WHY Is Judges 19 So MESSED UP?! [A Levite and His Concubine] 

Another note is that at verse 29 of Judges 19. It says he went home then cut her up. Meaning he returned to the hill country of Ephraim before he dismembered her. Don’t know why you tried to make it seem as if she might’ve been alive. But you know what you’re doing and you’ll pay

Thanks for the feedback. Here's a bit more context: The narrator simply says that she did not answer. Whether she was alive or dead is left unstated. This is independent of where she was taken to be cut up. This has been picked up by several commentators, including evangelical Barry G. Webb in his commentary on Judges (Webb, 2012, p. 469). The Levite states in the following chapter that she was dead, but he has already altered the account in two ways and so his words may not be trustworthy.

heh heh. i see why this might make a person atheist.

@@TabletsAndTemples The Levite did not alter the account. The mob wanted to kill him but instead took his concubine and ravished her in a way that caused her eventual death. Why bring in doubt for no good reason. Are you a naughty atheist?

@@roobaba5415 numerous scholars have pointed out the ways in which the Levite subtly alters the account. Sources are in the description. In addition there's also a whole peer reviewed article dedicated to the subject called "Why the Levite Lied?" By E. Tracy.

Glad it helped. Yeah pretty crazy story.

Sameee i was reading it but then i thought i didn't concentrate so came up for explanation and here is the answer.

Oh, you read it properly alright.

@@javiermontoya6849 yea loll

I DID THE EXACT SAME THING

Yea. No wonder the woman left her at first

@@jynxbron2620 🤣

The Bible says in John 3:16-36 that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life, the Bible also says in Romans 10:9 that those who declare with their mouth that Jesus Christ is their God, Lord, and Savior they shall be saved. Revelation 1:8 says that Jesus is the alpha and the omega. Luke and revelation is the ending times, and Jesus is returning back. So are you going to submit your life to him or no? Narrow is the path that leads to the gates of heaven, but only few people find it. The gates that is the path to destruction is where many people find it! Jesus loves you SO MUCH! That he died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead 3 days later to give us eternal life..’znz

Its prophetic, the daughter is the torah and the concubine is the gospel, the gospel is then divided and given to all faiths. The concubine was "unfaithful" in that its early translations are false. Its then taken by experts, mocked or mythologised and returned. So the spirit, seperates its parts, until the wise can assemble it in its true translation. "Speak Up".

The concubine The Bible say's was unfaithfull. It didn't say she was unfaithfull to the levite her partner with other men. She was unfaithfull just by running away to hide in her father's house. This is where the women in this case. Are so quick to judge the levite. As an male SOB. You have to read it in the context of the specific details of this particular situation. The concubine ranned away from her partner without any apparent reasons. That's where she was unfaithfull at him. That's the detail you have to focus on. Then to make this situation more clearer. The very own men of Israel didn't stone the man who was a levite. And didn't critize the man for cutting his concubine into pieces. But instead they said. Look at this thing. This has never happened before since the days the hebrew children came out of Egypt. Therefore take this particular situation and WHAT ? Take heed , and consider. The fact that the concubine ranned away to her father's House defrauding her partner's companionship of living with her in his and her House. She didn't respect her companionship with her partner. She ranned away in the likes of a young immature spoiled brat to hide in her father's house. To look for her father"s sympathy. That's is the unfaithfull act the concubine is guilty of. The cutting her in pieces is her own fault. She owns it all by herself. The levite went to see her to try to convince her to come back home. In a soft manner not angry or antagonizing. Which by the way. He had all the rights to be mad at her. But because the concubine first had spoken to convince her father when she reached his house to let her stay there for some bs reason. The father tried to calm the levite to try and relax his tensions from creating a homicide. That's why the father insisted on having him stay 3 Days one after the other. He knew her daughter had screwed up big time. But in the end. The end result for her running away from her agreement with her partner. Caused her to be violated by other men. To the point that the levite had to do what had to be done. Notice another detail. God Jehovah did not curse or brought judgement on this man levite. Consider that one other fact alsó.

That's not a bad theory. And in it's ambiguity it's the kind of thing the text invites the reader to imagine.

