What is the meaning of Judges 21:12? So The word “So” ties this verse to the crisis that began in Judges 19–21: Israel’s civil war against Benjamin and the oath that no one would give his daughter to a Benjamite (Judges 21:1, 5). • It signals a solution in motion after Israel wept before the LORD (Judges 21:2). • Similar transitions appear when God provides an answer to national distress (Judges 6:36-40; 1 Samuel 7:8-10). they found Israel actively searched for a loophole that would preserve the tribe of Benjamin without breaking their oath. • The verb underscores deliberate effort, much like the scouts who “searched out the land” (Numbers 13:2). • It illustrates human initiative under God’s sovereignty, echoing Proverbs 16:9—“A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps”. among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead Jabesh-gilead, east of the Jordan, had failed to assemble with Israel at Mizpah (Judges 21:8-9). • Their absence made them liable to judgment (Deuteronomy 13:12-15). • Later, Saul’s deliverance of Jabesh-gilead (1 Samuel 11:1-11) repays their loyalty to Benjamin, revealing long-term interconnectedness among the tribes. four hundred young women The specific number matches the remaining Benjamite men who needed wives (Judges 20:47). • Scripture often notes exact counts in covenant matters—e.g., Gideon’s 300 (Judges 7:7) or David’s 400 (1 Samuel 25:13)—showing God’s precise provision. • Youth emphasized suitability for marriage and future fruitfulness (Psalm 128:3). who had not had relations with a man Virginity ensured the marriages would not violate Israel’s oath about “any wife” previously pledged to another tribe. • God required virgins for certain sacred purposes (Leviticus 21:13-14). • Deuteronomy 22:13-21 ties sexual purity to covenant faithfulness, reinforcing why this criterion mattered. and they brought them The women are transported under Israelite authority, paralleling how Rebekah was “taken” to Isaac (Genesis 24:61-67). • Movement toward a new household reflects covenant adoption themes (Ruth 1:16-17). • Though the method is troubling, God’s larger plan to preserve Benjamin advances (Judges 21:17). to the camp at Shiloh Shiloh housed the tabernacle (Joshua 18:1), so bringing the women there framed the act before God’s presence. • Worship and national decisions intertwined at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3; 4:3-4). • The location underlines Israel’s conviction that even drastic measures must pass under divine oversight. in the land of Canaan The closing phrase roots the event in the promised land, reminding readers of God’s fulfilled promise to Abraham (Genesis 17:8). • It contrasts covenant blessing with the moral chaos “when there was no king in Israel” (Judges 21:25). • The repetition of “Canaan” throughout Joshua–Judges signals both possession and responsibility (Joshua 14:1; Judges 3:1). summary Judges 21:12 records Israel’s attempt to preserve Benjamin while honoring an oath. By seizing 400 virgin women from Jabesh-gilead and bringing them to Shiloh, Israel acts decisively—yet imperfectly—within God’s sovereign plan. Each phrase spotlights God’s precise provision, the gravity of covenant commitments, and the tension between human solutions and divine standards in the era “when everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). |
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