast between the expectation of righteousness and hospitality toward strangers and the looming danger that comes from ignoring God’s law. The man’s sincere plea reveals how the covenant people have faltered, requiring a desperate appeal for courtesy and restraint within their own community.
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Judges 19:23 meaning
Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly.” (v.23) This passage takes place in the city of Gibeah, located in the tribal territory of Benjamin, roughly a few miles north of Jerusalem. Chronologically, it falls within the era of the judges of Israel, a period that spanned from approximately 1380 to 1050 BC. The speaker here is an older resident of the city who has offered hospitality to a traveling Levite and his concubine, a common courtesy in the ancient Near East. In his urgent plea—“please do not act so wickedly”—he implores the men of the city not to commit an atrocious sin against the visiting stranger, highlighting the sacred responsibility of a host to protect his guests.
When the man says, “since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly,” he underscores the cultural and moral expectation to treat outsiders with respect. In the Old Testament, showing hospitality was considered both a duty and a reflection of righteousness (Genesis 18:1-8). Here, the emphasis on the traveler’s protection reveals the depth of depravity in Gibeah at this moment, since the household owner must appeal to basic decency to dissuade them from an unspeakable deed. His words echo the shameful reality that this city, within Israel’s borders, exhibits a moral collapse reminiscent of Sodom’s violence in Genesis 19, underscoring the deep consequences of Israel’s drift from God’s ways during the time of the judges.
A key lesson is the contrast between the expectation of righteousness and hospitality toward strangers and the looming danger that comes from ignoring God’s law. The man’s sincere plea reveals how the covenant people have faltered, requiring a desperate appeal for courtesy and restraint within their own community.