The Levite and his concubine turn aside to Gibeah of Benjamin; the men of the city commit their outrage in the night; and the twelve pieces are sent through all the borders of Israel — 'consider it, take counsel, and speak.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem in Judah.
verse value 4101
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "sojourner" (גָּ֚ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "hill·Ephraim" (הַר־אֶפְרַ֔יִם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: and·it·was, and·it·was. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·king" (וּמֶ֖לֶךְ), "sojourner" (גָּ֚ר), "in·the·innermost·parts·of" (בְּיַרְכְּתֵ֣י). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "in·Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 12 words.
Ralbag
And it further relates that in those days when there was no king in Israel who would rebuke the sinners, there was a Levite man dwelling in the far hills of Ephraim, and he took for himself a concubine from Beit Lechem Yehudah. And his concubine played the harlot against him. Meaning, that she deviated from him and returned to her father's house to flee from him. And this was this harlotry, for the deviation, however it is, is called harlotry. It says, 'harlotry, and wine, and new wine take away the heart' [Hosea 4:11]. And we were compelled to interpret the matter in this manner. For if she had played the harlot against him to lie with a man other than her husband, she would have been forbidden to her husband, and it would not have been fitting for him to return to seek her again. But the matter of her harlotry is explained in what he says, 'and she went from him to her father's house,' where she stood a long time, as it explains that she stood there a year and four months. And this is from what indicates that she did not desire to return to him anymore. And indeed our Masters of blessed memory interpreted this harlotry to a matter close to what we interpreted.
Metzudat David
And there was no king in Israel. For if there had been a king, what happened would not have happened, for the king would have punished the sinners, and thus the Israelites would not have fought one another, as is related and written in Seder Olam (Chapter 12), that even this occurred in the days of Cushan-Rishathaim, before Othniel arose.
Metzudat Zion
At the rear of. At the end, as in (Exodus 26:22) 'and for the rear [ul'yarktei] of the Tabernacle':
A concubine. A woman without a ketubah [marriage contract] and without kiddushin [betrothal]:
Malbim
"And it came to pass in those days, that there was no king in Israel." And the cause of this incident as well was the fact that there was no king to eradicate the sinners and to execute justice, for then the people were not like a devouring fire and a sword, with man against his brother.
Cross-references: Genesis 19:1; Judges 17:6; Judges 18:1; II Samuel 5:13; II Chronicles 11:21
And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Beth-lehem in Judah, and was there the space of four months.
verse value 4429
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "her·father" (אָבִ֔יהָ) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "bread" (לֶ֖חֶם, 3 letters) and the longest is "his·concubine" (פִּֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 443: to·house·of, to·Beth. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·commited·fornication" (וַתִּזְנֶ֤ה), "from·him" (מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙), "and·she·was·there" (וַתְּהִי־שָׁ֕ם). The root איל appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·was·there" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "to·house·of" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·she·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתִּזְנֶ֤ה [and·commited·fornication] (468) + עָלָיו֙ [upon·him] (116) + פִּֽילַגְשׁ֔וֹ [his·concubine] (429) + וַתֵּ֤לֶךְ [and·she·went] (456) + מֵֽאִתּוֹ֙ [from·him] (447) + אֶל־בֵּ֣ית [to·house·of] (443) + אָבִ֔יהָ [her·father] (18) + אֶל־בֵּ֥ית [to·Beth] (443) + לֶ֖חֶם [bread] (78) + יְהוּדָ֑ה [Judah] (30) + וַתְּהִי־שָׁ֕ם [and·she·was·there] (761) + יָמִ֖ים [days] (100) + אַרְבָּעָ֥ה [four] (278) + חֳדָשִֽׁים [months] (362) = 4429.
Rashi
"And his concubine played the harlot against him." She went out from his house to the outside. Every expression of "harlotry" is nothing but the expression of "going out" (Targum Onkelos, Genesis 34:31): "She went out into the street," meaning she went out from her husband to love others.
Radak
“and she played the harlot.” The Targum renders this as “vivsarat” [and she despised/rebelled against him], and the Targum likewise renders “he despised the word of the LORD” with this same word “basar” — meaning that she despised him and left his house and went to her father’s house. Alternatively, its meaning may be harlotry in its literal sense, for although she was his wife, she was without a ketubah and without kiddushin, and she was unfaithful to him. And the phrase “upon him” means “in his presence,” indicating that she did not regard him and did not hide from him in acting promiscuously. Or, the phrase “upon him” means “with him,” while she was still with him, similar to the expression “the men came upon the women,” where “upon” is equivalent to “with.” And the phrase “and she went away from him” means that her husband became angry with her, and she went to her father’s house.
