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 Living Translation (NLT)So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.

Context of Judges 21:23

21and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. 22Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ” 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. 24So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his 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

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 20:48And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.

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
• 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