@@TabletsAndTemples sites.stedwards.edu/pangaea/judges-19-the-story-of-the-unnamed-woman/ "The story of the concubine in Judges 19 is an example of value lost in translation. The word concubine is often associated with sexually explicit relationships. However, in some cultures like my own, concubine can represent a lower status wife who has not received a bride price." He just wanted the money.. But what is most interesting he is riding a donkey and the murder is alot like Set's murder of Osiris by cutting up the body in to pieces, 12 for the Levite and 14 for Set, who is during the Late Period of Egypt depicted as a donkey or as having a donkey's head > “Nothing like this has been done or seen from the day the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Take note of it, and state what you propose to do.”

Wow. This is deep. I kniw people in situations like these.

But the problem was, she cheated on the man. I'm not confusing what the men did... But he didn't mention that part. Also, the man did not tell a lie.

@@maranatasdaministry6552 Women, especially concubines were considered mere possessions and her wanting out of the relationship means she was being unfaithful. The Samaritan doesn't get any consequences for throwing her to the mob or killing her, any more than if he killed a sheep he owned. The Bible has many such stories but has an army of preachers to defend it and spin them as parables.

For real...

The Bible says in John 3:16-36 that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life, the Bible also says in Romans 10:9 that those who declare with their mouth that Jesus Christ is their God, Lord, and Savior they shall be saved. Revelation 1:8 says that Jesus is the alpha and the omega. Luke and revelation is the ending times, and Jesus is returning back. So are you going to submit your life to him or no? Narrow is the path that leads to the gates of heaven, but only few people find it. The gates that is the path to destruction is where many people find it! Jesus loves you SO MUCH! That he died on the cross, and was resurrected from the dead 3 days later to give us eternal life..’znzn

@@poweroftruth9258 what Romans actually says If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised👈🏻 Him from the dead, you will be saved

@@poweroftruth9258 Jesus sits at right hand of GOD in heaven it’s important you know the importance of THE TWO ❤️

@@deuteronomy6411 amen brother

Totally, Judges is a tough book. But Biblical narrative doesn't endorse every action. Glad you were able to take something away. Thanks for watching Rebecca.

God’s word doesn’t pull punches. It shows the goodness of God but also the potential of unrestrained evil from the human heart.

Judges is basically God giving the people what they want… you want a earthly king to tell you what to do here you go… we know that God raises up kings and removes them as a blessing or a curse on the people. This is as relevant today as it was then. Remember nothing new under the sun! Those wicked people, still got em. I think the story details is a metaphor for the priesthood (Levi) or “Religion”, think Pharisees,Talmud etc… I’m thinking the daughter represents Israel. This is my take of course I could be way off

once i actually sat down and read it, i became an agnostic.

They are difficult to read. But I see them as stories that accurately reflect human behavior.

she should have stayed home.

@@Darkness-ie2yl maybe she felt unsafe there

Firstly Levite knows the God commandments given to israel if wife do illegal affair or sex with other man should be punishable or divorce. But what he did he again tried to get his wife to live with him. Pls read judges 19 th chapter from 1.

Yeah a lot of the stories in Judges are quite challenging. In part because the style of Hebrew writing means that the narrator rarely gives the reader a moral judgement like we're used to in modern novels. Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for watching and joining in the discussion.

The good king is supposed to be God, or Jesus. Kings were never an answer, but the kingdom of God is among his people when they accept him.

This is not a break down of the story... You should keep on reading, there's more to the story.

😂 God can sometimes reveal a very ironic side to history that it’s almost comical when you put the pieces together.

It seems that every evil thing that happens in the Bible can be traced back to violence, especially violence against women. Starting with Adam and Eve, Adam throws the blame on her when they both consented to sharing the fruit. Eve is warned by God that her husband (and perhaps, depending on your interpretation, all womankind after her) is going to suffer at the hands of male cruelty, violence, and control. Abraham assaults his own slave (Hagar) to use her as an incubator for the sterile wife, Sarah. He then tosses her out because of Sarah's jealousy and control issues. Esther is forced to submit to a ruthless king who has already oppressed her people and made his wife so miserable that the Queen Vashti leaves and takes other women with her to live independently, prompting the king to inspire more ruthless misogyny among his subjects. The story of the Levite and his influence over the death of his concubine and resulting civil war. King David assaulting Bathsheba. King David's son assaulting his own daughter, and his failure to protect or control any of his children, resulting in more wars. And it goes on

