seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Judges 19:1 In those days Israel had no king.
Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents’ home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the woman’s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.” 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!” So the two of them ate together.
9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the woman’s father, said, “Now look, it’s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.” 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents’ home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the woman’s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.
5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the woman’s father said, “Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself.” 7 And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night. 8 On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the woman’s father said, “Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!” So the two of them ate together.
9 Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the woman’s father, said, “Now look, it’s almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home.” 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
This is from the easy English site.
The man from Levi’s tribe lived where Ephraim’s tribe was. He lived in an area that was a long distance away from the main places. The man’s concubine had left him and she had gone back to Bethlehem. We do not know why she left. Perhaps she wanted to be with someone else. Or perhaps she was very angry. It is more likely that she was angry. The man went to Bethlehem. He tried to persuade her to come home to him. He would not refuse to accept her. Also, her father welcomed him. This seems to show that nothing bad had happened. Her father was glad that the man from Levi’s tribe had come. Otherwise, the father would have suffered shame because his daughter had left her husband. When people in the east entertained their guests, they made things difficult for them. The man could not leave until the afternoon of the 5th day. Some people in that area had travelled round from place to place. They had lived in tents. But now they had come to live in towns there. They had still kept their language. In verse 9 in the original text, the writer used their language. In our text, we read ‘The day is almost over’. That is what the sentence means to us. But in the original text, the writer actually wrote this. ‘It is time to put up a tent.’ In our text, we have the word ‘home’. But in the original text, it is actually the word for ‘tent’.
Please BEWARE.... Apparently the Book of Judges is going to get horrible. Something horrible is going to happen to the Levite's Concubine.
This warning comes from the Enduring Word site.
There was no king in Israel: This set the stage for the terrible story in the following chapters. No king in Israel meant more than the absence of a political monarch; it also meant that they refused to recognize God’s leadership over them.
What unfolds in the rest of this chapter is so distasteful that the commentator F.B. Meyer recommended not reading it. Commenting on this first verse, he wrote: “It will be sufficient to ponder these words, which occur four times in the book, without reading further in this terrible chapter, which shows the depths of the depravity to which may sink apart from the grace of God.”
So.... Since it seems that the concubine is important in this story.....what is a concubine?
This is from the same site.
The Levite’s concubine was recognized as his legal partner, but she did not have the same status in the home or in society as a wife.
In this sense a concubine was a legal mistress. Many prominent men in the Old Testament had concubines. Examples include Abraham (Genesis 25:6), Jacob (Genesis 35:22), Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:46), Saul (2 Samuel 3:7), David (2 Samuel 5:13), Solomon (1 Kings 11:3 – 300 concubines), and Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:21). Significantly, we never see this kind of family life blessed by God.
The New Testament makes it clear that from the beginning God’s plan was one man and one woman to be one flesh forever (Matthew 19:4-6), and each man is to be a “one-woman man” (1 Timothy 3:2)
The New Testament makes it clear that from the beginning God’s plan was one man and one woman to be one flesh forever (Matthew 19:4-6), and each man is to be a “one-woman man” (1 Timothy 3:2)
So... women in the Old Testament were responsible for having babies, raising babies, and doing the chores. That's the way it was.
I figure this concubine's father was a real creep. He kept wanting this man to stay in their home, even though his daughter was clearly not "good enough" to be a wife.... she was his whore.... and whores were good baby makers and they could help out in the kitchen.
The commentaries say the couple must have had an argument.... and the man cared for her because he went to get her.... and stayed so long to appease the father.... but wouldn't this man have done the same if his pride horse got loose?
