Judges 20:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel.

NIV: I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel.

NASB: And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel.

CSB: Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout Israel’s territory, because they have committed a wicked outrage in Israel.

NLT: So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime.

KJV: And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

NKJV: So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel.

The Levite man (Judges 19:1–3; 22–27) is giving official testimony to the gathered leaders of Israel. He recounts what was done to his concubine by the men of Gibeah. He also explains what he did to her body in response and begins to justify his gruesome act.

After the frenzied mob raped and beat her and she died, the Levite took her body back to his home. He then cut her violated body into twelve pieces. He sent those pieces throughout all of Israel. His intended purpose was to call Israel to respond to the despicable atrocity which was committed. His messages were gory and unsettling but intended for a purpose; at least in his own mind, he was working to see justice done.

In a warped sense, this man is mirroring the assigned priestly role given to his tribe of Levi (Numbers 3:5–10). He is representing the Lord by calling Israel to deal with grievous, heinous sin and open violation of His covenant. None of this is stated; it's not stated if this Levite normally performed the role of priest. His actions, however, manage to unite Israel under a desire to honor God, and to respond to an instance of horrific sin.

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).