Thanks for your comments. I was watching this today and studying the word concubine. Your context made sense. I was also thinking about the fact that the Tabernacle was made with the outside court, the inner court and the holiest of holies. The outside court had no protection from the elements. And I believe this is where Jesus's comment saying there is the 30, 60 and 100 fold pictures somewhat in this story and understanding. There is the Christian who gives his heart to the Lord but never enters into a deep fellowship and this would be the 30 Christian. Then the inner court where the lamp, the showbread and the altar of incense represents the closer walk with God in prayer, reading the word of God and feasting at his table. The holiest of holies means you are completely willing to be obedient to whatever that Holy calling of God would require you. I think this is a picture of the bride of Christ. There is a teaching that whatever the parents taught the children normally adhere to. The teaching says that the third generation usually is lost from the grandparents teaching. I think this is also an example of the 30, 60 & 100 fold example. When David sinned against Uriah and took Bathsheba God's profit told David that what he had done in private would be exposed to the nation. When he left his throne to run from Absalom he left the concubines to attend to the palace. Absalom set a tent in plane sight for all to see that he was going into the concubines and become vile in his father's side by taking his property. We are told that there were 10 virgins and five werewives and five were foolish. They are all of the kingdom but five chose to keep that close relationship with the bridegroom in keeping the oil. They would not sell the oil to the five foolish because our walks are individual and we must keep our lamps burning by being close to the Word to hear the anointing of the Holy Spirit. To me this is a picture of those concubines that become compromised by a false Christ - the Antichrist. Jesus told the disciples not to be deceived because there would be many that came proclaiming that they were the Messiah. The story in Judges 19 appears to me to be a prototype of both the story of David's concubines being left to the villainous plans of Absalom and the five foolish virgins. It is like the outer court having no covering and these concubines did not get to go with David nor did the five foolish virgins. I am a novice in the Word of God but this is a picture of what I see. When Jesus was crucified those that cried out for His crucifixion said let His blood be up on us and our children's children. The Israeli Nation as a whole have been persecuted for 2400 to 2500 years. God's beautiful blessing to make them a nation again, something that had never happened before is sweet to my soul. Hamas is a picture of Hamon in the book of Esther. Both desire to eradicate Israel. God has allowed Israel now to take back what the enemy is stealing. Esther was a queen she is one of the five wise in the kingdom. Thank God there are still the people of God who will intercede for God's vindication of Israel. The concubine of Judges 19 is a terrible depiction of Israel leaving God and God having to leave Israel to their own fate. The wrath of God is not what we want for our lives. He is justified when we are out of sync of the blood of Jesus yet He has supplied mercy through the sacrifice of Jesus. He says now, whosoever will let him come.

​@@sherryming6000Everything was amazing of what you said until you say modern day Isreal is Biblical Isreal. Hamas = ancient Greece and pretty soon Islam will completely destroy lukewarm Persia (modern Christianity) in the west. I dont agree with Islam but modern day Jews who reject the Messiah need to repent and accept Jesus as lord

Glad it was helpful!

What explanation?? That a guy let's his girlfriend get gang raped and then chops her up into small parts??

@@andg_rodg_4_real710 *_Everyone did what was right in their own eyes_* This is the theme throughout Judges. Once a society gets to this level you’re doomed. This is why God kept letting Israel become enslaved and oppressed.

@@Dexion845 where does it say any of what u just said, in the bible?? We're allowed to interpret things however we want now??

Key things here… Levite… (Levi… priesthood) religion Daughter… as a concubine not wife is interesting-, played the harlot…might represent Israel; daughter of Zion… Father in law- Father God? Also when they were in town and the guy took them in the mob at night that whole bit sounded very much like Genesis story of the evacuation of Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah

@@benjamin_dixon His real name is yesuah

@@benjamin_dixon 😂 bro are you serious😂

How????🤢🤮

I remember when I read this for the first time, I was so outraged by it that I threw my bible. Which is saying a lot, I always treated the bible as sacred (I even always made sure I never laid it upside down, I treated it with full respect). But the injustices in it (and the way ppl either justified those injustices, or don't have an explanation for them, or what have you) were continually getting to me through the years, that by the time I read Judges 19, I actually threw my bible. You don't feel closure or justice from this story, b/c there isn't any. You're not alone. The things in the story "cannot" be justified, they are horrific, and they are Wrong. Period. I don't know what mortifies me more, this story, or how nonchalantly ppl talk about it.

The good king is supposed to be God, or Jesus. Kings were never an answer, but the kingdom of God is among his people when they accept him.

