Judges 19:8
in Judges 19On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to depart, but the girl’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they waited until late afternoon and the two of them ate.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel’s father said, Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day declineth; and they did eat, both of them.
KJV
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
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This verse in Judges 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd they tarried until afternoon - Merely that they might avoid the heat of the day, which would have been very inconvenient in travelling.
This site's exposition
On the fifth day
on Judges 19:8-9
The fifth day is named and then spent, since “they waited until late afternoon”. The father's plea counts the hour twice, “the day is drawing to a close” and “the day is almost over”, and the second clause in Hebrew pictures a day pitching camp for the night. The Levite leaves anyway, and verse 14 reports the cost, with the sun setting as they neared Gibeah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
On the next day the Levite arose at daybreak but was detained by his father-in-law, that he might not so quickly lose the pleasure of his company. Again on the next and the third day the maiden's father did not allow his son-in-law to start [his journey], until their joy and mutual regard was complete. But on the seventh day, when it was already drawing to a close, after a pleasant meal, having urged the approach of the coming night, so as to make him think he ought to sleep among friends rather than strangers, he was unable to keep him, and so let him go together with his daughter.
Although the man wanted to depart, he kept him a fourth day, offering him excuses of civility, devising delays. In his desire to add a fifth day as well, he found new reasons for delaying them, while the husband, unwilling to thwart the father's affection of its desire to keep his daughter, though he was at last promised an opportunity for setting forth, postponed it to midday so that they would start out well fortified with food. Even after dinner, the father wished to find some delay, saying that evening was now approaching.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He would by no means let him go before dinner, promises him he shall have dinner early, designing thereby, as he had done the day before, to detain him another night; but the Levite was intent on the house of the Lord at Shiloh (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart,....
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם | vaiyashkem | and he rose early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| בַּבֹּ֜קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַחֲמִישִׁי֮ | hachamishi | <the> fifth | H2549 → | |
| לָלֶכֶת֒ | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲבִ֣י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ה | hanaarah | the young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| סְעָד־ | seod- | sustain | H5582 → | |
| נָא֙ | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לְבָ֣בְךָ֔ | levavekha | heart your | H3824 → | |
| וְהִֽתְמַהְמְה֖וּ | vehitmahmehu | and delay | H4102 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| נְט֣וֹת | netot | declines | H5186 → | 214 times |
| הַיּ֑וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ | vaiyokhelu | and they ate | H398 → | 810 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃ | sheneihem | [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨םand he rose early
vaiyashkemH7925 →65 times
בַּבֹּ֜קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַחֲמִישִׁי֮<the> fifth
hachamishiH2549 →
לָלֶכֶת֒to go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר׀and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲבִ֣י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
הַֽנַּעֲרָ֗הthe young woman
hanaarahH5291 →63 times
סְעָד־sustain
seod-H5582 →
נָא֙please
na'H4994 →404 times
לְבָ֣בְךָ֔heart your
levavekhaH3824 →
וְהִֽתְמַהְמְה֖וּand delay
vehitmahmehuH4102 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
נְט֣וֹתdeclines
netotH5186 →214 times
הַיּ֑וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
וַיֹּאכְל֖וּand they ate
vaiyokheluH398 →810 times
שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃[the] two of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.111-12; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.