A Levite and His Concubine
19 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months. Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house. And when the girl’s father saw him, he came with joy to meet him. And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go.” So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl’s father said to the man, “Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry.” And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night there again. And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart. And the girl’s father said, “Strengthen your heart and wait until the day declines.” So they ate, both of them. And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home.”
But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.” And he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.” So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?” And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the LORD, but no one has taken me into his house. We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
Gibeah’s Crime
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.
And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”
(ESV)
Judges 19 Commentary
In Judges 19, a Levite’s concubine was unfaithful to him and left for her father’s house in Bethlehem. After four months, the Levite went to bring her back. Her father delayed their departure for several days. Eventually, they left late in the day and, avoiding a foreign city, chose to stay in Gibeah, a Benjaminite city. No one offered them lodging until an old man invited them into his home.
That night, wicked men surrounded the house and demanded to sexually assault the Levite. The old man persuaded them not to do such an evil thing, and the Levite pushed his concubine out the door for the wicked men. They raped and abused his concubine all night, leaving her collapsed at the door by morning. The Levite found her unresponsive, placed her on his donkey, and returned home. He then cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them throughout Israel. Everyone in Israel who heard about it was shocked by the horror and agreed that something needed to be done about this atrocious act.
Casual Sin
This is a terrible story, to say the least. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find a more shocking chapter in the Bible than Judges 19. In a horrifying scene of events, we get a picture of just how bad things have become within Israel. It would not be as surprising to witness such events within the pagan tribes surrounding Israel, but here we have a Levite priest who willingly gives his concubine over to men to rape and eventually kill her.
The account demonstrates extreme patriarchy, where men exploit women rather than protect them. This mirrors Canaanite values, despite God’s intention to have Israel be distinct and set apart in their social/moral lifestyles. The echo of Sodom (Genesis 19) signals Israel’s complete moral deterioration. The Canaanization is complete.
Commentator Daniel Block explains that by calling the attackers “sons of Belial,” the text portrays the entire male population of Gibeah as depraved. Their demand to “know” the Levite uses the term yādaʿ – which can mean either to form social relations or, euphemistically, to engage in sex. In this context, it signifies their intent for sexual assault. Their request for the man, despite later accepting the woman, reveals a homosexual intent. This demand violates three key social/moral laws outlined by God in the Old Testament: hospitality, sexual purity within marriage, and the prohibition of homosexual acts.
There is almost a ho-hum, ordinary nature of these events. A perfect illustration is how easily the Levite man sleeps at night knowing his concubine is outside the door being raped and abused. Surely, these two men would have heard her cries for help inside the house. The Levite then wakes up, walks out to find her, and tells her to “get up” because he’s ready to go. There is no remorse for her suffering.
The original Hebrew words emphasize the severity of the act beyond what many translations fully capture. The text strongly conveys the frequency, intensity, and inhumanity of the act. This linguistic emphasis shows how deeply Israel had fallen into moral depravity, mirroring the lawlessness of surrounding cultures (and even exceeding it). The narrative serves as a chilling example of the consequences of Israel’s abandonment of God’s ways.
Moral Filth
Gibeah offered no hospitality which was a breach of God’s law (Lev 25:35). The old man who finally offers lodging to the couple is actually from their same region (the mountains of Ephraim). This is a serious condemnation for the town of Gibeah as hospitality was of the highest honor. This earned Gibeah a reputation that would continue throughout Scripture.
“They are hopelessly evil in what they do, just as they were at Gibeah. God will remember their sin and punish them for it.”
Hosea 9:9 GNB
The LORD says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah. So at Gibeah war will catch up with them.
Hosea 10:9 GNB
The cutting of the concubine into pieces and sending her parts to the 12 tribes was most likely a wake-up call of sorts. It was drawing attention to the grotesque sin that had overtaken the nation.
I have referred to it many times but this is what happens when people “do what is right in their own eyes.” The worst part about this chapter is that there’s no redemptive quality to any of the characters. All of them, to some degree, have made appalling compromises to the truth of God. The greatest compromise in all of this is the Levite priest who was supposed to be held to a higher standard as a servant of the Lord.
When we engage in sin repeatedly, our hearts become calloused. We no longer feel the heartbeat of God. Evil becomes ordinary. The frightening part about this story is that these same things are happening in our world today!
The Enemy Revealed
Who is the enemy in this story? Is it the men of Gibeah? The Levite? The entire nation? In Judges 19, the true enemy is revealed: human sin. This sin plagued Israel throughout its history. It is the same sin that rejected, betrayed, and crucified God’s Son. It is this sin that was punished at the cross and buried in the grave forever. Why is Jesus’ death so graphic? Because God’s justice was poured out for sins as horrific as those seen in Judges 19. This chapter should lead us to recognize the depth of human depravity and our desperate need for a Savior.
