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Judges 21:20

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Judges 21:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
Judges 21:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Judges 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
18Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
21and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man [of them] his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.
23And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.
← Judges 21:19Judges 21:21 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, etc.] The two hundred men of the tribe that wanted wives; they ordered them as follows, and which they spake with authority, being the elders of the congregation, (<072116>Judges 21:16) saying, go and lie in wait in the vineyards; which might belong to Shiloh, or it may be to Lebonah, which perhaps is the same with Bethlaban, famous for its wine with the Misnic writers; who say f442 the second places for wine are Bethrimah and Bethlaban; and I suspect that Bethrimah is the same with Bethrimmon, near which was the rock Rimmon these men were in; now this being the time of year when the vintage was just over, the vines were full of branches and…”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The Kethibh ויצו in the singular may be explained on the ground that one of the elders spoke and gave the advice in the name of the others. חטף in Jdg 21:21 and Psa 10:9, to seize hold of, or carry off as prey = חתף. Judges 21:22”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification