Judges 21:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

NIV: They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

NASB: And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by sleeping with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

CSB: They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not been intimate with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

NLT: Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

KJV: And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

NKJV: So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

The Israelites have conducted another massacre of their own people. Like the previous bloodshed in Benjamin (Judges 20:47–48), this is not commanded by God; it's Israel's excessive attempt to correct their own mistakes. A force of soldiers were sent to slaughter every man, child, and married woman among the peoples of Jabesh-gilead. They kill everyone except four hundred unmarried young women. These are taken to Shiloh, to be given as brides to the surviving six hundred men of Benjamin. The justification for this is an oath made before the war with the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:11–13): to put to death whatever people did not send representatives to the assembly at Mizpah (Judges 21:5). The practical reason for this drastic step is partially explained in this verse.

The Israelites believe they have found a loophole in an unwise promise they made: to not marry any of their daughters to the men of Benjamin (Judges 21:1). The people of Jabesh-gilead did not attend the assembly and never took that oath. In that way, giving these young women to the Benjaminites is not a violation of that specific vow. Of course, the people of Israel are blatantly ignoring the moral contradiction at the heart of this decision. If they were right to destroy everyone in Jabesh-gilead, they should have also killed these young women. If those young women could be spared within the bounds of the oath, then all the people could have been spared.

The truth is that Israel wants to prevent the tribe of Benjamin from dying off because of their own poor decisions and unwise promises. None of this appears to have been directed by the Lord.

Judges 21:8–25 closes the book of Judges by describing a convoluted process. Israel has made several ill-considered vows and gone too far in punishing the tribe of Benjamin. Without a creative way to find wives for the surviving men, the tribe will quickly die out. First, Israel destroys Jabesh-gilead for not joining in the war. The young women are spared and given to Benjaminites. The remaining two hundred men of Benjamin obtain wives through a staged kidnapping near Shiloh, so Israel can claim they never "gave" wives to Benjamin. The book ends with a reminder that Israel was without a king during this era.

Israel grieves the near extinction of the tribe of Benjamin, though the situation is the result of their own excessive force. Worse, the other eleven tribes vowed not to give wives to Benjamin. To prevent the loss of a tribe, two schemes are enacted. First, the Israelites of Jabesh-gilead are wiped out for not sending anyone to support the civil war; the young women are spared and given as wives to Benjamin. Next, the remaining unmarried men of Benjamin stage an arranged kidnapping to "take" wives they cannot be "given." The book ends with another reminder of Israel's lawlessness in this era.

Judges 21 finds the people of Israel reeling after they killed nearly every person in the tribe of Benjamin. This began as an effort to enact justice and turned into a wide-ranging massacre. To keep Benjamin from dying out, Israel's leaders must work around their own mistakes and two ill-considered vows. The book ends with another reminder that Israel was without a king in this era. The nation was literally leaderless, and spiritually rebellious. Soon, the judge-and-prophet Samuel will rise to guide the people into the era of kings.

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).