"Days—four months." The conjunctive vav is missing [between the words], as with "sun, moon" [Habakkuk 3:11, also missing the vav]. And the meaning of "days" is "a year," or alternatively, "four months" explains what "days" means. And so did Jonathan (Targum) render it: "days, four months."
Metzudat David
"And she played the harlot against him." She departed from him, and went to her father's house.
Metzudat Zion
And she played the harlot. Its sense is removal, as in (Ezekiel 23:43) 'now her harlotries shall be removed':
Upon him. Away from him:
Days. A year, as in (Leviticus 25:29) 'for a year shall its redemption be':
Four. Like 'and four':
Malbim
"And she played the harlot with him." One might have expected it to say, "And she played the harlot away from him," for the word "with him" (alav) when used in the context of harlotry refers to the adulterer with whom one commits adultery, as in "[And you played the harlot with] the sons of Egypt" (Ezekiel 16:26). This indicates the view of our Sages of blessed memory (Gittin 6b) that she did not actually commit harlotry, but merely did something against his will. "And she went away from him." Not to go out to the fornicators, but rather to her father's house.
And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her back, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses; and she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
verse value 5258
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "her·father" (אָבִ֔יהָ) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "with" (עִמּ֖וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·she·brought·him" (וַתְּבִיאֵ֙הוּ֙, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "after·her" (אַחֲרֶ֗יהָ), "upon·inner man" (עַל־לִבָּהּ֙), "to·bring·her·back" ((להשיבו)). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "her·husband" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "and·she·brought·him" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). First appearance of the root נערה ("girl") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on '(he) ass', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Radak
"To bring him back" [ketiv]. So it is written; and it is read as "to bring her back"; and the verse's meaning is explained: to bring him back to her, and she will return to him.
“And she brought him to her father’s house.” She found him on the way, and she brought him into her father’s house.
Ralbag
And when this man saw this, he went after her to speak upon her heart to return her, for he thought that she departed from him on account of the quarrels that she quarreled in his house. And for this reason he needed to appease her, and in this manner he went to return her. And the father of the girl saw him and was glad to meet him. And it seems that this Levite man was very honored, and for this reason the girl's father strove to honor him greatly, and he showed greatly that his departure was already hard upon him, until he already delayed them there until the fifth day. And he wished to delay them until the sixth day, but he could not.
Metzudat David
"To speak to her heart" – good words that are acceptable to the heart, to bring her back to him.
"A pair of donkeys." One for himself, and one for his concubine, upon returning to his house.
"And she brought him in." She, his concubine, saw him outside and brought him into her father's house.
"Towards him." This means: at the time of his going out to meet him.
Metzudat Zion
And a yoke. A pair, so too (Job 1:3) 'a yoke of cattle':
Malbim
"And her husband arose." This too testifies that she had not committed harlotry, for the text calls him "her husband"; for had she committed harlotry, she would have been forbidden to him according to the opinion that states that a concubine is established through kiddushin (betrothal). "And the father of the girl saw…" and "his father-in-law held him fast." The names were employed in accordance with the context: he rejoiced in him in his capacity as the girl's father, desiring that she not remain bound and left an agunah (a woman whose husband is missing or unable to grant a divorce), and he held him fast in his capacity as his father-in-law.
And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart; and the damsel’s father said to his son-in-law: ‘Stay your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.’
verse value 4228
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֨י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֨י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·rose·early" (וַיַּשְׁכִּ֥ימוּ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "fourth" (הָרְבִיעִ֔י), "to·his·son-in-law" (אֶל־חֲתָנ֗וֹ), "support" (סְעָ֧ד). The root הלך appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "to·his·son-in-law" (root איל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·go', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Radak
"Support your heart [with] a piece of bread." [The phrase] "a piece of bread" is not according to the normal rule. But [in] "support, please, your heart" [19:8], [the word] is vocalized with a qamats that is [really] a chataf, because it is joined by a maqaf.
Metzudat David
“Support your heart.” So that the heart should not grow faint, support it by eating bread.
Metzudat Zion
Eat. The sense of leaning, and after this eating is called a 'meal [seudah],' for one who eats leans and supports the heart from its weakness, as it is written (Psalms 104:15) 'and bread strengthens [yisa'ed] the heart of man':
A piece. The sense of a slice, as in (Leviticus 2:6) 'break them into pieces [patim]':
Malbim
"And they rose early in the morning, etc., and they drank, etc." The meaning is that on the first day it was still morning; however, they drank, and he said that he would lodge because he had drunk, and the journey confuses those who drink wine. And on the following day, he was careful not to drink, but rather the eating extended until the decline of the day.
