Judges 21 · Verse 1

Judges 21:1

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
Judges 21:1, King James Version

Judges 21:1 in other translations

BSBNow the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
WEBNow the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
ASVNow the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
YLTAnd the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, ‘None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.'
DARBYNow the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to the Benjaminites as wife.
BBENow the men of Israel had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, Not one of us will give his daughter as a wife to Benjamin.
WebsterNow the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.

What does Judges 21:1 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

The Israelites mourn because of the desolation of Benjamin, and consult the Lord, Jdg 21:1-4. They inquire who of Israel had not come to this war, as they had vowed that those who would not make this a common cause should be put to death, Jdg 21:5, Jdg 21:6. They consult how they shall procure wives for the six hundred men who had fled to the rock Rimmon, Jdg 21:7. Finding that the men of Jabesh-gilead had not come to the war, they send twelve thousand men against them, smite them, and bring off four hundred virgins, which they give for wives to those who had taken refuge in Rimmon, Jdg 21:8-14. To provide for the two hundred which remained, they propose to carry off two hundred virgins of the daughters of Shiloh, who might come to the annual feast of the Lord, held at that place, Jdg 21:15-22. They take this counsel, and each carries away a virgin from the feast, Jdg 21:23-25. Verse 1 Now the men of Israel had sworn - Of this oath we had not heard before; but it appears they had commenced this war with a determination to destroy the Benjamites utterly, and that if any of them escaped the sword no man should be permitted to give him his daughter to wife. By these means the remnant of the tribe must soon have been annihilated.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
The Israelites lament for the Benjamites. --Israel lamented for the Benjamites, and were perplexed by the oath they had taken, not to give their daughters to them in marriage. Men are more zealous to support their own authority than that of God. They would have acted better if they had repented of their rash oaths, brought sin-offerings, and sought forgiveness in the appointed way, rather than attempt to avoid the guilt of perjury by actions quite as wrong. That men can advise others to acts of treachery or violence, out of a sense of duty, forms a strong proof of the blindness of the human mind when left to itself, and of the fatal effects of a conscience under ignorance and error.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Judges 21:1 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.

וְאִ֣ישׁve.'Ishand [the] man ofH376
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
נִשְׁבַּ֥עnish.Ba'he had swornH7650
בַּמִּצְפָּ֖הba.mitz.Pahat <the> MizpahH4709
לֵאמֹ֑רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
אִ֣ישׁ'ishanyoneH376
מִמֶּ֔נּוּmi.Me.nuof usH4480
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
יִתֵּ֥ןyi.Tenhe will giveH5414
בִּתּ֛וֹbi.Todaughter hisH1323
לְבִנְיָמִ֖ןle.vin.ya.Minto BenjaminH1144
לְאִשָּֽׁה\׃le.'i.Shahto a wifeH802

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 21:1

  • Judges 20:1

    Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh.

  • Acts 23:12

    And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

  • Judges 21:18

    Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

  • Mark 6:23

    And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

  • Ecclesiastes 5:2

    Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

  • Judges 20:8

    And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.

  • 1 Samuel 14:28-29

    Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

  • Deuteronomy 7:2-3

    And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

  • Romans 10:2

    For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

  • 1 Samuel 14:24

    And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

  • Judges 20:10

    And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

  • Judges 11:30-31

    And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 The people bewail the desolation of Benjamin.
8 By the destruction of Jabesh-gilead they provide them four hundred wives.
16 They advise the remainder to surprise the virgins that danced at Shiloh.

had sworn.
20:1,8,10; Jer 4:2
There.
5; 11:30,31; 1Sa 14:24,28,29; Ec 5:2; Mr 6:23; Ac 23:12; Ro 10:2
his daughter.
Ex 34:12-16; De 7:2,3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 21:1

    Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

  • Judges 21:2

    And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

Read all of Judges 21

Judges 21:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y LOS varones de Israel habían jurado en Mizpa, diciendo: Ninguno de nosotros dará su hija á los de Benjamín por mujer.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et les hommes d’Israël jurèrent à Mitspa, disant: Nul de nous ne donnera sa fille pour femme à Benjamin.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Die Männer von Israel hatten aber zu Mizpa geschworen und gesagt: Niemand von uns soll seine Tochter den Benjaminitern zum Weibe geben!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Juraverunt quoque filii Israël in Maspha, et dixerunt: Nullus nostrum dabit filiis Benjamin de filiabus suis uxorem.