Judges 21 · Verse 23

Judges 21:23

And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.

Judges 21:23, King James Version

Judges 21:23 in other translations

BSB	The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them.
WEB	The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.
ASV	And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
YLT	And the sons of Benjamin do so, and take women according to their number, out of the dancers whom they have taken violently away; and they go, and turn back unto their inheritance, and build the cities, and dwell in them.
DARBY	And the children of Benjamin did so, and took wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught; and they went and returned to their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
BBE	So the men of Benjamin did this, and got wives for themselves for every one of their number, taking them away by force from the dance; then they went back to their heritage, building up their towns and living in them.
Webster	And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and dwelt in them.

What does Judges 21:23 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 23 They went and returned unto their inheritance - It appears that the Benjamites acted in the most honorable way by the women whom they had thus violently carried off; and we may rest assured they took them to an inheritance at least equal to their own, for it does not appear that any part of the lands of the Benjamites was alienated from them, and the six hundred men in question shared, for the present, the inheritance of many thousands.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Judges 21:23 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.

וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ\־vai.ya.'a.su-and they didH6213

כֵן֙khenthusH3651

בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] descendants ofH1121

בִנְיָמִ֔ןvin.ya.MinBenjaminH1144

וַיִּשְׂא֤וּvai.yis.'Uand they carried offH5375

נָשִׁים֙na.ShimwivesH802

לְמִסְפָּרָ֔םle.mis.pa.Ramto number theirH4557

מִן\־min-fromH4480

הַמְּחֹלְל֖וֹתha.me.cho.le.Lotthe dancersH2342

אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhomH834

גָּזָ֑לוּga.Za.luthey seizedH1497

וַיֵּלְכ֗וּvai.ye.le.Khuand they wentH1980

וַיָּשׁ֙וּבוּ֙vai.ya.Shu.vuand they returnedH7725

אֶל\־'el-toH413

נַ֣חֲלָתָ֔םna.cha.la.Taminheritance theirH5159

וַיִּבְנוּ֙vai.yiv.Nuand they rebuiltH1129

אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853

הֶ֣עָרִ֔יםhe.'a.Rimthe citiesH5892

וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּvai.ye.she.Vuand they dweltH3427

בָּהֶֽם\׃ba.Hemin <the> them

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

Cross references for Judges 21:23

Judges 20:48
And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

and they went.It appears that the Benjamites acted in the most honourable way to the women they had thus violently carried off, and we may rest assured, that they took them to an inheritance more than equal to their own. But this transaction, as well as the indiscriminate massacre of the people of Jabesh-gilead, as Dr. Gray observes, was certainly stamped with injustice and cruelty; and must be condemned on those principles which the Scriptures elsewhere furnish.
repaired.
20:48

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

Context

Judges 21:22
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
Judges 21:23
And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
Judges 21:24
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.

Read all of Judges 21

Judges 21:23 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y los hijos de Benjamín lo hicieron así; pues tomaron mujeres conforme á su número, pillando de las que danzaban; y yéndose luego, tornáronse á su heredad, y reedificaron las ciudades, y habitaron en ellas.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et les fils de Benjamin firent ainsi, et enlevèrent des femmes selon leur nombre, d’entre les danseuses dont ils s’emparèrent; et ils s’en allèrent et retournèrent dans leur héritage, et rebâtirent les villes et y habitèrent.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und die Kinder Benjamin taten also und nahmen sich Weiber, nach ihrer Zahl, von den Tänzerinnen, die sie raubten. Und sie zogen fort und kehrten in ihr Erbteil zurück; und sie bauten die Städte wieder auf und wohnten darin.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Feceruntque filii Benjamin ut sibi fuerat imperatum: et juxta numerum suum, rapuerunt sibi de his quæ ducebant choros, uxores singulas: abieruntque in possessionem suam ædificantes urbes, et habitantes in eis.