Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, Judges · Chapter 19
CHAP. XIX.
Verſ. 1. ANd it came to paſſe in thoſe dayes, &c.] Concerning the time when theſe things were done, ſee chap. 17. verſ. 6.
There was a certain Levite ſojourning on the ſide of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-Judah.] Some concubines there were amongſt the Hebrews, that were eſteemed lawfull wives; as concerning the right of the bed, who yet were not eſteemed in the rank with other wives, principally and moſt properly ſo called; for they had not the honour of being accounted the mother of the familie, their children did not inherit with the reſt, &c. and that either becauſe they were before ſuch as lived in a ſervile condition, as Hagar; or becauſe they were taken in a ſecond place, and were not with the ſame rites and ſolemnities married to them, as the others were; concerning which ſee the note, Gen. 22.24. and 25.6. and ſuch a concubine it ſeems this was; and therefore is the Levite called her husband, both here verſ. 3. And her husband aroſe, and went after her to ſpeak friendly unto her, and again, chap. 20.4. And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was ſlain, anſwered, &c. and her father, his father in law, in ſeverall places. Why Bethlehem from whence this Levite had his concubine, is called Bethlehem-Judah. See in the note, chap. 17.7.
Verſ. 2. And his concubine plaid the whore againſt him, & went away from him unto her fathers houſe, &c.] It ſeems, upon ſome diſcoverie of her whoredome, or at leaſt ſome ſuſpition the Levite had of it, there aroſe ſome quarrell betwixt him and his concubine; and thereupon ſhe left him, and went home again to her fathers houſe, who was too ready to entertain her. The ſad effects that followed upon this Levites taking a concubine, makes it manifeſt, that even in thoſe times, though it were an ordinary thing amongſt all ſorts of men, even amongſt the Levites, to have concubines, yet God was not pleaſed with it: from the beginning it was not ſo, ſaith our Saviour, Matth. 19.8.
Verſ. 3. And her husband aroſe, and went after her to ſpeak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his ſervant with him, and a couple of aſſes.) To wit, to carrie their proviſion, and happely, that both himſelf, and his concubine, if ſhe would return with him, might ſometimes eaſe themſelves by riding as occaſion ſerved.
Verſ. 11. Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in unto this citie of the Jebuſites, and lodge in it.] For though the children of Judah had taken from the Jebuſites that part of Jebus that is, Jeruſalem, which was in their tribe, chap. 1.8. The children of Judah had fought against Jeruſalem, and had taken it, and had ſmitten it with the edge of the ſword: yet out of that part which belonged to Benjamin (on which ſide the Levite was now travelling) the Jebuſites were not wholly expelled, chap. 1.21. The children of Benjamin did not drive out the inhabitants of Jeruſalem; but the Jebuſites dwell in Jeruſalem with the children of Benjamin unto this day.
Verſ. 14. And the ſunne went down upon them, when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.] There was a Gibeah in the tribe of Judah, Joſh. 15.57. to diſtinguiſh this from that, it is here called Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin, and elſe where Gibeah of Saul, 1. Sam. 11.4. it is thought to be the ſame, which Joſh. 21.17. is called Gebah, which was a citie given to tho Prieſts, the ſonnes of Aaron. Againſt which it makes nothing, that here it is ſaid, verſ. 16. the men of the place were Benjamites: for the prieſts did not dwell alone in ſuch cities, though they were the lords and owners of them.
Verſ. 15. And they turned aſide thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah.] Though it were a pious reſolution in the Levite, rather to choſe to lodge in Gibeah then in Jebus, and that becauſe Jebus was a citie wherein the idolatrous and uncircumciſed Jebuſites dwelt; yet this proved fatall both to him and his, as the beſt counſell may have the worſt ſucceſſe, and that becauſe there is a ſecret over-ruling hand of God, that may by this means bring about what he hath determined for the puniſhment of ſome other ſinnes which we mind not.
Verſ. 16. And behold, there came an old man from his work, out of the field at even, which was alſo of mount Ephraim.] Though he were an old man, yet he followed his work in the field, and that untill the even, which is doubtleſſe noted to his praiſe. As for that laſt clauſe, that he was alſo of mount Ephraim, that no doubt is expreſſed to intimate, that this amongſt other things made the old man the readier to entertain the Levite, when he heard him ſay verſ. 18. that he was of mount Ephraim too.
