Judges 21:5
in Judges 21The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
KJV
And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the people got up early, built an altar there
on Judges 21:4-5
They build an altar before they offer, which Clarke reads as evidence that the place held no standing altar of its own at that time. Then a second oath surfaces, also unrecorded when it was sworn, laying death on any man who failed to come up to Mizpeh.
This site's exposition
they had taken a solemn oath
Henry reads the solemn oath as death for any of the tribes that failed to come to the assembly before the LORD. He reads that as a sign that it cared nothing for the crime. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call the oath inconsiderate.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); for they would look upon such refusers as having no indignation at the crime committed, no concern for the securing of the nation from God's judgments by the administration of justice, nor any regard to the authority of a common consent, by which they were summoned to meet.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the children of Israel said,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִ֠י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | [is [the] one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָלָ֧ה | ʾalah | he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בַקָּהָ֛ל | vakahal | in the assembly | H6951 → | 123 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שִׁבְטֵ֥י | shivtei | [the] tribes of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַשְּׁבוּעָ֨ה | hashevuah | the oath | H7621 → | |
| הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה | hagedolah | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הָיְתָ֗ה | hayetah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַ֠אֲשֶׁר | laasher | to [the one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָלָ֨ה | ʾalah | he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֛ה | hamitzpah | <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | 40 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מ֥וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמָֽת׃ | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙and they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִ֠יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אֲשֶׁ֨ר[is [the] one] who
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָלָ֧הhe went up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
בַקָּהָ֛לin the assembly
vakahalH6951 →123 times
מִכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
שִׁבְטֵ֥י[the] tribes of
shivteiH7626 →190 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַשְּׁבוּעָ֨הthe oath
hashevuahH7621 →
הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה<the> great
hagedolahH1419 →526 times
הָיְתָ֗הit was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
לַ֠אֲשֶׁרto [the one] who
laasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָלָ֨הhe went up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֛ה<the> Mizpah
hamitzpahH4709 →40 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מ֥וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמָֽת׃he will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 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
Jeremiah 48:10Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and…
- 1 Kings 20:42
And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for…
- 1 Samuel 15:9
Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to destroy them, but they…
- Judges 5:23
‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
- Numbers 31:14–18
But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle.
- 1 Samuel 15:3
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- Judges 20:1
Through
1 Samuel 11:7He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does…
it leads to
- Judges 19:29
When he reached his house, he picked up a knife, took hold of his concubine, cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
- Judges 19:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
