Judges 19:15

Jdg 19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in [and] to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for [there was] no man that took them into his house to lodging.

Ver. 15. He sat him down in a street of the city.] There were not inns and houses of receipt for strangers in those days, as are now: but if no man took them in, they lay in the streets. {Gen 19:2}

For there was no man that took them into his house.] This their inhospitality and inhumanity was a forerunner of their destruction. The Jews at this day are very hospitable to their own. So were the ancient Protestants the Waldenses. And surely if God had been in any of these Benjamites’ houses, his servant had not been excluded.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 19:15. He sat down in the street of the city — There being no public inns in that country in those days, this was the general custom. Travellers sat down in the streets till some person invited them into his house. And this was generally readily done by one or other, except in places where there was a great degeneracy of manners. Here, although they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted to strangers, for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging, till a poor labouring man performed that office of hospitality toward them.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or gathered them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city--The towns of Palestine at this remote period could not, it seems, furnish any establishment in the shape of an inn or public lodging-house. Hence we conclude that the custom, which is still frequently witnessed in the cities of the East, was then not uncommon, for travellers who were late in arriving and who had no introduction to a private family, to spread their bedding in the streets, or wrapping themselves up in their cloaks, pass the night in the open air. In the Arab towns and villages, however, the sheik, or some other person, usually comes out and urgently invites the strangers to his house. This was done also in ancient Palestine (Gen 18:4; Gen 19:2). That the same hospitality was not shown in Gibeah seems to have been owing to the bad character of the people.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. No man - took them into his house to lodging.] There was probably no inn or house of public entertainment in this place, and therefore they could not have a lodging unless furnished by mere hospitality. To say that there were no inns in those primitive times, is not true; there were such places, though not very frequent. Joseph's brethren found their money in their sacks when they loosed them at an inn, Ge 42:27. The house of Rahab was an inn, Jos 2:1. And the woman whose house Samson frequented at Gaza was a hostess, or one who kept a place of public entertainment.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) In a street.—Rather, in the open place (Rechob)—i.e., the square or market-place of the city, often a space outside the walls (Deu_13:16). (Comp. Gen_19:1-2; “The stranger did not lodge in the street”—Job_31:32.)

No man that took them into his house.—The same neglect would have been experienced by the angels at Sodom but for the care of Lot. This neglect of the very first duty of the East was sufficient at once to prove the base condition into which Gibeah had fallen (Deu_10:19; Mat_25:35).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. and he went in, and sat him down] The verbs should probably be read as plurals.

the street] Rather broad place (Jdg_19:17; Jdg_19:20), Gen_19:2 b, usually near the gate, 2Ch_32:6, Neh_8:1; Neh_8:3; Neh_8:16 etc. At this point we begin to notice parallels with Genesis 19.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they turned aside thither to go in and lodge in Gibeah,.... Instead of going right forward, and passing by Gibeah, over against which they were, they turned out of their road, and went into the city to seek a lodging in it:

and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city; to see whether any person would invite him into any of their houses, as was usual in those hospitable times and countries, and where there were few inns for the entertainment of travellers and strangers, or none at all, and especially in cities; if any where, they were upon the public road:

for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging; the spirit of hospitality being greatly declined, and even gone from among them; or as some think, those that had such a spirit, and were willing to receive strangers, were afraid, because of their wicked neighbours, who would beset their houses to abuse strangers, as the sequel of this history shows.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A street - Probably the square or place within the gates, where courts were held, bargains made, and where the chief men and strangers congregated.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Lodge. No one invited them in. How much had these people degenerated from the manners of Abraham and of Lot, to imitate those of the men of Sodom! (Haydock) --- There was no inn it seems at Gabaa, though we read of some at Jericho, Gaza, &c., chap. xvi. 1., Josue ii. 1., and Genesis xlii. 27. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Though they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted towards strangers or indigent persons. Either there were no public houses to receive and entertain travellers, as may be gathered from Ge 28; Ge 42; Ge 45; Jos 9 &c.; or, if there were such a one here, they might perceive it to be a very wicked house, as being in so lewd a place, and therefore might decline it, and expect that some private person would exercise hospitality to them, as persons of any worth used to do, as Gen 18:1-4; 19:1,2; Heb 13:2.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. He sat him down in a street of the city — This, we are told by Orientalists, is a way of making known one’s want of entertainment, and is a custom still existing in the East. Usually one is allowed to wait but a little while in such a place.