Glad you found it helpful Ruth! Thank you so much for watching and engaging with the content.

Good points!

😂 Lesson for me should’ve just divorced the cowardly man. He was quite frankly a no good narcissist that’s why she ran away from home

@@imari9997 Judges 19:2 says she committed adultery, which was a sin punishable by death in those days... so that's why she was given to the men. The man was no coward, else he would not have gone looking for her at her father's house.

@@colinpierre3441and by him knowing all this he still threw her out there to get raped. Not you using “adultty” as an excuse. If he cared so much about her committing “adultry” which is a sin then he should’ve cared so much to start praying about the situation before throwing her carelessly into the crowd. He was a selfish man and probably a narcissist, that’s why she most likely left him in the beginning. Plus men were also supposed to protect their wives and children back then so why he couldn’t sacrifice himself?

@@keepingupwtae1127 "he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37), same goes for a man's wife. Men would protect their family as long their family was obedient to God... what his wife did was break a clearly defined law and she was fortunate not to die sooner. There was a even a law that a son could be killed if he was disobedient to his parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Truth be told, if the world was like this now it would be peaceful out of fear. These things can be avoided if we love God, put him first in our lives and remember that he created us.

@@colinpierre3441 Matthew 10:37 does not apply to the situation AT ALL. I can’t believe you are defending him.😧 Nowhere in Judges was the Levite instructed by GOD himself to sacrifice his concubine. I think that was the point of Judges. People acting without God’s guidance but acting based on what they think is right and not by what the Lord thinks. It was clear in Judges that these people had no king , no leader , no guide so their hearts were far from God. Quite scary of you to compare that. Please don’t compare this to an Abraham and Issac situation! Also the man LIED about the entire situation in the next segment… may I add he also broke the 6th commandment along with many others from Judges! These people lived during a time without a God Given leader and ruler, that said enough. ” In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.“ ‭‭(Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭18‬ NLT) ‬‬

So good, that's exactly why I made it! Thanks so much for watching.

This was a very immoral time in Israel. There was also another story in the Bible where some pagan thought God (Yahweh) was some other false god and promised to sacrifice the first person he saw with it as thanks to what God did for him (as if God would accept something so horrible). He then sacrificed her own daughter. 😡 *_Everyone does what is right in their own eyes_* Once society gets to this level we’re doomed.

That's actually the subject of our next video. Out late August

Thank you kindly. That is the aim that these videos suitably explain these tough topics in a way that is easy to understand.

God bless. 😂 😂 😂 Did you even listen to the video.

You're not supposed to tell this gory story to 5 year olds. 😅 Wait till your child is around 13 so he or she can process it better. You can get your child started on simple stories like that of Jonah, Moses, Jesus, etc.

@@sambee4927I read this story when I was seven

That makes ALOT of sense thanks for the explanation I'm just so confused at it 😐

The good king is supposed to be God, or Jesus. Kings were never an answer, but the kingdom of God is among his people when they accept him.

God bless the SDA church

Apparently all women were disposable, even daughters

The good king is supposed to be God, or Jesus. Kings were never an answer, but the kingdom of God is among his people when they accept him.

Yes you are correct, that aspect is very disturbing. But that's kind of the point. A lot of the stories in Judges highlight how absurd and self-serving people can be when there was no king in Israel.

😂

Same!

Me too.

@@linfordmuliro5504 there's more after that.. There's this one story in Samuel also.. Yikes..

Thanks for watching! The Hebrew uses the possessive "his concubine," so the man in question was definately the Levite.

@@TabletsAndTemples Gotcha. That makes sense. Thanks!

Great question. The Lord was also with Joseph in Potiphars house and gave him success, but it didn't prevent him from being thrown in prison. From a narrative perspective it's a way of indicating that God is with the character through the successes and failures.

Thanks friend! I've definitely keep it up while I can! Thanks for your support.

True true

Interesting isn't it!

I'm so glad! Great to have you on board!

Why did Lot in Genesis 19:7-8 offer his daughters to be violated instead of protecting them when some people wanted to violate the angels? Isn't he supposed to be a moral person? He acts like his daughters are mere disposable items and not living individuals

Weird, im a devout anti-theist and i didnt happen to rape or cut women in half. Actually i even prevented a christian from abusing a woman because she was not "modest". But sure, "without god, there is no morality" 👍🏻

​@@daksfax8419God says even preachers and those who calls him Lord will be shunned away on the day of judgement. God sees the heart, not the label.

yeah i don't know how he missed that and I dont think it was a innocent accident. All this dudes videos have the same angle thats suspect though dont you think? Like look at these titles? Click baity sure but the whole premise it seems is to poke holes and turn people off to the bible under the cover of being pro bible. Im not buying it.

