Judges 21:23

Judges 21:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
• New International Version (NIV)So that is what the Benjamites did. While the young women were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them.

Context of Judges 21:23

21and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’” The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them. 24And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance. 25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:23 word by word

וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־כֵן֙ בְּנֵ֣י בִנְיָמִ֔ן וַיִּשְׂא֤וּ נָשִׁים֙ לְמִסְפָּרָ֔ם מִן־הַמְּחֹלְל֖וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר גָּזָ֑לוּ וַיֵּלְכ֗וּ וַיָּשׁ֙וּבוּ֙ אֶל־נַ֣חֲלָתָ֔ם וַיִּבְנוּ֙ אֶת־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים וַיֵּשְׁב֖וּ בָּהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• The Benjamitesבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• The Benjamitesבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• ·כֵּןkên · soH3651
• and carried awayנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: marryH5375
• the numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
• of womenאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• they needed fromמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• the dancersחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: danceH2342
• ·אֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• they caughtגָּזַלgâzal · to plunderH1497
• They wentהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• backשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• their own inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
• rebuiltבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• their citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and settledיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Judges 21:23

• Judges 20:48And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path.

Commentaries on Judges 21:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23They went and returned unto their inheritance - It appears that the Benjamites acted in the most honorable way by the women whom they had thus violently carried off; and we may rest assured they took them to an inheritance at least equal to their own, for it does not appear that any part of the lands of the Benjamites was alienated from them, and the six hundred men in question shared, for the present, the inheritance of many thousands.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Compare the very similar account of the rape of the Sabine women by the Romero youths at the festival of the Consualia, as related by Livy.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23The land given to them was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin by the Lord's agreement (Judges 2:6).Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 21:23

• Government
• Kidnapping
• Marriage
• Rashness

In the dictionaries

• Benjamin
• Benjamin, Benjaminite
• Dance
• JabeshGilead
• Spring
• Wolf
• Israel, History of
• Jabesh-Gilead
• Judges, Book of
• Judges, Period of

Commentaries on Judges 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary