The big picture
Israel grieves that Benjamin may disappear but is constrained by an oath not to give daughters in marriage. The assembly kills Jabesh-gilead’s inhabitants to obtain women, then permits surviving Benjaminites to seize women at Shiloh. Judges closes by naming self-directed morality in a nation without a king.
Scripture beside the summary
Judges · King James Version · 25Judges 21:1-15
One oath leads to another massacre
The people lament the missing tribe and build an altar, yet their oath blocks ordinary marriage. They identify Jabesh-gilead as absent from the assembly, kill its population under another oath, and give four hundred virgins to Benjamin, though the number is insufficient.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 4 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings…” This familiar narrative signal moves the clock forward. What follows is a new scene, consequence, or answer to an earlier tension.
“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…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
“And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call…” Naming Benjamin and Rimmon keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.” Naming Benjamin and Israel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Israel asks why this breach has occurred as though the disaster arrived without human agency. Their own war, destruction of towns, and sweeping oath created the crisis. Worship and weeping are present, but the proposed solution follows another oath made in anger. The chapter exposes remorse that has not yet developed into wise moral repair.
Judges 21:1-15
King James Version1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3And 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?
4And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5And 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.
6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7How 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?
8And 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.
9For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
10And 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.
11And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
12And 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.
13And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
14And 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.
15And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Judges 21:16-25
Women at Shiloh are made to bear the cost of Israel’s oath
To find wives for the remaining Benjaminites without technically giving daughters, elders direct them to seize women dancing at Shiloh. The plan is carried out, Benjamin rebuilds, the tribes return home, and the book ends with everyone doing what is right in his own eyes.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
“Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that…” Naming Benjamin and Cursed keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;” This line supplies a reason, result, or conclusion. It should stay attached to the claim or action that gives it meaning.
“And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out…” Naming Israel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Judges 21:16-25
King James Version16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18Howbeit 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.
19Then 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.
20Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21And 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.
22And 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.
23And 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.
24And 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.
25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Judges 21:1 begins with “Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.”
Where the chapter turns
Judges 21:16 forms a natural hinge: “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?”
The final note
Judges 21:25 leaves the reader with “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Israel, Benjamin, children, LORD, wives, gilead help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How is God's faithfulness shown in both halves of the family?
Isaac is born as promised, and Ishmael is heard and preserved with a future of his own.
Why does a well deserve narrative space?
Water sustains life and makes residence possible in a land Abraham does not yet own.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.