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Judges 19:27
ESV And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
NIV When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
NASB When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold.
CSB When her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went out to leave on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, collapsed near the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold.
NLT When her husband opened the door to leave, there lay his concubine with her hands on the threshold.
KJV And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.
NKJV When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.

What does Judges 19:27 mean?

Ancient literature is famously short on details, as compared to modern writing. This can make it more difficult to gauge the author's intent or opinion on a subject. In this case, even with brief descriptions, it's clear the writer of the book of Judges feels a level of repulsion for the Levite master. The narrative makes the point of noting that he forced her out into a mob of rapists (Judges 19:25). Then, he seemingly makes no effort to find her until he is ready to leave—the use of the word "behold" indicates surprise. Next, he will callously tell her to "get up" so they can move along.

A "concubine" during this era was most often thought of as either a servant, slave, or a second-tier wife. A man might take on a woman from a poor family without status as a concubine, in exchange for supporting her. She would not hold the full rights and privileges of a regular wife. Even within that cultural expectation, however, the writer of Judges portrays this man harshly. This concubine had run away from him and back to her home (Judges 19:1–2). Her husband-master had come to collect her, spending several days at the home of her kind and hospitable father (Judges 19:3–10). Still, he has sacrificed her to save himself.

Now he opens the door of the old man's home (Judges 19:15–21) to continue his journey and finds his concubine lying in front of the house with her hands on the threshold. The text of the story does not address any of the questions we might wish were resolved. Was he going to leave her behind if he didn't find her there? Was he not going to look for her? Did he assume she had been killed during the night? Is she simply ruined property to him and not a person, at all?

What the man does in the next verses indicates a level of fury and indignation. His acts are shocking (Judges 19:29–30), but they serve to rally Israel to seek retribution on the men of Gibeah (Judges 20:8–10). Yet it remains unclear what sense of responsibility he felt for her as a person.
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