Judges 19:25

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
men	הָאֲנָשִׁים֙ ha.'a.na.Shim	H582	a man in general (singly or collectively) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
would	אָב֤וּ 'a.Vu	H14	to breathe after · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
hearken	לִשְׁמֹ֣עַֽ lish.Mo.a'	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
man	הָאִישׁ֙ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
took	וַיַּחֲזֵ֤ק vai.ya.cha.Zek	H2388	to fasten upon · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
concubine	בְּפִ֣ילַגְשׁ֔וֹ be.Fi.lag.Sho	H6370	a concubine · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
brought	וַיֹּצֵ֥א vai.yo.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
forth	הַח֑וּץ ha.Chutz	H2351	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
knew	וַיֵּדְע֣וּ vai.ye.de.'U	H3045	to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
abused	וַיִּֽתְעַלְּלוּ vai.yit.'a.le.lu-	H5953	to effect thoroughly · conjunction + verb, hithpael sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
night	הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ ha.Lay.lah	H3915	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
morning	הַבֹּ֔קֶר ha.Bo.ker	H1242	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
day	הַשָּֽׁחַר ha.Sha.char	H7837	dawn (literal · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
spring	כַּעֲל֥וֹת ka.'a.lot	H5927	to ascend · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
go	וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֖וּהָ vay.sha.le.Chu.ha	H7971	to send away · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ephesians 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Jeremiah 5:7-8 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they t…
Hosea 7:4-7 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.
Hosea 9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.
Hosea 10:9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 19:22–end

Here is, I. The great wickedness of the men of Gibeah. One could not imagine that ever it should enter into the heart of men that had the use of human reason, of Israelites that had the benefit of divine revelation, to be so very wicked. "Lord, what is man!" said David, "what a mean creature is he!" "Lord, what is man," may we say upon the reading of this story, "what a vile creature is he, when he is given up to his own heart's lusts!" The sinners are here called sons of Belial, that is, ungovernable men, men that would endure no yoke, children of the devil (for he is Belial), resembling him, and joining with him in rebellion against God and his government. Sons of Benjamin, of whom Moses h…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 19:22

THE GIBEAHITES ABUSE HIS CONCUBINE TO DEATH. (Jdg 19:22-28) certain sons of Belial beset the house--The narrative of the horrid outrage that was committed; of the proposal of the old man; the unfeeling, careless, and in many respects, inexplicable conduct of the Levite towards his wife, disclose a state of morality that would have appeared incredible, did it not rest on the testimony of the sacred historian. Both men ought to have protected the women in the house, even though at the expense of their lives, or thrown themselves on God's providence. It should be noted, however, that the guilt of such a foul outrage is not fastened on the general population of Gibeah.

John Gill on Judges 19:25

But the men would not hearken to him,.... Especially with respect to his daughter, whom they knew very well, and had no affection for, perhaps was not handsome enough for them: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; that is, not the old man, but the Levite took his own wife or concubine, and put her forth to them, very probably with her consent, to try if that would pacify them, she being a fair and beautiful woman, as Ben Gersom and Abarbinel suggest; and Josephus (u) intimates, that some young men of the city had seen her in the street, and were captivated with her beauty, and came on purpose for her, and would not be satisfied unless she was delivered to them; an…

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The Church Fathers

But when reason did no good and violence prevailed, the Levite parted from his wife, and they knew her and abused her all that night.
— Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.114

Driven by a wave of fury and inflamed by the incentive of lust, their desire for the young woman's beauty increased the more she was denied them. Deprived of all righteousness, they mocked his fair words, considering the old man's daughter an object of contempt in that she was offered with less feeling of ill will toward the crime. Then, when pious entreaties availed nothing and the aged hands were hopelessly extended in vain, the woman was seized and all that night was subjected to violence.
— Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Benjamin, The Tribe Of — The contrast between the warlike character of the tribe and the peaceful image of its progenitor comes out in many scattered notices. Benjamin was the only tribe which seems to have pursued archery…
Gibeah — A hill or hill-town, “of Benjamin” (1 Sam. 13:15), better known as “Gibeah of Saul” (11:4; Isa. 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite’s concubine which led to the…
Micah — A shortened form of Micaiah, who is like Jehovah? (1.) A man of Mount Ephraim, whose history so far is introduced in Judg. 17, apparently for the purpose of leading to an account of the settlement of…
Wolf — Heb. zeeb, frequently referred to in Scripture as an emblem of treachery and cruelty. Jacob’s prophecy, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf” (Gen. 49:27), represents the warlike character of that tribe…
Gibeah · .The people’s wickedness — .The people’s wickedness
Lasciviousness · .The Gibeahites — .The Gibeahites
Rape · General references — General references

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Judges 19:25

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 19:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 19:22

John Gill on Judges 19:25

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Judges 19:25

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 19:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 19:22

John Gill on Judges 19:25

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 19:15–end

Rashi on Judges 19:22