Judges 19:26
in Judges 19Early that morning, the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, collapsed at the doorway, and lay there until it was light.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.
KJV
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.
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This verse in Judges 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseOvercome by this cruelty or by grief at her wrong, she fell at the door of their host where her husband had entered, and died, with the last effort of her life guarding the feelings of a good wife so as to preserve for her husband at least her mortal remains.
This site's exposition
the Levite took his concubine
on Judges 19:25-26
At Sodom the visitors pulled Lot inside and struck the men at the door with blindness at Genesis 19:10 and 19:11, and the guests were never touched. Here nothing intervenes, and the night is told in a single clause that ends “at dawn they let her go”. Verse 26 brings her back to “the house where her master was staying”, where she “collapsed at the doorway” and got no further.
This site's exposition
collapsed at the doorway
Clarke writes that she had strength to reach the doorway and none left to knock. Ambrose writes that she died where her husband had entered.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When day brought an end to the outrage, she went back to the door of their lodging, where she would not ask to see her husband, whom she thought she must now forego, ashamed at her pitiable condition. Yet, to show her love for her husband, she who had lost her chastity lay down at the door of the lodging, and there in pitiable circumstance came an end to her disgrace.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Fell down - Namely, dead; killed partly with grief of heart, and partly with excessive abuse. Thus the sin she formerly chose, ver. 2, is now her destruction; and though her husband pardoned her, God would punish her, at least as to this life.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-2-anchored-26-26
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Fell down at the door - She had strength to reach the door, but not to knock for admittance: when she reached the door she fell down dead! The reason of this abominable and horrid catastrophe is strongly signified by the original words, Jdg 19:25: וידעו אותה ויתעללו בה כל הלילה vaiyedu othah, vaiyithallelu bah col hallailah, which we modestly translate, and they knew her, and they abused her all the night. More literally, but still not fully: Illi cum ea rem habuerunt, et alternatim in eam tota nocte ascenderunt.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתָּבֹ֥א | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הָאִשָּׁ֖ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| לִפְנ֣וֹת | lifnot | to [the] turning of | H6437 → | 135 times |
| הַבֹּ֑קֶר | haboker | the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַתִּפֹּ֞ל | vatipol | and she fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| פֶּ֧תַח | petach | [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָאִ֛ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲדוֹנֶ֥יהָ | ʾadoneiha | master<s> her | H113 → | 333 times |
| שָּׁ֖ם | sham | [was] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הָאֽוֹר׃ | haor | the light | H216 → |
וַתָּבֹ֥אand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
הָאִשָּׁ֖הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
לִפְנ֣וֹתto [the] turning of
lifnotH6437 →135 times
הַבֹּ֑קֶרthe morning
habokerH1242 →214 times
וַתִּפֹּ֞לand she fell
vatipolH5307 →435 times
פֶּ֧תַח[the] entrance of
petachH6607 →164 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
הָאִ֛ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אֲדוֹנֶ֥יהָmaster<s> her
ʾadoneihaH113 →333 times
שָּׁ֖ם[was] there
shamH8033 →834 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הָאֽוֹר׃the light
haorH216 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
1 Peter 3:6just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.
it leads to
- Genesis 18:12
So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
- Romans 9:7–9
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Daniel 3:16–18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
- Isaiah 57:11
Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear…
- Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
- Genesis 18:12
Through
Genesis 18:12So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
it leads to
- Genesis 17:17
Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed and said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?”
- 1 Peter 3:6
just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear.
- Luke 1:18–20
“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
- Genesis 17:17
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.114; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.