Judges 21

This is the final chapter of Judges. The narrative picks up after the war in Judges 20, which left the tribe of Benjamin nearly annihilated, with only six hundred men surviving after fleeing to the rock of Rimmon.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah not to give their daughters to Benjamin. At Bethel they weep bitterly, offer burnt offerings and peace offerings, and grieve that one tribe has been cut off.
• Verses 8–12 Twelve thousand valiant men are sent to strike Jabesh-gilead, which had not come to the assembly. They bring four hundred young virgins back to the camp at Shiloh.
• Verses 13–15 Peace is proclaimed to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon, and the virgins are given to them as wives. There are not enough, however.
• Verses 16–24 The elders seek a way to provide wives for Benjamin without breaking their oath. Their solution is to have the Benjamites hide in the vineyards during the annual feast at Shiloh and seize the women who come out to dance. The Benjamites do so and rebuild their cities, and the children of Israel return each to his own inheritance.
• Verse 25 The book closes with the statement that there was no king and that every man did what was right in his own eyes.

Key Verses

• Judges 21:3 "O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?": The people lament before God over a result they themselves brought about.
• Judges 21:25 "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes": Echoing Judges 17:6 word for word, this statement is read as the concluding verdict on the entire latter portion of the book.

People and Places

• Benjamites: One of the twelve tribes of Israel, whose survival is at stake in this chapter.
• Mizpah: The place where the assembly of Israel gathered and swore the oath.
• Jabesh-gilead: A city in the region of Gilead east of the Jordan River.
• Rock of Rimmon: The place where the surviving Benjamites took refuge.
• Shiloh: The place where a feast of the LORD was held every year. The text locates it north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and east of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem.

Points for Reflection

• The oath and its resolution: In this story, the effort to keep a rash oath led to the problem being solved through further violence. Many interpreters hold that the text does not approve of these events but simply narrates them, leaving its verdict to verse 25.
• The meaning of verse 25: Some read this verse as anticipating the need for a monarchy, particularly the Davidic dynasty. Others read it as pointing not so much to the lack of a human king as to a condition in which the people had rejected God's rule.
• Jabesh-gilead and Saul: Jabesh-gilead later becomes closely bound up with the Benjamite Saul. In 1 Samuel 11 Saul delivers the city, and in 1 Samuel 31 its inhabitants bury Saul's body.
• Connection with the New Testament: Paul identifies himself as a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5).