Judges 21: The Restoration of Benjamin

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.

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;

3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?

4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

8 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 Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.

9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.

10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.

14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.

15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

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.

19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.

20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;

21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

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.

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.

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.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21 describes the aftermath of a devastating civil war where the tribe of Benjamin was nearly extinguished, and the remaining tribes of Israel struggled with their vow not to give their daughters to the surviving Benjamites in marriage.

The Oath at Mizpeh and the Desolation of Benjamin

The chapter begins with the Israelites gathered at Mizpeh, mourning the fact that one of their tribes was missing following a harsh judgment executed against Benjamin for their previous wickedness Judges 21:1AMS September 1886, page 69.7. Because they had solemnly sworn not to allow any of their daughters to marry into Benjamin, they were faced with a crisis: how to prevent the total extinction of the tribe Judges 21:1-3ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2. The people wept before the Lord, building an altar and offering burnt and peace offerings as they reflected on the breach in their nation Judges 21:2-4BHOTV4 53.1.

The Judgment of Jabesh-gilead

To resolve the shortage of wives for the 600 surviving Benjamite men, the congregation looked for any group that had failed to join the national assembly at Mizpeh Judges 21:5-8ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2. They discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had participated in the war Judges 21:9BHOTV4 53.1. Consequently, the congregation sent 12,000 valiant men to smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead as punishment for their lack of national loyalty Judges 21:10KJV — Judges 21:9. During this expedition, they spared 400 young virgins to be given as wives to the Benjamites who were hiding at the rock Rimmon Judges 21:11-14ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2.

The Provision of Wives at Shiloh

Despite the 400 women from Jabesh-gilead, there were still 200 Benjamite men without wives Judges 21:15ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2. To avoid breaking their oath while still providing for the remaining men, the elders suggested a plan involving the yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh Judges 21:16-19BHOTV5 105.2. They commanded the Benjamites to hide in the vineyards and, when the daughters of Shiloh came out to dance, each man was to catch a wife for himself and return to the land of Benjamin Judges 21:20-21ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2. The elders promised to intercede with the girls' families, explaining that this was a necessary measure since they had not provided wives for them during the war Judges 21:22.

The Restoration and the Lack of a King

The Benjamite men followed these instructions, repaired their cities, and dwelled in them, effectively saving the tribe from extinction Judges 21:23ETI Jabesh-Gilead.2. The rest of the Israelites then departed to their own tribal inheritances Judges 21:24. This era of history concludes with the observation that there was no king in Israel at that time, and every man did what was right in his own eyes, highlighting the spiritual and social instability that preceded the monarchy Judges 21:25SBD Saul.4.

Historical Significance of Benjamin

• Archery and Skill: The tribe of Benjamin was later famous for its skilled archers and left-handed slingers Judges 20:16+1ETI Benjamin.4.

• First King: Saul, the first king of Israel, was a Benjamite of the family of Kish 1 Samuel 9:1-2PP 608.1.

• Loyalty to Jabesh-gilead: The bond between Benjamin and Jabesh-gilead remained strong; 40 years after Saul delivered the city from the Ammonites, the men of Jabesh-gilead risked their lives to rescue his body from Beth-shan 1 Samuel 31:11-13PP 682.4+1.

• The Future Sealed: In the final restoration of all things, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin are among the 144,000 who serve before the throne of God Revelation 7:8CIS 351.3+1.