Judges 21:2
in Judges 21So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
KJV
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe people came to the house of God - Literally, the people came בית־אל to Bethel; this is considered as the name of a place by the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Septuagint. And wept sore - Their revenge was satisfied, and now reflection brings them to contrition for what they had done.
This site's exposition
the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah
on Judges 21:1-3
The oath is reported here for the first time, though it was sworn at the muster of 20:1 at Mizpah. Israel asks why “one tribe is missing”, treating the loss as an event and passing over what its own army did in chapter 20. They weep at Bethel, where 20:27 and 20:28 put the ark and Phinehas son of Eleazar, whose name sets these chapters early in the period.
This site's exposition
lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly
Clarke reads the weeping before God at Bethel as contrition for what the people had done, once their revenge was spent. Ambrose writes that the end of the war was the end of their anger. Henry says they grieved for a whole tribe of Israel.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The end of the war was also the end of their wrath, and anger turned to sorrow. Then, putting off their armor, the men of Israel met together and wept much and celebrated a fast, grieving that one tribe of their brothers had perished and a strong band of people had been wiped out.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), not so much for the 40,000 whom they had lost (these would not be so much missed out of eleven tribes), but for the entire destruction of one whole tribe; for this was the complaint they poured out before God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And the people came to the house of God,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
There is no previous record of this oath; but the purport of it was, that they would treat the perpetrators of this Gibeah atrocity in the same way as the Canaanites, who were doomed to destruction; and the entering into this solemn league was of a piece with the rest of their inconsiderate conduct in this whole affair.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To the house of God - It should be, “to Bethel.” See Jdg 20:18.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤א | vaiyavo' | and it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֔ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וַיֵּ֤שְׁבוּ | vaiyeshevu | and they sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הָעֶ֔רֶב | haerev | the evening | H6153 → | 134 times |
| לִפְנֵ֖י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיִּשְׂא֣וּ | vaiyisu | and they lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| קוֹלָ֔ם | kolam | voice their | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיִּבְכּ֖וּ | vaiyivku | and they wept | H1058 → | 114 times |
| בְּכִ֥י | bekhi | weeping | H1065 → | |
| גָדֽוֹל׃ | gadol | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
וַיָּבֹ֤אand it came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בֵּֽית־Beth-
beit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֔ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וַיֵּ֤שְׁבוּand they sat
vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הָעֶ֔רֶבthe evening
haerevH6153 →134 times
לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וַיִּשְׂא֣וּand they lifted up
vaiyisuH5375 →656 times
קוֹלָ֔םvoice their
kolamH6963 →506 times
וַיִּבְכּ֖וּand they wept
vaiyivkuH1058 →114 times
בְּכִ֥יweeping
bekhiH1065 →
גָדֽוֹל׃great
gadolH1419 →526 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 20:26Then 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.
it leads to
- Judges 20:23
They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 20:18
The 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joel 2:12–18
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Judges 20:23
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.
- Numbers 27:21
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will…
- Judges 20:26–27
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
- 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…
- Joshua 21:2
at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”
- 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.
- Joshua 19:51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; 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.