So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together; and the damsel’s father said to the man: ‘Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry.’
verse value 2777
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 62 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֤י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֤י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·ate" (וַיֹּאכְל֧וּ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "be·content·now" (הוֹאֶל־נָ֥א), "and·lodge" (וְלִ֖ין). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "to·the·man" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·they·sat" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·they·drank', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּשְׁב֗וּ [and·they·sat] (324) + וַיֹּאכְל֧וּ [and·ate] (73) + שְׁנֵיהֶ֛ם [two] (405) + יַחְדָּ֖ו [together] (28) + וַיִּשְׁתּ֑וּ [and·they·drank] (722) + וַיֹּ֜אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲבִ֤י [father·of] (13) + הַֽנַּעֲרָה֙ [girl] (330) + אֶל־הָאִ֔ישׁ [to·the·man] (347) + הוֹאֶל־נָ֥א [be·content·now] (93) + וְלִ֖ין [and·lodge] (96) + וְיִיטַ֥ב [and·may·it·be·good] (37) + לִבֶּֽךָ [your·heart] (52) = 2777.
Rashi
“Please stay the night here.” The word “the night” (halaylah):
Metzudat David
"Please be willing, and spend the night here."
"And it shall be well with your heart." Through eating and drinking, and through the gladness of the heart.
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel’s father said: ‘Stay your heart, I pray you, and tarry you until the day declines’; and they did eat, both of them.
verse value 4015
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 74 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·tarry" (וְהִֽתְמַהְמְה֖וּ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "the·fifth" (הַחֲמִישִׁי֮), "sustain·now" (סְעׇד־נָא֙), "and·tarry" (וְהִֽתְמַהְמְה֖וּ). The root יום appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "to·go" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "in·the·day" (root יום, 76x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'day', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 2 words.
Radak
"The declining of the day." The sun inclines toward the west, for the day is called [by] the time the sun is upon the earth.
Metzudat David
And they delayed. They lingered until the sun inclined toward the west.
Metzudat Zion
And tarry. The sense of hindrance and delay, as in (above 3:26) 'while they delayed':
The day. The sun is called 'day,' as in (Genesis 3:8) 'the wind of the day,' because while the sun is upon the earth, it is day:
And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel’s father, said to him: ‘Behold, now the day draws toward evening; tarry, I pray you, all night; behold, the day grows to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.’
verse value 6514
Insights
Verse structure: 29 words, 120 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֣וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֣וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·concubine" (וּפִילַגְשׁ֖וֹ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 464: his·father-in-law, declining. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "has·waned" (רָפָ֨ה), "toward·evening" (לַעֲר֗וֹב), "lodge·now" (לִֽינוּ־נָ֞א). The root הלך appears 2 times in this verse. 23 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·go" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·his·servant', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 23 words.
Rashi
"It waned." The sun weakened from its strength and inclined toward evening:
Behold, it is time to rest today. The time when all travelers incline to lodge in a house:
Radak
“Rafah hayom la’erev” – the weakening of the sun occurs at the time of evening. Its heat, its light, its might, and its strength are at their peak at midday, as it says regarding its might at midday. This is what is meant by “And those who love Him shall be like the sun when it comes forth in its might,” namely, like the sun from its rising until the time that it is in its might, which is midday, for until then the light continues to grow stronger. Likewise, from midday until evening, it continues to grow weak.
"Behold, the day's decline." The night is the resting-place of the day, because during the day a person goes here and there, and at night he rests; or the meaning is "the resting of the sun," for in the evening it appears to a person that the sun rests, even though it is moving and circling — since it disappears from human view, it seems as though it has ceased its motion. And Targum [Yonatan] renders it: "Lodge here now, for this day [is almost spent]."
Ralbag
And the Levite man arose to go with his concubine, although the day was already waning toward evening.
Metzudat David
"The day is waning toward evening." For before midday, the sun grows stronger and stronger, and after midday, it grows weaker and weaker; and therefore it says, "Behold, the sun is weakening and standing to set."
"Behold, we shall camp today." For he reckoned to himself that he would not come to his home that day, and against his will he would have to camp and lodge in a place that was not his own. Therefore he said, "Behold, we shall camp today," meaning: Since the camping is inevitable today, is it not better to camp and lodge here, so that your heart may be comforted, rather than in some other place?
