Judges 20:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, "I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.

NIV: So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, "I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

NASB: So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, 'I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.

CSB: The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: "I went to Gibeah in Benjamin with my concubine to spend the night.

NLT: The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, said, 'My concubine and I came to spend the night in Gibeah, a town that belongs to the people of Benjamin.

KJV: And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

NKJV: So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night.

In a rare moment during the era of the Judges, eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel have assembled in one place, for one purpose, and in submission to the Lord. They have been united by a shared outrage over an atrocity committed against a concubine (Judges 19:22–27). The nation has been shocked into action by the gruesome distribution of her dismembered body and the story which accompanied it (Judges 19:28–30).

Earlier verses noted that Israel has already amassed troops near Gibeah, where the crime took place (Judges 20:1–3). That implies they have already decided what do. Yet now, with all assembled, the leaders of the eleven tribes call on the Levite man who sent out the severed body parts to officially tell the story. Having this spoken "for the record" will make their response more official.

The Levite is described as the husband of the woman who was murdered. In a literal legal sense, he is the only surviving wronged party. The incredible depravity of the men of Gibeah, though, has elevated events beyond local crime to a matter of national disgrace.

Scripture often leaves out details irrelevant to the story. As far as this account goes, the Levite's version of events is greatly simplified. No mention is made that his concubine had been unfaithful and run away (Judges 19:1–2), that he had gone to reconcile with her (Judges 19:3) and that he had left from Bethlehem too late in the day to make it home before dark (Judges 19:10). This version of the story, or at least what's recorded, is focused on what happened that night in the city of Gibeah.

Judges 20:1–17 depicts Israel's response to an atrocity in Gibeah, a town of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19:22, 25). The people agree to punish Gibeah, saying their intent is to purge evil from Israel. When the Benjaminites refuse to hand over the guilty men, the other eleven tribes prepare a large army to invade. Benjamin rallies their own troops and prepares to defend the city of Gibeah.

A massive army collected from eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel gather near the town of Gibeah. Their goal is to purge evil from the land (Judges 19:22–28). The tribe of Benjamin refuses to cooperate. Instead, they assemble an army about one-fifteenth the size of Israel's army. After two failed attempts and a promise of victory from the Lord, Israel uses a false retreat and ambush strategy to destroy Gibeah. This results in the loss of Benjamin's entire army. Israel's wrath spills over onto the territory, itself. All the people, animals, and towns in the tribe's territory are attacked, and it appears that only 600 Benjaminite men survive.

In the prior chapter, Benjaminite men of the town of Gibeah committed an act of heinous sin (Judges 19:22–25). In response, the murdered woman's husband rallies Israel with a gruesome message (Judges 19:29–30). Chapter 20 depicts how the tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over the guilty men. Civil war ensues, resulting in near-total annihilation of their tribe. This creates a new crisis in Israel, as described in chapter 21; Israel doesn't want Benjamin to become extinct.

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).