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, and go to the land of Benjamin.”* (Judges 21:21, NASB-95)

In this passage from the final chapter of Judges, the remaining men of the tribe of Benjamin—nearly wiped out by a civil war in Israel—receive instructions on how to rebuild their tribe. In the era of the Judges (roughly 1380–1050 BC), Shiloh was a central place of worship located in the territory of Ephraim, where the tabernacle stood from about 1350–1100 BC until it was destroyed and the ark taken by the Philistines. citeturn0file14 Here, Shiloh hosts a festival in which its unmarried women come out to dance, providing a chance for the surviving Benjaminites to find wives without violating previous oaths made by the other tribes of Israel.

*“And watch, and behold...”* underscores the deliberate plan the Israelites devised to resolve a complex moral and social dilemma. By telling the men to wait and then “catch” their future brides, Israel sought to preserve the Benjaminite family line without directly breaking the nation’s covenant promises. Although this strategy appears shocking to modern readers, it reflects the desperation felt in restoring a broken tribe and the pragmatic means used to uphold tribal unity. These events also highlight the recurring theme throughout Judges: In a time when Israel had no king, the people often did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). Yet God, in His sovereignty, preserved the tribes and continued His redemptive plan through them, culminating in the New Testament revelation of Jesus, who offers restoration in a far more perfect and gracious way.

Even in such an unusual arrangement, we see the mercy of God in preventing the total loss of one of Israel’s tribes. Shiloh’s significance, as a chosen place of worship, becomes the setting where this final resolution takes place. Throughout the Scriptures, God patiently offers hope and a future for His people, foreshadowing Christ’s ultimate work of reconciliation on the cross (John 3:16). In this passage, the saving of Benjamin from extinction anticipates the way in which Jesus restores those who are on the brink of ruin and captivity to sin.

This verse depicts Israel’s creative effort to save Benjamin from extinction.