JuecesCapítulo 21

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The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah: "None of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjaminite."

So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.

They said, "Why, LORD, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that today one tribe should be missing from Israel?"

Early the next morning the people built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

Then the Israelites asked, "Which of all the tribes of Israel failed to come up to the LORD with the assembly?" For they had bound themselves with a solemn oath that anyone who did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah should be put to death.

The Israelites grieved for their brother Benjamin and said, "Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.

What shall we do about wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"

Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah?" And it turned out that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly.

For when the people were counted, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there.

So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men there with these orders: "Go and put the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead to the sword, including the women and children.

This is what you are to do: devote to destruction every male, and every woman who has slept with a man."

Among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

Then the whole assembly sent word to the Benjaminites at the rock of Rimmon, offering them peace.

So the Benjaminites returned at that time, and they were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for them all.

The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.

And the elders of the assembly said, "What shall we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been wiped out?"

They said, "The survivors of Benjamin must have heirs, so that a tribe of Israel will not be blotted out.

Yet we cannot give them our own daughters as wives, for the Israelites have sworn: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.'"

Then they said, "Look, there is the yearly festival of the LORD at Shiloh, which lies north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah."

So they instructed the Benjaminites: "Go and hide in the vineyards

and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, rush from the vineyards, and each of you seize a wife from the young women of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

When their fathers or brothers come to us with a complaint, we will say to them, 'Be kind to us and let them keep these young women, since we did not capture a wife for each man in the war. And you are not guilty, for you yourselves did not give your daughters to them.'"

So that is what the Benjaminites did. They carried off as many wives as they needed from the dancers, and they went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt the towns, and settled in them.

At that time the Israelites left that place, each going to his own tribe and clan; each one set out for his own inheritance.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as he saw fit.

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Resumen2

Capítulo 21

Main Theme: The Israelites find wives for the surviving Benjamites to preserve the tribe, despite the oath they had sworn.

Content: After the civil war, the Israelites regret that Benjamin was nearly wiped out. They had sworn at Mizpah that no one would give their daughters to Benjamin. To resolve this, they attack Jabesh Gilead, which had not participated in the assembly, and take 400 virgins. When this is not enough, they allow the Benjamites to abduct women during the Lord's festival at Shiloh. The book concludes with these words: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Key Words/Images:

The Oath at Mizpah: The Israelites' oath not to give their daughters to Benjamin creates the dilemma that drives the narrative.
Jabesh Gilead: The city that failed to appear is punished, and its virgins are given to Benjamin.
The Lord's Festival at Shiloh: An annual feast where the Benjamites abduct women from the dancing.
No King in Israel: The book's closing refrain explaining the chaos and moral decay during the time of the judges.

Contexto histórico

Historical and Cultural Context for Judges 21

Places

Mizpah (הַמִּצְפָּה) serves as the gathering place for the tribes in this chapter. The site is likely located in the territory of Benjamin and was an important cultic and political center in pre-monarchic times. Archaeological excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh, often identified with Mizpah, have uncovered remains from the Iron Age that confirm the site's significance as a regional hub.

Jabesh-gilead (יָבֵשׁ גִּלְעָד) lay east of the Jordan River, in the Gilead region. The city clearly had close ties to the tribe of Benjamin, which is also reflected later in 1 Samuel 11 and 31. Its location is debated, but Tell el-Maqlub or Tell Abu Kharaz have been proposed as candidates.

Shiloh (שִׁלוֹ) is described in verse 19 with precise geographical details: north of Bethel, east of the main road from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah. Archaeological excavations at Khirbet Seilun have uncovered a large cult center from the Bronze and Iron Ages, with signs of destruction around 1050 BCE.

Events and Customs

The Oath in Mizpah (vv. 1, 7, 18) not to give daughters to Benjamin illustrates how binding collective oaths were in Israelite culture. Such oaths were sworn in God's name and could not be broken without serious consequences. The Hebrew word שְׁבוּעָה (shevu'ah) denotes an oath that binds the speaker under a curse if violated.

The Annual Festival at Shiloh (חַג־יְהוָה, v. 19), with dancing in the vineyards, reflects a harvest festival, likely the Feast of Tabernacles or a similar annual celebration. Ritual dances performed by young women were known in several ancient Near Eastern cultures. The Hebrew term מְחֹלוֹת (meholot) describes circle dancing or processional dance, often associated with religious celebration.

The Seizure of Wives (vv. 20–23) was not an accepted practice in Israel, but the chapter presents it as a legal solution: since the women were "taken" (גָּזָלוּ, gazalu – "seized") and not "given," the fathers technically did not break their oath. Similar stories of bride seizure appear in Roman tradition (the Sabine women) and other cultures, suggesting a broader cultural pattern.

Key Terms

פֶּרֶץ (perets, v. 15) – "breach" or "gap" – is used concerning the missing tribe. The word describes a rift in Israel's unity, as if the tribal confederation has received a wound that must be healed to preserve national integrity.

יְרֻשַּׁת פְּלֵיטָה (yerushat peletah, v. 17) – "the inheritance of the survivors" – expresses concern that Benjamin's tribal territory and inheritance rights should endure. The concept of נַחֲלָה (inheritance) was central to Israelite thought; the extinction of a tribe would create a permanent void in the promised land.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The detailed geographical description of Shiloh's location (v. 19) is remarkably precise and may suggest that the text was written when the site was less well known – possibly after its destruction around 1050 BCE. Archaeological findings at Khirbet Seilun confirm a significant cult site with large storage buildings capable of accommodating pilgrims during festivals. Pottery finds and remains of a possible temple complex support the picture of Shiloh as an important religious center before the temple in Jerusalem was built.

Personas3

Gilead1 Benjamin (Rachel's son)2 Jacob1

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Palabras clave8

Benjamin — One of the twelve tribes of Israel who was involved in the conflict described in Judges 21.
Gibeah — A city in the tribe of Benjamin where a terrible crime was committed, which led to a war between Benjamin and the other Israelite tribes.
Sons of Israel — A term for the people of Israel or the Israelite tribes.
Ed — An altar by the Jordan River where the Israelites gathered to discuss the situation with the tribe of Benjamin and swear loyalty to one another.
Lord — Another name for God, the almighty Creator in Jewish and Christian faith.
Jabesh-Gilead — A city east of the Jordan River that was attacked by the Israelites because it did not take part in the war against the tribe of Benjamin.
Daughters of Jabesh — Young women from Jabesh-Gilead who were captured by the Israelites and given as wives to the surviving men from the tribe of Benjamin.
Shiloh — A city in the land of Ephraim where an annual festival took place, and where the Benjaminites kidnapped some women to take them as wives.