Judges 21:12
in Judges 21So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To Shiloh - Whither, as the usual place of meeting for the national assembly, the Israelites had moved from Bethel (a distance of about 10 miles), during the expedition of the 12,000 to Jabesh-Gilead.
This site's exposition
the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men
on Judges 21:10-12
The order to “put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead” carries the wording of Deuteronomy 13:15, the law for an Israelite city gone after other gods, though here the offence is absence from Mizpah. Sparing the unmarried women follows the Midian rule of Numbers 31:17 and 18, applied to a town of Israel. Verse 12 brings them to Shiloh “in the land of Canaan”, as Joshua 22:9 phrases it.
This site's exposition
four hundred young women
Barnes explains that the assembly had moved from Bethel to Shiloh, about ten miles, while the twelve thousand were away at Jabesh-gilead. Shiloh was the usual meeting place of the national assembly. The captives are brought there.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins,....
They did not repent of their zeal against the sin; there is a holy indignation against sin, the fruit of godly sorrow, which is to salvation, not to be repented of, 2 Cor. vii. But they repented of the sad consequences of what they had done, that they had carried the matter further than was either just or necessary.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Four hundred virgin maids They placed them over the openings of wine barrels. Those with carnal knowledge emitted an aroma, the virgins did not. 3 Yevamos,:b.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּמְצְא֞וּ | vaiyimtzeu | and they found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| מִיּוֹשְׁבֵ֣י׀ | miyoshevei | of [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יָבֵ֣ישׁ | yaveish | Jabesh | H3003 → | 24 times |
| גִּלְעָ֗ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אַרְבַּ֤ע | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵאוֹת֙ | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| נַעֲרָ֣ה | naarah | young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| בְתוּלָ֔ה | vetulah | virgin[s] | H1330 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדְעָ֛ה | yadeah | she had known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| לְמִשְׁכַּ֣ב | lemishkav | to lying of | H4904 → | |
| זָכָ֑ר | zakhar | a male | H2145 → | 82 times |
| וַיָּבִ֨יאוּ | vaiyaviu | and they brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אוֹתָ֤ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| שִׁלֹ֔ה | shiloh | Shiloh | H7887 → | 32 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּאֶ֥רֶץ | beeretz | [is] in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּנָֽעַן׃ ס | kenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
וַֽיִּמְצְא֞וּand they found
vaiyimtzeuH4672 →455 times
מִיּוֹשְׁבֵ֣י׀of [the] inhabitants of
miyosheveiH3427 →1079 times
יָבֵ֣ישׁJabesh
yaveishH3003 →24 times
גִּלְעָ֗דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אַרְבַּ֤עfour
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
מֵאוֹת֙hundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
נַעֲרָ֣הyoung woman
naarahH5291 →63 times
בְתוּלָ֔הvirgin[s]
vetulahH1330 →
אֲשֶׁ֧רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָדְעָ֛הshe had known
yadeahH3045 →945 times
אִ֖ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
לְמִשְׁכַּ֣בto lying of
lemishkavH4904 →
זָכָ֑רa male
zakharH2145 →82 times
וַיָּבִ֨יאוּand they brought
vaiyaviuH935 →2568 times
אוֹתָ֤ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙the camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
שִׁלֹ֔הShiloh
shilohH7887 →32 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּאֶ֥רֶץ[is] in [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
כְּנָֽעַן׃ סCanaan
kenaanH3667 →94 times
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
Psalms 78:60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
it leads to
- Joshua 18:1
Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 18:1
Through
Jeremiah 7:12But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 26:6
then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 4:10–11
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
- Judges 18:31
So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.
- Psalms 78:60–64
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
- Jeremiah 26:6
Through
Joshua 18:1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:3
Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance…
- 1 Samuel 1:3
Through
Judges 20:18The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied.
it leads to
- Judges 20:26–27
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 20:26–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceEphraimShilohWhere the tabernacle rested through the judges' era; Hannah prayed here, Samuel heard his name in the night, and its later ruin be…
- PlaceThe LevantCanaanThe land God promised to Abraham's seed, walked and marked with altars by the patriarchs and possessed under Joshua four centuries…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.
