Judges 19:2

Judges 19:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth–lehem–judah, and was there four whole months.
• New International Version (NIV)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,
• English Standard Version (ESV)And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.

Context of Judges 19:2

1Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for a period of four months. 3Then her husband arose and went after her to speak tenderly to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4His father-in-law, the girl’s father, detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

Judges 19:2 word by word

וַתִּזְנֶ֤ה עָלָיו֙ פִּֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹ וַתֵּ֤לֶךְ מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֔יהָ אֶל־בֵּ֥ית לֶ֖חֶם יְהוּדָ֑ה וַתְּהִי־שָׁ֕ם יָמִ֖ים אַרְבָּעָ֥ה חֳדָשִֽׁים׃Read the interlinear

• But his concubineפִּלֶ֫גֶשׁpîylegesh pilegesh · concubineH6370
• playedזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• againstעַל‛al · uponH5921
• him, and she wentהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• away from him to her father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• in Bethlehemבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
• in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• and was thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• for a periodיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• monthsחֹ֫דֶשׁchôdesh · monthH2320

Cross-references for Judges 19:2

• Leviticus 21:9Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.
• Deuteronomy 22:21then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
• Ezekiel 16:28Moreover, you played the harlot with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you played the harlot with them and still were not satisfied.

Commentaries on Judges 19:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Played the whore - Neither the Vulgate, Septuagint, Targum, nor Josephus, understand this word as implying any act of conjugal infidelity on the woman's part. They merely state that the parties disagreed, and the woman returned to her father's house. Indeed all the circumstances of the case vindicate this view of the subject. If she had been a whore, or adulteress, it is not very likely that her husband would have gone after her to speak friendly…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Played the whore against him - Perhaps only meaning that she ran away from him, and left him, for she returned to her father‘s house.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-30This second epilogue (see study note on Judges 17:1–21:25) shifts the focus from individuals to entire tribes. It begins with the outrage in the Benjamite town of Gibeah (Judges 19), which led to a civil war (Judges 20) and the near destruction of Benjamin. It then moves to the attempt to save the tribe from disappearing (Judges 21). The book ends with the familiar refrain: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. his concubine ... went away from him unto her father's house--The cause of the separation assigned in our version rendered it unlawful for her husband to take her back (De 24:4); and according to the uniform style of sentiment and practice in the East, she would have been put to death, had she gone to her father's family. Other versions concur with Josephus, in representing the reason for the flight from her husband's house to be, that she was…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 19:2

• Adultery
• Friends

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Beat
• Diligent
• Gibeah
• Micah
• Wayfaring
• Wolf
• Bethlehem
• Israel, History of
• Judges, Book of

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