It's a good question. The book of judges is pretty much non stop messed up stories. Some scholars see it as ancient political literature used to justify Israel having a monarch, something like "look how bad society would be if we didn't have a king." I personally think many of the stories in Judges would have served as warnings, examples to be avoided, kind of like how those disturbing brothers Grimm tales were used in Germany.

Thanks for watching!

hmmm, what translation are you using? I checked an Orthodox Study Bible and it definitely says the men abused her.

I appreciate you taking the time to watch

Glad you enjoy it! Yeah it's certainly a tough story to read.

Thanks for watching and some good thoughts!

Stop that foolishness, this is proof the Bible is foolishness.

@@0397rb This is proof that we need to listen to the Bible because it speaks of what can go terribly wrong as in the book of Judges where relativism has led to abomination and the most abject violence. Relativism as in today's world where there is no truth, but your truth is as good as my truth: "in those days there was no king in Israel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes."

@@bhocatbho we don't need any Bible, it's full or errors, copied stories and false prophecies. Everything in the Bible existed 1000+ years before any Israel.. There is no proof of any king of Israel.. Also look through any time period and any place on Earth people will always do what they want to do. Good or bad.. No bible or gods needed, no do any gods or Bible give anyone morals or makes them do good

You're right, we didn't mean to imply that with our phrasing but I can see how it reads that way. We've edited out a small section of the video on RU-vid that should take away that implication (it will switch over in a few hours).

My personal opinion is that the book of Judges is full of deliberately disturbing stories designed to shock the audience. The narrative that follows describes war with the tribe that enabled the crime. It was probably intended to shock the recipients into anger.

i see your point. thank you very much.

He did it to make a statement. Israel had abandoned God, even after deliverers and judges were risen up to guide them back to Him, after they grew old and died, they fell back into their old ways and went whoring after other god's. It got to the point where God completely turns his face against them that they are now left to themselves. Judges reminds us many times, "there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes." We can apply this story to our lives today, without God, our world will crumble. This is why we must repent and turn from our sinful ways and stick with Christ!

Thanks for watching and for the feedback. Welcome to the channel

Yes you raise a good point. My surface level answer would be that it depends on which part of the Bible. Historically it's clear that some books (or even parts of books due to redactions) are more pro-monarchy than others. It does seem like there are pro-monarchy elements in Judges (even if not throughout the whole book) whereas those parts of Samuel tone that down.

@@TabletsAndTemples Interesting I think you probably know it better than I do. I suspect the pro monarchy versus are actually trying to point to the King of kings

the dominant narrative in the bible is pro-monarchy (even samuel's complaint is undercut by the fact that he was basically the ruler of israel and was trying to pass power down to his corrupt sons). but yes, there are a few anti-monarchy voices. and realistically, civil wars happen under monarchs all the time.

Was it a human king or the more deeper one which would be King Jesus!

You have an amazing user name.

@@TabletsAndTemples thanks 😅

🤢🤮

Glad you liked it!

I mean, he had lied about them wanting to kill him, and that they "took her", so it could be that he was lying about her already being dead.

Thanks mate! I know you've been watching since the beginning. Would love to know what you think.

@@TabletsAndTemples oh it was a great video and amazingly well edited as always... It's a very interesting story, kind of horrifying really. But you did a great job of explaining its purpose, which I never would have been able to figure out... That's something I love about the bible. There's so many layers, there's wisdom for almost any situation/hardship/struggle... It can just be difficult to understand the the messages sometimes. So, your videos are a great way to learn.

@@Jason-fp7vi yeah it is an often overlooked passage. And you're right there are so many layers of meaning. Thanks for your support as always!

You're most welcome

Pretty crazy huh

Did you drop your Bible and wake up and read more of these foolish stories

Haha. Who suggested that???

It was a macabre way of making a point, sending a message. And it worked, it shocked the tribes into a civil conflict.

It certainly is not a popular Bible story. Glad you found it helpful.

Crazy part is...those were his daughters. 🥴