Judges 21:18
in Judges 21But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.” For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
KJV
Howbeit 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.
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For the children of Israel have sworn - See Jdg 21:1. Compare Saul’s rash oath 1Sa 14:24, and his breach of the oath made to the Gideonites 2Sa 21:2. For the guilt of a broken oath, see Eze 17:15-20; Exo 20:7.
This site's exposition
Then the elders of the congregation said
on Judges 21:16-18
The elders add a reason to solve the problem, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin”, since the land allotted to Benjamin at Joshua 18:11 to 28 would otherwise pass to nobody. Verse 18 gives the oath in its sharpest form, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite”, in the form of Deuteronomy 27. They keep its letter and look for another road.
This site's exposition
give them our daughters as wives
The Israelites had sworn that whoever gives a wife to a Benjamite is cursed, and Barnes sets that oath beside Saul's rash oath at 1 Samuel 14:24. He cites Ezekiel 17:15 to 20 for the guilt a broken oath brings. The elders keep their daughters back.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But relenting at having laid so hard a sentence on their brothers, they moderated their severity so as to give them in marriage those maidens that had lost their parents, whose fathers had been slain for their sins, or to give them the means of finding a wife by a raid. Because of the villainy of so foul a deed, they who had violated another's marriage rights were shown to be unworthy to ask for marriage. But for fear that one tribe might perish from the people, they connived at the deceit.
The sentence, further, was that none of the people of the ancestors should give his daughter in marriage to [members of Benjamin's tribe]. This was confirmed by a solemn oath.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the L ORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? 8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the L ORD ?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v6-8
Howbeit, we may not give them wives of our daughters,.... Though their case was so very necessitous and desperate: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin, Jdg 21:1 and therefore without the violation of their oath could not give any of their daughters in marriage to them: wherefore some other way must be devised to help them.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The survivors must inherit the ancestral property The tribe's ancestral property remains unclaimed; let us devise a plan whereby they may father children, so that the property will fall into the possession of the remaining survivors, and a tribe will not be obliterated from Yisroel.
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ | vaanachnu | and we | H587 → | 120 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נוּכַ֛ל | nukhal | we are able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לָתֵת־ | latet- | to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֥ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| נָשִׁ֖ים | nashim | wives | H802 → | 781 times |
| מִבְּנוֹתֵ֑ינוּ | mibenoteinu | any of daughters our | H1323 → | 588 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִשְׁבְּע֤וּ | nishbeu | they had sworn | H7650 → | 186 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָר֕וּר | ʾarur | [be] cursed | H779 → | 63 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [one who] gives | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אִשָּׁ֖ה | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| לְבִנְיָמִֽן׃ ס | levinyamin | to Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּand we
vaanachnuH587 →120 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נוּכַ֛לwe are able
nukhalH3201 →194 times
לָתֵת־to give
latet-H5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֥םto <the> them
lahem
נָשִׁ֖יםwives
nashimH802 →781 times
מִבְּנוֹתֵ֑ינוּany of daughters our
mibenoteinuH1323 →588 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נִשְׁבְּע֤וּthey had sworn
nishbeuH7650 →186 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אָר֕וּר[be] cursed
ʾarurH779 →63 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[one who] gives
notenH5414 →2011 times
אִשָּׁ֖הa wife
ʾishahH802 →781 times
לְבִנְיָמִֽן׃ סto Benjamin
levinyaminH1144 →166 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
Judges 21:1Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.”
it leads to
- Judges 20:1
Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- Acts 23:12
When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- Ecclesiastes 5:2
Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your…
- Mark 6:23
And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”
- Judges 20:8
Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house.
- Judges 20:1
Through
Judges 11:35As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given…
it leads to
- Genesis 42:36–38
Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”
- Matthew 14:7–9
so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.
- Genesis 37:34–35
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
- Genesis 42:36–38
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.115; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.