An Old Man Takes him in.

mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me

Outrage of the Men of Gibeah.

and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. (23) And the man,

and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing. (20) And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street. (21) So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

(22) Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door,

the Levite was going to Shiloh (chap. xviii. 31; Josh. xviii. 1), but that he was returning to his home in Mount Ephraim. Hence some render the words, "I walk at the house of Jehovah"-i.e., I am a Levite, engaged in the service of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. It is true that this would be no answer to the question, "Whither goest thou?" On the other hand, the phrase is not a usual one for going to a place, and the Levite perhaps meant to imply an additional reason why the inhospitable reception was very unworthy. His office ought to have procured him a welcome, yet he who belongs to God's house cannot find shelter in any house in Gibeah. The LXX. adopt another reading, and render it “to my house” (reading Bithi). The reading of the MSS. may have come from regarding the last letter as an abbreviation of Jehovah.

(19) Straw and provender.-Comp. Gen. xxiv. 25-32. All that the Levite asked was shelter. He would provide for all his own wants.

Thy servants.-The ordinary language of Eastern obsequiousness.

(20) Peace be with thee.-The words are not here a greeting, but an assurance of help.

Only lodge not in the street.-Gen. xix. 2. (21) Gave provender unto the asses.-Notice the humane Eastern custom of attending first the wants of the animals.

They washed their feet.- One of the first necessities for personal comfort after a journey in hot countries, and where only sandals are worn (Gen. xviii. 4, xxiv. 32, xliii. 24; Luke vii. 44; John xiii. 5; 1 Tim. v. 10).

66

(22) Sons of Belial.-It is only by a deeply-rooted misconception that Belial is written with a capital. The word is not the name (as is supposed) of an evil spirit, but an ordinary noun, sons of worthlessness," i.e., "worthless fellows." (See Deut. xiii. 14; Ps. xviii. 5.) Later (comp. 2 Cor. vi. 15) it became a kind of proper name. Josephus dishonestly suppresses all the darkest features of the story (Antt. v. 11, § 7).

Beset the house.-There is a close resemblance to the equally hideous narrative of Gen. xix. 8.

Beat at the door.-The word implies continuous knocking and gradual increase of noise (Cant. v. 2).

them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. (2) Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. (25) But the men would not hearken to him so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

We cannot wonder that the intense horror excited by this scene of infamy lasted for centuries afterwards. "They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah" (Hosea ix. 9). "O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah" (Hosea x. 9).

"And when night

Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons
Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.
Witness the streets of Sodom, and that night
In Gibeah, when the hospitable door

Exposed a matron to avoid worse rape."- Milton.

(23) Do not this folly.-It is from no deficiency of moral indignation that the word "folly " (nebalah) is used. Sometimes when crime is too dark and deadly for ordinary reproach the feelings are more deeply expressed by using a milder word, which is instantly corrected and intensified by the hearer himself. (See Gen. xxxiv. 7; Deut. xxii. 21.) Thus Virgil merely gives the epithet "unpraised” (“illaudati Busiridis aras") to the cannibal tyrant, which serves even better than a stronger word. (Comp. "Shall I praise you for these things? I praise you not," 1 Cor. xi. 17-22.) (See the author's Brief Greek Syntax, p. 199.) This figure of speech takes the various form of antiphasis, litotes, meiosis, &c.

(24, 25) Behold, here is my daughter...-The main horror of these verses lies, and is meant to lie, in the nameless infamy to which these men had sunk, of whom we can only say,

"Non ragionam di lor ma guarda è passa."

But we must not omit to notice that the conduct of the old man and the Levite, though it is not formally condemned, speaks of the existence of a very rudimentary morality, a selfishness, and a low estimate of the rights and sacred dignity of women, which shows from what depths the world has emerged. If it was possible to frustrate the vile assault of these wretches in this way it must have been possible to frustrate it altogether. There is something terribly repulsive in the selfishness which could thus make a Levite sacrifice a defenceless woman, and that woman his wife, for a whole night to such brutalisation. The remark of St. Gregory is very weighty: "Minus peccatum admittere ut gravius evitetur est a scelere victimas offerre Deo."

