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 keep your eyes open. When you see the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin. 22When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, for we could not get each one a wife through battle. Don’t worry about breaking your oath! You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” The Benjaminites did as instructed. They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. They went home to their own territory, rebuilt their cities, and settled down. 24Then the Israelites dispersed from there to their respective tribal and clan territories. Each went from there to his own property. 25In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
• did soעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• and tookנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: marryH5375
• wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• according to their numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
• of them that dancedחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: danceH2342
• whom they caughtגָּזַלgâzal · to plunderH1497
• and they wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• and returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• unto their inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159
• and repairedבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Judges 21:23

• Judges 20:48The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city 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