Judges 21:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.

NIV: Then they asked, 'Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?' They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.

NASB: And they said, 'What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not go up to the Lord at Mizpah?' And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

CSB: They asked, "Which city among the tribes of Israel didn't come to the Lord at Mizpah? " It turned out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp and the assembly.

NLT: So they asked, 'Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the Lord?' And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly.

KJV: And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

NKJV: And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.

Israel is looking for a creative way to find wives for the surviving six hundred men of the tribe of Benjamin. Imagination is needed to avoid violating the nation's unwise oath, made before the recent civil war (Judges 21:1–7). That vow was not to give their daughters to Benjaminites as wives. Apparently, Israel also made another promise: to kill any clan who didn't participate in the conflict against Benjamin. Any such group would not have made the promise about wives, so they would not be bound to it.

A search of all those present reveals that nobody came from Jabesh-gilead. This is good news for the tribe of Benjamin, since it means there are women in Israel not blocked from marrying them by a vow. It's extremely unwelcome news for the people of Jabesh-gilead. All those who failed to come to the earlier assembly (Judges 20:11–13) were subject to death.

This is the first mention of Jabesh-gilead. The name means "well-drained soil of Gilead." It is the name of a place in the territory of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River. Although Manasseh sent others to the assembly, none from this town came. No reason is given for why they failed to participate in the judgment of Benjamin.

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).