(26) Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. (27) And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. (28) And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

(29) And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together

(26) Then came the woman . . . .—It would be scarcely possible to enhance the depth of pathos and of horror which the sacred writer throws into these simple words. If to the wretched woman punishment had come in the guise of her sin (Wisd. xi. 16, "that they might know that wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same also shall he be punished") which had been the prime cause of the whole catastrophe, the Levite was punished both for his condonation of an offence which could not be condoned, and for the unmanly cowardice or heartless self-absorption which could alone have rendered it possible for him to accept personal safety at such a price.

(27) Her hands were upon the threshold.As though they had been stretched out towards her husband in one last agony of appeal (Vulg., sparsis in limine manibus).

(28) But none answered.-The sacred writer, in his horror, will not say that she was dead.

Upon an ass.-Rather, the ass, which had borne her while she was living. The omission of every detail, the narration of the naked facts in the simplest words, without pausing to say so much as a single word respecting the Levite's or the old man's feelings, is a striking example of the difference of the historic method of ancient and modern times.

(29) Divided her.-We see again that the narrative is taking us back to wild times, when the passions of men expressed themselves in wild and fierce expedients. A similar method of arousing a nation, but different in its details, is narrated in 1 Sam. xi. 7, when Saul sends round the pieces of an ox, as was done by the ancient Scythians (Lucian, Toxaris, chap. xlviii.). Many analogous customs existed among the ancient Highlanders, and have been repeated even in recent days among the Arab tribes (Stanley, i. 301).

With her bones.-Literally, according to her bones. Into twelve pieces.-One for each tribe. Benjamin was probably thus appealed to as well as the other tribes. It is needless to suppose that one was sent to Eastern Manasseh or to Levi.

(30) The verse shows that the Levite had successfully gauged the depths of moral indignation that still lay in the hearts of his countrymen. The story of the deed thrilled through all Palestine, and awoke a determined desire for retribution upon the guilty inhabitants of Gibeah. The whole nation felt the stain and shame (Hosea ix. 9, x. 9).

and Sent to the Twelve Tribes.

with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. (30) And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

CHAPTER XX.-(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. (2) And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of

XX

1-7. The tribes meet at Mizpeh, and the Levite tells the story of the crime at Gibeah. 8-11. The people rise like one man, and determine to punish Gibeah. 12-14. The Benjamites espouse the cause of the guilty city. 15-17. The forces on both sides. 18-25. The Israelites twice defeated by Benjamin. 26-28. Victory promised them after a day of fast at Bethel. 29-41. Their stratagem and its success. 42-46. Destruction of the Benjamites. 47, 48. The tribe extirpated except six hundred men.

(1) The congregation was gathered together. This phrase is one which was familiar to the Israelites in the desert. It disappears after the days of Solomon (1 Kings xii. 20).

From Dan even to Beer-sheba.-This expression would be like "from John o' Groat's house to Land's End" for England and Scotland (1 Sam. iii. 18, xvii. 11, &c.). Unless it be added by an anachronism, because it had become familiar when the Book of Judges was written, we should certainly infer from it that, early as were these events, they were subsequent to the migratory raid of the tribe of Dan to Laish.

With the land of Gilead.-The Trans-jordanic tribes obeyed the summons, with the exception of the town of Jabesh-Gilead.

Unto the Lord. See Note on chap. xi. 11. There is not, however, the same difficulty in supposing that the ark and Urim was taken to this Mizpeh, for we see in verse 27 that it was taken to Bethel.

In Mizpeh.--See Note on chap. xi. 11. This Mizpeh is not the same as the one there mentioned, but is probably the bold hill and watch-tower now known as Neby Samwil, and called Mountjoie by the Crusaders, from which the traveller gains his first glimpse of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew the name has the article," the watch-tower." It was the scene of great gatherings of the tribes in the days of Samuel (1 Sam. vii. 2, x. 17) and of Solomon (2 Chron. i. 3, probably), and even after the captivity (2 Kings xxv. 23).

(2) The chief. - The Hebrew word is pinnoth, "corner-stones," as in 1 Sam. xiv. 38; Isa. xix. 13.

