Judges 21:6
in Judges 21And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
KJV
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
⋯
This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day--that is, in danger of becoming extinct; for, as it appears from Jud 21:7, they had massacred all the women and children of Benjamin, and six hundred men alone survived of the whole tribe.
This site's exposition
the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites
on Judges 21:6-7
They grieve for “their brothers, the Benjamites”, the word Israel used at 20:28 when it asked whether to fight them once more. The grief is over the outcome and not the sentence, since 20:48 had put the cities of Benjamin to the sword and the fire. Verse 7 states the deadlock the last eighteen verses answer, “we have sworn by the LORD”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
They had warred rightly against the authors of the crime because of the cost of the sin, but the people had turned unhappily against their own flesh and each was afflicted with civil war. The outpouring of tears moved their minds to compassion and stirred their feelings; the plan conceived in anger was gone.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother,.... Not that they went to war with them, as if their cause was not good; but for the severity they had exercised towards them, especially in destroying their women and children, and for the fatal consequences like to follow here after, particularly the dissolution of the whole tribe: and said, there is one tribe cut off from Israel this day; that is, there is a likelihood or great danger of it.
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.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּנָּֽחֲמוּ֙ | vaiyinachamu | and they had compassion | H5162 → | 108 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בִּנְיָמִ֖ן | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| אָחִ֑יו | ʾachiv | brother its | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נִגְדַּ֥ע | nigda' | it has been cut off | H1438 → | |
| הַיּ֛וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| שֵׁ֥בֶט | shevet | a tribe | H7626 → | 190 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | miyisrael | from Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיִּנָּֽחֲמוּ֙and they had compassion
vaiyinachamuH5162 →108 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בִּנְיָמִ֖ןBenjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
אָחִ֑יוbrother its
ʾachivH251 →630 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
נִגְדַּ֥עit has been cut off
nigda'H1438 →
הַיּ֛וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
שֵׁ֥בֶטa tribe
shevetH7626 →190 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃from Israel
miyisraelH3478 →2507 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
Hosea 11:8How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you…
- Hosea 6:4
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- Deuteronomy 32:36
For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Deuteronomy 29:23
All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
- Jeremiah 31:20
Through
2 Samuel 2:26Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:14
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
- Jeremiah 46:10
For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the…
- Jeremiah 46:14
Through
Judges 20:23They 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.”
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.
- Judges 20:26–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
This page draws on 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.