Judges 21:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards

NIV: So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, 'Go and hide in the vineyards

NASB: And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, 'Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

CSB: Then they commanded the Benjaminites, "Go and hide in the vineyards.

NLT: They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, 'Go and hide in the vineyards.

KJV: Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

NKJV: Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,

The leaders of Israel have committed themselves to two outcomes. The first is finding two hundred Israelite women to be wives to the remaining unwed Benjaminite men, so that tribe can survive and repopulate (Judges 20:47–48; 21:12–14). The second is to uphold the hasty oath made by nearly everyone in Israel not to give wives to Benjamin (Judges 21:1). The "solution" is a stunning example of preserving the letter of a law, while violating its intent. Israel chooses a method which strains even ancient perceptions of morality and decency.

To accomplish their goal, the leaders of Israel (Judges 21:16) command the remaining two hundred unmarried men of Benjamin to go to vineyards where an annual festival is being held. This is near the town of Shiloh. The Benjaminites must hide themselves and prepare to ambush the young women when the time comes. The logic of this moment sounds like something from a joke, or a work of satire. If the men of Benjamin take young Israelite girls, by surprise and without permission, nobody will have given them wives. Everyone will have kept their oath, and Benjamin will survive as a tribe in Israel.

At no point does God command or endorse this course of action. Even after the nation sacrificed and pleaded with Him, he remained silent as to their self-made dilemma (Judges 21:1). This is not His stated will for Israel.

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).