For there was no man that took them — Rather, And no man took them. This implies that the inhabitants of that town were wilfully inhospitable. It was a reproach to them that they allowed a wayfaring man to wait so long in a street of their city before entertainment was offered him, and Jdg_19:18 implies that the Levite himself felt misused.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A street of the city. Rather, the broad space or place near the gate, such as is usual in an Oriental city. (cf. Rth_4:1) There was no man that took them into his house. This absence of the common rites of hospitality toward strangers was a sign of the degraded character of the men of Gibeah. (see Gen_18:3-8 Gen_19:2, 3 Rom_12:13 Heb_13:2 1Pe_4:9)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To lodge - Though they were soft and effeminate in other respects, yet they were hard-hearted to strangers, and at that time there were no public-houses in that country.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And they turned aside thither to pass the night in Gibeah; and he (the Levite) remained in the market-place of the town, as no one received them into his house to pass the night.

Jdg 19:16-19

Behold, there came an old man from the field, who was of the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt as a stranger in Gibeah, the inhabitants of which were Benjaminites (as is observed here, as a preliminary introduction to the account which follows). When he saw the traveller in the market-place of the town, he asked him whither he was going and whence he came; and when he had heard the particulars concerning his descent and his journey, he received him into his house. ואת־בּית י הלך אני (Jdg 19:18), "and I walk at the house of Jehovah, and no one receives me into his house" (Seb. Schm., etc.); not "I am going to the house of Jehovah" (Ros., Berth., etc.), for את הלך does not signify to go to a place, for which the simple accusative is used either with or without ה local. It either means "to go through a place" (Deu 1:19, etc.), or "to go with a person," or, when applied to things, "to go about with anything" (see Job 31:5, and Ges. Thes. p. 378). Moreover, in this instance the Levite was not going to the house of Jehovah (i.e., the tabernacle), but, as he expressly told the old man, from Bethlehem to the outermost sides of the mountains of Ephraim. The words in question explain the reason why he was staying in the market-place. Because he served at the house of Jehovah, no one in Gibeah would receive him into his house,

(Note: As Seb. Schmidt correctly observes, "the argument is taken from the indignity shown him: the Lord thinks me worthy to minister to Him, as a Levite, in His house, and there is not one of the people of the Lord who thinks me worthy to receive his hospitality.")

although, as he adds in Jdg 19:19, he had everything with him that was requisite for his wants. "We have both straw and fodder for our asses, and bread and wine for me and thy maid, and for the young man with thy servants. No want of anything at all," so as to cause him to be burdensome to his host. By the words "thy maid" and "thy servants" he means himself and his concubine, describing himself and his wife, according to the obsequious style of the East in olden times, as servants of the man from whom he was expecting a welcome.

Jdg 19:20

The old man replied, "Peace to thee," assuring him of a welcome by this style of greeting; "only all thy wants upon me," i.e., let me provide for them. Thus the friendly host declined the offer made by his guest to provide for himself. "Only do not pass the night in the market-place."

Jdg 19:21

He then took him into his house, mixed fodder for his asses (יבול from בּלל, a denom. verb from בּליל, to make a mixture, to give fodder to the beasts), and waited upon his guest with washing of feet, food, and drink (see Gen 18:4., Jdg 19:2).

