Judges 19:1
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth–lehem–judah.
Judges 19:1 in other translations
| BSB | Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. |
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| WEB | In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah. |
| ASV | And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah. |
| YLT | And it cometh to pass, in those days, when there is no king in Israel, that there is a man a Levite, a sojourner in the sides of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he taketh to him a wife, a concubine, out of Beth-Lehem-Judah; |
| DARBY | And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that a certain Levite, sojourning on the further side of mount Ephraim, took him a concubine out of Bethlehem-Judah. |
| BBE | Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was living in the inmost parts of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he got for himself a servant-wife from Beth-lehem-judah. |
| Webster | And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite dwelling on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah. |
What does Judges 19:1 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Jud 19:1-15. A Levite Going to Bethlehem to Fetch His Wife.
1. it came to pass in those days--The painfully interesting episode that follows, together with the intestine commotion the report of it produced throughout the country, belongs to the same early period of anarchy and prevailing disorder. a certain Levite ... took to him a concubine--The priests under the Mosaic law enjoyed the privilege of marrying as well as other classes of the people. It was no disreputable connection this Levite had formed; for a nuptial engagement with a concubine wife (though, as wanting in some outward ceremonies, it was reckoned a secondary or inferior relationship) possessed the true essence of marriage; it was not only lawful, but sanctioned by the example of many good men.Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Introduction
A Levite and his concubine disagree; and she leaves him and goes to her father's house, Jdg 19:1, Jdg 19:2. He follows to bring her back, and is kindly entertained by her father five days, Jdg 19:3-8. He returns; and lodges the first night at Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Jdg 19:9-21. The men of Gibeah attack the house, and insist on abusing the body of the Levite; who, to save himself, delivers to them his concubine, whose life falls a victim to their brutality, Jdg 19:22-27. The Levite divides her dead body into twelve pieces, and sends one to each of the twelve tribes; they are struck with horror, and call a council on the subject, Jdg 19:28-30. Verse 1 There was no king in Israel - All sorts of disorders are attributed to the want of civil government; justice, right, truth, and humanity, had fallen in the streets. Took to him a concubine - We have already seen that the concubine was a sort of secondary wife; and that such connections were not disreputable, being according to the general custom of those times. The word פילגש pilegesh, concubine, is supposed by Mr. Parkhurst to be compounded of פלג palag, "to divide, or share;" and נגש nagash, "to approach;" because the husband shared or divided his attention and affections between her and the real wife; from whom she differed in nothing material, except in her posterity not inheriting.Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Judges 19:1 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Judges 19:1
- Judges 18:1
In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
- Judges 17:8
And the man departed out of the city from Beth–lehem–judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
- Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
- Matthew 2:6
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
- Joshua 24:30
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath–serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
- Malachi 2:15
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
- Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
- Joshua 24:33
And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
- Genesis 22:24
And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bare also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.
- Judges 17:1
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
- Genesis 25:6
But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
- 1 Kings 11:3
And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
16 An old man entertains him at Gibeah.
22 The Gibeonites abuse his concubine to death.
29 He divides her into twelve pieces, and sends them to the twelve tribes.
when there.
17:6; 18:1; 21:25
mount.
17:1,8; Jos 24:30,33
a concubine. Heb. a woman, a concubine, or, a wife, aconcubine.
Ge 22:24; 25:6; 2Sa 3:7; 5:13; 16:22; 19:5; 20:3; 1Ki 11:3; 2Ch 11:21
Es 2:14; So 6:8,9; Da 5:3; Mal 2:15
Beth-lehem-judah.
17:8; Ge 35:19; Mt 2:6
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Judges 19:1
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth–lehem–judah.
- Judges 19:2
And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth–lehem–judah, and was there four whole months.
Judges 19:1 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | EN aquellos días, cuando no había rey en Israel, hubo un Levita que moraba como peregrino en los lados del monte de Ephraim, el cual se había tomado mujer concubina de Beth-lehem de Judá. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | *Et il arriva en ces jours-là, quand il n’y avait point de roi en Israël, qu’un Lévite qui séjournait au fond de la montagne d’Éphraïm, prit une concubine de Bethléhem de Juda. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und es geschah in jenen Tagen, als kein König in Israel war, daß sich ein levitischer Mann an der äußersten Seite des Gebirges Ephraim aufhielt; und er nahm sich ein Kebsweib aus Bethlehem-Juda. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Fuit quidam vir Levites habitans in latere montis Ephraim, qui accepit uxorem de Bethlehem Juda: |