Judges 21:8
in Judges 21So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
KJV
And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh–gilead to the assembly.
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This verse in Judges 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But it appears (Jud 21:11) that, besides acting in fulfilment of their oath, the Israelites had the additional object by this raid of supplying wives to the Benjamite remnant.
This site's exposition
Which one of the tribes of Israel
on Judges 21:8-9
The way out begins with a roll call rather than with a prayer. The people are numbered, one town is found missing from the assembly, and absence at the muster is the whole charge the text records against it. Jabesh sits east of the Jordan in Gilead, on ground the war against Benjamin never touched.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), and it was then resolved, before it appeared who were absent, that whatever city of Israel should be guilty of such a contempt of the public authority and interest that city should be an anathema; Jabesh-Gilead lies under that severe sentence, which might by no means be dispensed with.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And they said, what one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord?....
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 Nineteenth Century2 voices
There came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead - As they had sworn to destroy those who would not assist in this war, Jdg 21:5, they determined to destroy the men of Jabesh, and to leave none alive except the virgins, and to give these to the six hundred Benjamites that had escaped to the rock Rimmon. So twelve thousand men went, smote the city, and killed all the males and all the married women. The whole account is dreadful; and none could have been guilty of all these enormities but those who were abandoned of God.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Jabesh-Galead - Is here mentioned for the first time. (See marginal references.) The name of Jabesh survives only in the Wady Yabes (running down to the east bank of the Jordan), near the head of which are situated the ruins called Ed-Deir, which are identified with Jabesh-Gilead.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֗י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| אֶחָד֙ | ʾechad | [is the] one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִשִּׁבְטֵ֣י | mishivtei | from [the] tribes of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָלָ֥ה | ʾalah | it went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה | hamitzpah | <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | 40 times |
| וְ֠הִנֵּה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בָא־ | va'- | he had come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אִ֧ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֛ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| מִיָּבֵ֥ישׁ | miyaveish | from Jabesh | H3003 → | 24 times |
| גִּלְעָ֖ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַקָּהָֽל׃ | hakahal | the assembly | H6951 → | 123 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
מִ֗יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
אֶחָד֙[is the] one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִשִּׁבְטֵ֣יfrom [the] tribes of
mishivteiH7626 →190 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָלָ֥הit went up
ʾalahH5927 →890 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה<the> Mizpah
hamitzpahH4709 →40 times
וְ֠הִנֵּהand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בָא־he had come
va'-H935 →2568 times
אִ֧ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֛הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
מִיָּבֵ֥ישׁfrom Jabesh
miyaveishH3003 →24 times
גִּלְעָ֖דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַקָּהָֽל׃the assembly
hakahalH6951 →123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.
