Judges 19:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, "Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it."

NIV: When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night."

NASB: When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, 'Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.'

CSB: When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Please, why not let us stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night here?"

NLT: It was late in the day when they neared Jebus, and the man’s servant said to him, 'Let’s stop at this Jebusite town and spend the night there.'

KJV: And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

NKJV: They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”

A man seeking to reconcile with his concubine (Judges 19:1–3) has finally broken free from his father-in-law's hospitality (Judges 19:4–11). He is on the road north toward his home in Ephraim. However, the man, his servant, his concubine, and the two donkeys have left late in the day. Since it's close to sundown, they won't get far before having to stop for the night.

The road leads them past the city of Jebus, which will later be renamed "Jerusalem" (Judges 1:21). With daylight quickly fading, the Levite's servant makes a reasonable suggestion: find somewhere in Jebus to stay for the night. Continuing to travel on the dark road or camping alongside of it would not be a safe option.

Judges 19:11–21 explains how the Levite, his concubine, and his servant came to stay in the Israeli town of Gibeah. The man refuses to stop in the city of Jebus. Instead, they continue after dark to Gibeah. Oddly, no one there is willing to take them in. An older migrant worker sees the group and insists they avoid the square overnight. This parallels the comments Lot made to a pair of angels he encountered in Sodom (Genesis 19:2–7), and for good reason (Judges 19:22). What happens next is one of the most stomach-turning incidents in the entire Bible.

A Levite man travels to reconcile with his runaway concubine. On their way back home, they spend the night in the city of Gibeah, in the home of an old man. The wicked men of the town form a mob, demanding the Levite be handed over to be raped. Instead, the Levite forces his concubine outside; the mob rapes and beats her until sunrise. The Levite finds her body, carries it home, and cuts it into twelve pieces. He sends these pieces throughout Israel. This shocks the entire nation into demanding some action be taken against Gibeah.

This chapter's stomach-turning depravity provides another example of the great wickedness in Israel, in an era when everyone did whatever they wanted to without regard for law or God (Judges 21:25). A mob of rapists murders a Levite man's concubine. He sends pieces of her body throughout the nation. This shocks the people into demanding justice. In the following chapters, the tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over their guilty members. Israel is plunged into civil war.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).