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Judges 19:2

in Judges 19

But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.

KJV

And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth–lehem–judah, and was there four whole months.

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This verse in Judges 19

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Played the whore - Neither the Vulgate, Septuagint, Targum, nor Josephus, understand this word as implying any act of conjugal infidelity on the woman’s part. They merely state that the parties disagreed, and the woman returned to her father’s house. Indeed all the circumstances of the case vindicate this view of the subject. If she had been a whore, or adulteress, it is not very likely that her husband would have gone after her to speak friendly, literally, to speak to her heart, and entreat her to return.

This site's exposition

when there was no king in Israel

on Judges 19:1-2

The formula falls four times in the book, at 17:6, 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25, and it brackets the closing block at both ends. A Levite and Bethlehem open this chapter as they opened chapter 17, where a Levite of Bethlehem went to sojourn in mount Ephraim; here a Levite of mount Ephraim takes a concubine out of Bethlehem, and the two halves of that pairing are reversed. Verse 2 says she played the whore against him, while the Septuagint reads that she was angry with him and the Vulgate has only that she left him, and Josephus in Antiquities 5.2.8 writes that she became estranged. The reason she went is carried three ways by the old witnesses and the Hebrew says the one thing.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Other versions concur with JOSEPHUS, in representing the reason for the flight from her husband's house to be, that she was disgusted with him, through frequent brawls. And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her--Hebrew, "speak to her heart," in a kindly and affectionate manner, so as to rekindle her affection.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּזְנֶ֤הand she was angry

    vatiznehH2181 →94 times

  • עָלָיו֙towards him

    ʾalavH5921 →5755 times

  • פִּֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹconcubine his

    pilagshoH6370 →37 times

  • וַתֵּ֤לֶךְand she went

    vatelekhH1980 →1546 times

  • מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙from with <the> him

    meitoH854 →929 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] house of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • אָבִ֔יהָfather her

    ʾavihaH1 →1212 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בֵּ֥יתBeth-

    beitH1035 →82 times

  • לֶ֖חֶם-lehem

    lechemH1035 →82 times

  • יְהוּדָ֑הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • וַתְּהִי־and she was

    vatehi-H1961 →3559 times

  • שָׁ֕םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • יָמִ֖יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • אַרְבָּעָ֥הfour

    ʾarbaahH702 →318 times

  • חֳדָשִֽׁים׃months

    chodashimH2320 →284 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

5 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezekiel 16:28Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.4 worksGenesis 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”3 worksDeuteronomy 22:21she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.2 worksLeviticus 21:9If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.2 worksJeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 22:21

    she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 34:7

      When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that…

    • Deuteronomy 13:5

      Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the…

  • Through

    Ezekiel 16:28

    Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 16:7

      So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are…

    • Jeremiah 2:36

      How unstable you are, constantly changing your ways! You will be disappointed by Egypt just as you were by Assyria.

    • Hosea 10:6

      Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

    • 2 Kings 16:10–18

      Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria. On seeing the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent Uriah the priest a model of the altar and complete plans for its…

    • Jeremiah 2:18

      Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

  • Through

    Leviticus 21:9

    If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by prostituting herself, she profanes her father; she must be burned in the fire.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 38:24

      About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

About Judges

A Levite Finds a Woman's Corpse — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
A Levite Finds a Woman's Corpse — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 19 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Judges 19 →