Four hundred thousand.-Hence we learn the interesting fact that in their struggles against the Canaanites the number of the people had been diminished

(14) but the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. (15) And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. (16) Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men "lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. (17) And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.

(18) And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and

a ch. 3. 15.

united Israel is analogous to the courage in a bad cause of the Phocians in the sacred wars of Greece (Grote, iv. 85).

(15) Out of the_cities.-They could only live in cities, because the Jebusites still held Jerusalem, and the Canaanites around them were very incompletely subdued.

Twenty and six thousand.-This seems to be the correct number, and is found in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. Josephus, however (Antt. v. 2, § 10), has 25,000, as also has Codex A of the LXX., and Codex B has 23,000 (see Note on verse 46). We see generally that the Benjamites, like the rest of the Israelites, in spite of their exceptional increase in the wilderness, had been now diminished by about a third since the last census (Num. xxvi. 41). (See Note on verse 2.)

Seven hundred chosen men.-There seems to be some uncertainty or confusion in the text here. It is difficult to imagine that, as the text stands, the single city of Gibeah furnished to the Benjamites their one choice contingent of seven hundred slingers, and it would be a curious coincidence that the force of Gibeah and the slingers should each be exactly seven hundred.

(16) Seven hundred chosen men.-These words are omitted in the LXX. and Vulg.

Lefthanded. The same phrase as that employed in chap. iii. 15.

Could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.-The expression is perfectly simple, and merely implies extreme accuracy of aim. Bochart's attempt (Hieroz. ii. 162) to explain it by a passage in Quintus Smyrnaeus, which says that archers used to contend which should be able to shoot off the horsehair crest of a helmet, is a mere specimen of learning fantastically misapplied. Skill with the sling was not confined to the Benjamites, as we see from the case of David (1 Sam. xvii. 49). The sling is the natural weapon of a people which is poor and imperfectly armed. Cyrus valued his force of 400 slingers (Xen. Anab. iii. 3-6). The inhabitants of the Balearic Isles were as skilful as the Benjamites, and children were trained to sling their breakfasts down from the top of high poles. They once prevented the Carthaginian fleet from coming to anchor by showers of stones (Liv. xxviii. 37, solo eo telo utebantur). Practice made them so expert that the stones they slung came with as much force as though hurled by a catapult, and pierced shields and helmets

Israelites and the Benjamites.

asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin ? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

(19) And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. (20) And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. (21)And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.

(22) And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where

(Diod. Sic. Bibl. v. 18). Exactly similar tales are told of the trained skill of our English archers. The advantage of slinging with the left hand was very obvious, for it enabled the slinger to strike his enemy on the right, i.e., the undefended side.

(18) To the house of God.-Rather, to Bethel (as in the LXX., Syriac, Arabic, and Chaldee). The reason why our translators adopted their translation is shown by the Vulgate, which renders it "to the house of God that is in Shiloh." But Beth El cannot mean "house of God," which is always either Beth ha-Elohim or Beth Adonai (house of the Lord). Why they did not meet at the more central Shiloh we cannot say.

Asked counsel of God.-Namely, by the Urim and Thummim. Apparently the high priest was not prevented by any scruple from taking the ephod, with its jewelled breastplate and Urim and Thummim, to any place where its use was needed. The ark was similarly carried from place to place, and had been brought (verse 27) to the venerable sanctuary of Bethel with the high priest. It is not necessary to suppose that the tabernacle was itself removed. It may have been-for Shiloh was never understood to be more than its temporary resting-place. Bethel-as being a sacred place and near Gibeah-would be a convenient place of rendezvous. Which of us. ?-Chap. i. 1, 2.

Judah first. This is remarkable as indi、 cating that the Urim and Thummim were something more than a pair of lots, and that the questions with which God was consulted by its means were other than those which admitted a mere positive or negative answer.

(21) Came forth out of Gibeah.-The whole armed force of the tribe had therefore assembled to save the wicked town from assault. Like many of the towns of Palestine (as their names indicate), it was on a hill, and therefore easily defensible against the very imperfect siege operations of the ancients.

Destroyed down to the ground-i.e., laid them dead on the ground, as in chap. vi. 25.

