Judges 19:8

Jdg 19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

Ver. 8. And he arose early in the morning.] See Jdg 18:5.

And they tarried until afternoon.] Heb., Till the day declined; whereas else, haply, they might have got home that night, and the following mischiefs have been prevented. Delays are many times very dangerous.

“ Semper nocuit differre paratis. ”

The devil usually courteth and cozeneth {defrauds} those that have a mind to look toward heaven, as this old man did the Levite, with, Be content, I pray thee, &c. What haste? In space cometh grace; and, Hereafter may be time enough. But we must be resolute and peremptory, or worse will come of it, sure enough.

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.

Meaning, that he should refresh himself with meat, as verse 5.

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

tarried--with reluctance.

until afternoon--literally, "the decline of the day." People in the East, who take little or nothing to eat in the morning, do not breakfast till from ten to twelve A.M., and this meal the hospitable relative had purposely protracted to so late a period as to afford an argument for urging a further stay.

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 8. And they tarried until afternoon] Merely that they might avoid the heat of the day, which would have been very inconvenient in travelling.

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

(8) And they tarried until afternoon.—The verb is perhaps an imperative: and linger (as in Isa. (19:9) till the day turns. So the LXX., Chaldee, and Vulg. take it.

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

8. on the fifth day] See note on Jdg_19:5.

and tarry ye] or wait, to avoid confusion with the different word rendered tarry all night in Jdg_19:6; Jdg_19:9. Some mss. of the LXX read and he enticed him; hence Moore suggests that the text originally ran and he enticed him and he (or they) waited. By the time that the Levite managed to escape it was late in the afternoon.

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 he rose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart,.... With a full intention to take his leave of his father, and be gone:

and the damsel's father said, comfort thine heart, I pray thee; with a meal's meat, with a breakfast, before he set out on his journey, that he might be heartier and stronger for it:

and they tarried until afternoon; or "until the decline of the day" (m), when the sun had passed the meridian, and was declining, as it immediately does when noon is past:

and they did eat both of them; the man stayed and took a dinner with his father-in-law; and though no mention is made of the concubine, neither in this, nor in the other instances, no doubt she ate with them.

(m) "usque ad declinare diem", Montanus; to the same purpose Pagninus, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

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

Advanced. Hebrew, "and they tarried until the evening." Septuagint, "rest till the day decline." (Haydock) --- He wishes them to wait till the hear of the day be over. (Calmet) --- When he had obtained this request, he made the late hour an excuse for detaining them longer. But unhappily, the Levite was too resolute and desirous of returning home.

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).

8. Until afternoon — Literally, until the declining of the day. “All the painful results grew out of this detention and late setting out, and may help, if every day did not supply lessons enough, to teach us the danger and weakness of allowing our better judgment to be overcome by even the kind importunities of others.” — Kitto.

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

And they tarried. It should rather be rendered in the imperative mood: And tarry ye until the afternoon. So they did eat both of them. The imperative comfort thine heart is in the singular because only the man and the father-in-law are represented throughout as eating and drinking both of them together. The imperative tarry ye is in the plural because it applies to the wife as well as the man.

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

And even in the morning of the fifth day he suffered himself to be induced to remain till the afternoon. התמהמהוּ is an imperative, "Tarry till the day turns," i.e., till mid-day is past.

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.)