What is the meaning of Judges 21:8? So they asked “So they asked” (Judges 21:8) shows the elders pausing to assess obedience after swearing a solemn oath (Judges 21:1–2). • Accountability among God’s people is a recurring theme (Joshua 7:16–18; Acts 5:1–11). • Leadership seeks clarity before acting, reflecting Proverbs 15:22. • The inquiry underscores that vows to the LORD must be honored without delay (Deuteronomy 23:21). Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah? The question recalls the earlier decree: “Anyone who failed to assemble…shall surely be put to death” (Judges 21:5). • “Mizpah” had already been the rallying point for national crisis (Judges 20:1–3). • Coming “before the LORD” implies covenant accountability, not mere attendance (Psalm 50:5; 1 Samuel 10:17). • Their oath carries legal and spiritual weight, mirroring Israel’s prior covenant renewals (Joshua 24:25–27). And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. • The narrative identifies Jabesh-gilead as the lone absentee, triggering the judgment spelled out in Judges 21:10–11. • The absence reveals spiritual apathy and communal fracture (Judges 17:6). • Ironically, the virgins of Jabesh-gilead later provide wives for Benjamin (Judges 21:12–14), showing how God can weave mercy into human chaos (Romans 8:28). • Jabesh-gilead’s later gratitude to Saul (1 Samuel 11:1–11; 31:11–13) hints that God still pursues restoration even after discipline. summary Judges 21:8 captures a moment of national self-examination. The leaders honor their vow, investigate obedience, and discover Jabesh-gilead’s failure to appear. The verse underscores the seriousness of covenant commitments, the necessity of corporate accountability, and God’s sovereign ability to work through flawed human responses to preserve His purposes for Israel. |
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