Twenty and two thousand men.-This immense slaughter shows the extraordinary fierceness of the battle. The Benjamite force must have nearly killed a man apiece.

(22) Encouraged themselves.- Trusting, as the Vulgate adds, in their courage and numbers.

The Benjamites Twice

Defeat the Israelites.

LORD. (27) And the children of Israel. enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, (28) and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of

Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. (25) And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

(26) Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the

(23) And the children of Israel.-This verse is parenthetical and retrospective. The whole narrative is arranged in a very simple manner, and shows an unformed archaic style.

Against the children of Benjamin my brother.-The words " my brother show a sort of compunction, an uneasy sense that possibly, in spite of the first answer by Urim, God did not approve of a fratricidal war.

(24) The second day.-This does not mean the day after the first battle. One full day at least-the day of supplication-must have intervened between the two battles.

(25) Destroyed... eighteen thousand men.This second defeat seems to have been due, like the first, to overweening confidence and carelessness. Thus in two battles the eleven tribes lost 40,000 men-i.e., 13,300 more than the entire Benjamite army, which was only 26,700. Such a hideous massacre can only be accounted for by the supposition that the Benjamite slings did deadly execution from some vantage-ground. Similarly at Crecy "1,200 knights and 30,000 footmen -a number equal to the whole English force-lay dead upon the ground" (Green, i. 419).

(26) And all the people-i.e., the non-combatants as well as the fighting men.

Unto the house of God.-Rather, to Bethel, as in verse 18.

And wept.-These two battles must have caused an almost universal bereavement. (Comp. Lam. ii. 10; Ps. cxxxvii. 1; Joel i. 8-14, ii. 12-17, &c.)

Fasted... until even.-As is still common in the East. (Comp. 1 Sam. xiv. 24, &c.)

Burnt offerings and peace offerings.-The former were burnt entire, and therefore could not be used for food; of the latter, only a part was consumed, and the rest might be eaten by the worshippers. The distinction between the two was that the burnt offerings typified absolute self-dedication, whereas the peace offerings were mainly eucharistic.

(27) Enquired of the Lord-i.e., of Jehovah, as in verse 23. On the occasion of their first general inquiry (verse 18) it is said that they "enquired of Elohim,"

And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

(29) And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. (30) And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. (31) And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the

but it is impossible to draw any certain inferences from this change of expression. It is clear, however, that the nation had been thoroughly and beneficially humiliated by these two terrible reverses, and that their approach to Jehovah on this occasion was far more solemn and devout than it had been at first.

Was there-i.e., at Bethel, though Bethel has not been mentioned in the English Version, owing to the erroneous rendering of the name by "House of God" in verses 18-26.

(28) Phinehas.-The fact that the high priest is still the grandson of Aaron, who had shown such noble zeal in the desert (Num. xxv. 8; Ps. cvi. 30), is an important note of time, and proves decisively that this narrative, like the last, is anterior to much that has been recorded in the earlier chapters. It is remarkable that the chief personages in these two wild scenes are the grandson of Moses and the grandson of Aaron, and it is a strange illustration of the disorder of the times that while the latter fulfils the supreme functions of the high priest, the former, who has sunk to the condition of a poor wandering Levite, does not go to his powerful cousin, but serves an unknown and schismatic image for a most paltry pittance.

To morrow.-Comp. chap. iv. 14; Josh. viii. 1. This is the first promise of success. The people needed to be taught that even in a religious war they could by no means rely on their own strength. often has history laughed to scorn the cynical remark of Napoleon that "Providence usually favours the strongest battalion!"

How

(29) Set liers in wait. This exceedingly simple and primitive stratagem had also been successful against Ai (Josh. viii. 4) and against Shechem (chap. ix. 43). Here, as in verses 22, 23, the narrative follows a loose order, the general fact being sometimes stated by anticipation, and the details subsequently filled in.

(31) To smite of the people, and kill.-Rather, to smite the wounded or beaten of the people. It means, apparently, that when some of the Israelites had been wounded with slings, the Benjamites began to rush on them, for the purpose of killing them, and they feigned flight along two highways, of which