Jdg 19:22

Whilst they were enjoying themselves, some worthless men of the city surrounded the house, knocking continuously at the door (התדּפּק, a form indicative of gradual increase), and demanding of the master of the house that he would bring out the man who had entered his house, that they might know him,-the very same demand that the Sodomites had made of Lot (Gen 19:6.). The construct state בני־בליּעל אנשׁי is used instead of בּני־בל אנשׁים (Deu 13:14, etc.), because בליעל בני is regarded as one idea: people of worthless fellows. Other cases of the same kind are given by Ewald, Lehrb. 289, c.

Jdg 19:23-24

The old man sought, as Lot had done, to defend his guests from such a shameful crime by appealing to the sacred rights of hospitality, and by giving up his own virgin daughter and the concubine of his guest (see the remarks on Gen 19:7-8). נבלה, folly, used to denote shameful licentiousness and whoredom, as in Gen 34:7 and Deu 22:21. אותם ענּוּ, "humble them." The masculine is used in אותם and להם as the more general gender, instead of the more definite feminine, as in Gen 39:9; Exo 1:21, etc.

Jdg 19:25

But as the people would not listen to this proposal, the man (no doubt the master of the house, according to Jdg 19:24) took his (the guest's) concubine (of course with the consent of his guest) and led her out to them, and they abused her the whole night. It is not stated how it was that they were satisfied with this; probably because they felt too weak to enforce their demand. בּ התעלּל, to exercise his power or wantonness upon a person (see Exo 10:2).

Jdg 19:26

When the morning drew on (i.e., at the first dawn of day), the woman fell down before the door of the house in which אדוניה, "her lord," i.e., her husband, was, and lay there till it was light, i.e., till sunrise.

Jdg 19:27-28

There her husband found her, when he opened the house-door to go his way (having given up all thought of receiving her back again from the barbarous crowd), "lying before the house-door, and her hands upon the threshold" (i.e., with outstretched arms), and giving no answer to his word, having died, that is to say, in consequence of the ill-treatment of the night. He then took the corpse upon his ass to carry it to his place, i.e., to his home.

Jdg 19:29-30

As soon as he arrived there, he cut up the body, according to its bones (as they cut slaughtered animals in pieces: see at Lev 1:6), into twelve pieces, and sent them (the corpse in its pieces) into the whole of the territory of Israel, i.e., to all the twelve tribes, in the hope that every one who saw it would say: No such thing has happened or been seen since the coming up of Israel out of Egypt until this day. Give ye heed to it (שׁימוּ for לב שׂימוּ); make up your minds and say on, i.e., decide how this unparalleled wickedness is to be punished. Sending the dissected pieces of the corpse to the tribes was a symbolical act, by which the crime committed upon the murdered woman was placed before the eyes of the whole nation, to summon it to punish the crime, and was naturally associated with a verbal explanation of the matter by the bearer of the pieces. See the analogous proceeding on the part of Saul (Sa1 11:7), and the Scythian custom related by Lucian in Toxaris, c. 48, that whoever was unable to procure satisfaction for an injury that he had received, cut an ox in pieces and sent it round, whereupon all who were willing to help him to obtain redress took a piece, and swore that they would stand by him to the utmost of their strength. The perfects ואמר - והיה (Jdg 19:30) are not used for the imperfects c. vav consec. ויּאמר - ויהי, as Hitzig supposes, but as simple perfects (perfecta conseq.), expressing the result which the Levite expected from his conduct; and we have simply to supply לאמר before והיה, which is often omitted in lively narrative or animated conversation (compare, for example, Exo 8:5 with Jdg 7:2). The perfects are used by the historian instead of imperfects with a simple vav, which are commonly employed in clauses indicating intention, "because what he foresaw would certainly take place, floated before his mind as a thing already done" (Rosenmller). The moral indignation, which the Levite expected on the part of all the tribes at such a crime as this, and their resolution to avenge it, are thereby exhibited not merely as an uncertain conjecture, but a fact that was sure to occur, and concerning which, as Judg 20 clearly shows, he had not deceived himself.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)