Verſ. 18. But I am now going to the houſe of the Lord.] The Tabernacle at this time was in Shiloh, Joſh. 18.1. and Shiloh was in the tribe of Ephraim: either therefore there the Levites dwelling was; or elſe, he meant firſt to go to the houſe of the Lord, to do his ſervice there; and then afterwards to paſſe forward on his journey homeward. However, it is probable, that he mentions his going to the houſe of the Lord, that he might know him to be a Levite.
Verſ. 22. Behold, the men of the city, certain ſonnes of Belial, beſet the houſe round about, &c.] A like fact to this we have formerly related, concerning the Sodomites; of which ſee the note, Gen. 19.4. as for this term Sonnes of Belial, ſee Deut. 13.13.
Verſ. 24. Behold, here is my daughter a mayden, and his concubine, them I will bring out now, &c.] See the note, Gen. 19.8.
Verſ. 25. So the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, &c.] In the foregoing words it is ſaid, that when the old man, the Levites hoſt, proffered theſe varlets his daughter, a virgin, and the Levites concubine, thereby to take them off from that unnaturall uncleanneſſe, wherewith they meant to ſatisfie their luſt upon the Levite himſelf, the men would not hearken to him; yet when immediately by the Levites means, his concubine was indeed brought out unto them, and left amongſt them, they fell upon her and defiled her, and that in ſuch an outrageous barbarous manner, that ſhe died of it; which was doubtleſſe, becauſe having once an object for their luſt in their power, they could not forbear; and ſo forgetting their former reſolutions, they laid hold on her, and abuſed her in a moſt inhumane and execrable manner.
Verſ. 26. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the doore of the mans houſe▪ &c.] That is, ſhe fell down dead at the doore of the mans houſe, and there lay till break of day, when her husband going forth to ſee what was become of her, found her dead; and thus though her husband had pardoned her whoredome, yet God puniſhed it, and that too with her own ſinne; adulterie was her ſinne, and adulterie was her death; ſhe had dealt treacherouſly againſt her husband; one would not ſatisfie her, but ſhe expoſed her ſelf to the luſt of a ſtranger; and now ſhe was abuſed to death, by the luſts of ſo many barbarous wretches, whom ſhe knew not, that by ſo abuſing her they murdered her.
Verſ. 27. And her hands were upon the threſhold.] This is added, to implie the reaſon of that which follows, why the Levite ſpake to her to riſe, verſ. 28. And he ſaid unto her, Ʋp, let us be going; to wit, becauſe ſhe lay in ſuch a manner, her hands laid upon the threſhold under her head, as if ſhe had been aſleep.
Verſ. 29. He took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones into twelve pieces, and ſent her into all the coaſts of Iſrael.] That is, to each of the twelve tribes a piece (for to the tribe of Levi that was diſperſed through all the land, there was none ſent) and this was done, that the fight of her dead limbs might affect them the more, and ſtirre them up to be the more zealous for the puniſhment of this horrible villanie, that had been committed upon his concubine, Some conceive, that there was none ſent to the tribe of Benjamin, but that there was two pieces ſent to the tribe of Manaſſeh, becauſe that tribe dwelt half within Jordan, and half without. But this is altogether a groundleſſe conceit; for there was moſt reaſon for ſending a piece to Benjamin, in regard the fact was committed in a citie of their tribe; and there was as much reaſon why they ſhould have ſent two pieces to the tribe of Dan, as to the tribe of Manaſſeh; ſince the tribe of Dan was alſo ſeated in two ſeverall parts of the land; ſome in the portion of Judah, and ſome northward at Laiſh, as in the former chapter was related.
Verſ. 30. And it was ſo, that all that ſaw it, ſaid, There was no ſuch deed done nor ſeen, &c.] The meſſengers relating the cauſe why the Levite had done this, not onelyonly the elders of each tribe, (to whom theſe parcels of her body were ſent, becauſe there was no magiſtrate armed with regall power to puniſh this fact) but even all that came to the hearing of it, cried out againſt it as a matchleſſe vill…nie; and ſtirred up one another not to let it paſſe unrevenged. And hence is that expreſſion of the prophet, Hoſ. 9.9. They have deeply corrupted themſelves, as in the dayes of Gibeah.