EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Judges 19:1
1At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. There was a Levite who was living in the hill country of Ephraim, far away from any towns. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his slave wife.
Judges 19:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth–lehem–judah.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
Context of Judges 19:1
At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. There was a Levite who was living in the hill country of Ephraim, far away from any towns. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his slave wife. 2But she became angry with him. She left him and she returned to her father's house in Bethlehem. After she had been there four months, 3her husband went to find her. He wanted to ask her to return home with him. He took his servant and two donkeys with him. When he arrived, she took him into her father's house. Her father was happy to see him.
Read all of Judges 19Judges 19:1 word by word
וַיְהִי֙ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם וּמֶ֖לֶךְ אֵ֣ין בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיְהִ֣י׀ אִ֣ישׁ לֵוִ֗י גָּ֚ר בְּיַרְכְּתֵ֣י הַר־אֶפְרַ֔יִם וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לוֹ֙ אִשָּׁ֣ה פִילֶ֔גֶשׁ מִבֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And it came to pass in those daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- no kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- in Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- that there was a certainאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- Leviteלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
- sojourningגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481
- on the sideיַרְכָהyerêkâh · flankH3411
- of mountהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
- Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
- who tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- to him a concubineפִּלֶ֫גֶשׁpîylegesh pilegesh · concubineH6370
- to him a concubineאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- out of Beth–lehem–judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- out of Beth–lehem–judahבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
Cross-references for Judges 19:1
- Judges 17:6At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. Everyone did what they thought was right.
- Judges 18:1At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. The people of Dan's tribe were looking for some land where they could live. They had not yet taken the land that would be their home among Israel's tribes.
- Judges 21:25At that time, Israel had no king to rule over them. Everyone did what they thought was right.
- Judges 17:1There was a man who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Micah.
- Joshua 24:30The Israelites buried him in his own land that was at Timnah Serah. That was in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
- Genesis 22:24Nahor also had a slave wife. Her name was Reumah. She also gave birth to sons for Nahor. Their names were: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maakah.
- Genesis 25:6But while he was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of his slave wives. He sent these sons away to the land of the east. He wanted to keep them far away from Isaac.
- 2 Samuel 3:7Saul had had slave wife called Rizpah. She was Aiah's daughter. One day, Ish-Bosheth asked Abner, ‘Why did you sleep with my father's woman?’
- 2 Samuel 5:13After David moved to Jerusalem from Hebron, he married more wives. He also took more slave wives to live with him. They gave birth to more sons and daughters for David.
- 2 Samuel 16:22So they put up a tent for Absalom on the roof of the palace. There he had sex with his father's slave wives, and all the Israelites could see him.
- 2 Samuel 19:5Then Joab went to see the king in his room. He said to the king, ‘Today you have made your men feel ashamed. But the army has saved your life today. We have saved the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your slave wives.
- 2 Samuel 20:3David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. Then he took the ten slave wives that he had left there to take care of his palace. Now he made them live in their own house, with guards to keep them safe. He gave them everything that they needed, but he did not sleep with them. They lived there on their own. They lived like widows until they died.
- 1 Kings 11:3Solomon had 700 royal wives. He also had 300 slave wives. His wives caused him to turn away from the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 11:21Rehoboam loved Absalom's daughter Maakah better than he loved any of his other wives. He had 18 wives and 60 slave wives. He was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.
- Esther 2:14She would go to be with the king in the evening. She would stay with him during that night. In the morning, she went to a different part of the harem. That was where the king's slave wives lived. One of the king's eunuchs, Shaashgaz, took care of them there. After that, the young woman would only see the king again if he was pleased with her. Then he would ask for her by name.
- Daniel 5:3So his servants brought the gold and silver cups that had come from God's temple in Jerusalem. Then the king, his wives, his other women and all the important people drank wine from those cups.
Commentaries on Judges 19:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1There was no king in Israel - All sorts of disorders are attributed to the want of civil government; justice, right, truth, and humanity, had fallen in the streets. Took to him a concubine - We have already seen that the concubine was a sort of secondary wife; and that such connections were not disreputable, being according to the general custom of those times. The word פילגש pilegesh, concubine, is supposed by Mr. Parkhurst to be compounded of פלג palag…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1A concubine - See the margin. The name does not imply any moral reproach. A concubine was as much the man‘s wife as the woman so called, though she had not the same rights. See Judges 19:3-4.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The wickedness of the men of Gibeah. --The three remaining chapters of this book contain a very sad history of the wickedness of the men of Gibeah, in Benjamin. The righteous Lord permits sinners to execute just vengeance on one another, and if the scene here described is horrible, what will the discoveries of the day of judgment be! Let each of us consider how to escape from the wrath to come, how to mortify the sins of our own hearts, to resist Satan's…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1A concubine was a second-class wife. In societies where polygamy was common, people could buy a concubine, acquire one as debt repayment, or take one in war. Sometimes, a concubine was added to compensate for a deficiency in a legitimate wife (for example, Genesis 16:1–4; 30:3–13; 35:22). However, in the case of the Levite, there seems to have been no other wife.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-151. it came to pass in those days--The painfully interesting episode that follows, together with the intestine commotion the report of it produced throughout the country, belongs to the same early period of anarchy and prevailing disorder. a certain Levite ... took to him a concubine--The priests under the Mosaic law enjoyed the privilege of marrying as well as other classes of the people. It was no disreputable connection this Levite had formed; for a…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 19:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 19
- 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
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