"And you shall set out early." But when you depart early in the morning, you shall arrive at your tent that same day, and you shall not spend the night on the way.
Metzudat Zion
It has weakened [waned]. From the word for weakness/slackness:
Toward evening. From the word for evening, meaning: to set:
Malbim
"See, now, the day has waned." The Mahariya explains that he said to him: 1) "See, the day has waned, and it is time to lodge." 2) Since, without this, you will not reach your home anyway and will be forced to lodge on the way, instead of lodging elsewhere today, make your encampment here, and tomorrow you will rise early and reach your tent in one day, and you will not need to lodge on the way.
But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus—the same is Jerusalem; and there were with him a couple of asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.
verse value 3027
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "she" (הִ֖יא, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·his·concubine" (וּפִילַגְשׁ֖וֹ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 116: to·lodge, with. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·not·was·willing" (וְלֹֽא־אָבָ֤ה), "until·opposite" (עַד־נֹ֣כַח), "Jebus" (יְב֔וּס). The root עם appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "and·came" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Radak
"Saddled." The term "saddled" is used to inform us that they were laden with bread, wine, and fodder; and by "saddled donkeys" it means that a person may either load them or ride upon them.
Ralbag
And they came until opposite Yevus, and it is Yerushalayim. And the day was very far gone. Meaning, that there remained of it only a little, for the sun descended from the horizon. And since the day is renewed from the sun, it is said that the day descended very much when the sun descended. And the Levite man did not wish to turn aside there, for the Jebusite was dwelling there at that time. And for this reason he said, 'we will not turn aside to a foreign city, which is not of the sons of Israel.' And this is proof that the sons of Yehudah had not yet conquered Yerushalayim, and it was not conquered also in the days of Joshua. And although Joshua already struck the king of Yerushalayim, we do not find that he conquered the city, until the tribe of Yehudah came after him and fought in Yerushalayim and captured it, as is mentioned at the beginning of this book. And indeed this matter of the concubine was before the tribe of Yehudah fought in Yerushalayim. And for this too it will be clarified that after the death of Joshua these narratives were, as we mentioned. But they were written in this place for the cause that we explained.
Metzudat David
Jebus is Jerusalem. There was a district in Jerusalem called "Jebus" (Joshua 15:63), and David captured it (I Chronicles 11:4-6):
Metzudat Zion
Was willing. He desired:
Over against. Opposite:
Saddled. The sense of tying the animal with its girdle, as in (ibid. 22:3) 'and he saddled his donkey':
Malbim
The questions (10): What he stated, “with him were a pair of donkeys and his concubine,” is superfluous, since it was already said in verse 3, “and his servant was with him, and a pair of donkeys.” And why did he not mention the servant here?
"And with him." This was stated to explain why he did not spend the night in the field, because he had with him a pair of donkeys laden with all kinds of good things, and he feared robbers. [2] And because of his concubine, for a woman is of a delicate constitution to spend the night in the field. And likewise, for these two reasons he did not turn aside to a foreign city: because of the robbers, and because of the violation of his concubine.
When they were by Jebus—the day was far spent—the servant said to his master: ‘Come, I pray you, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.’
verse value 2636
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "abundance" (הֵ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·excitement·Jebusite" (אֶל־עִֽיר־הַיְבוּסִ֥י, 11 letters). Words sharing gematria 45: abundance, very. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "with·Jebus" (עִם־יְב֔וּס), "and·the·day" (וְהַיּ֖וֹם), "to·his·master" (אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֗יו). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "to·excitement·Jebusite" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "come·now" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: הֵ֣ם [abundance] (45) + עִם־יְב֔וּס [with·Jebus] (188) + וְהַיּ֖וֹם [and·the·day] (67) + רַ֣ד [went·down] (204) + מְאֹ֑ד [very] (45) + וַיֹּ֨אמֶר [and·said] (257) + הַנַּ֜עַר [the·boy] (325) + אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֗יו [to·his·master] (102) + לְכָה־נָּ֛א [come·now] (106) + וְנָס֛וּרָה [and·let·us·turn·aside] (327) + אֶל־עִֽיר־הַיְבוּסִ֥י [to·excitement·Jebusite] (404) + הַזֹּ֖את [this] (413) + וְנָלִ֥ין [and·we·will·lodge] (146) + בָּֽהּ [in·it] (7) = 2636.
Radak
"Near Jebus." Adjacent to Jebus, as I explained regarding "near the house of Micah," which means adjacent to the house of Micah.
"Descend greatly." The day had declined toward the west side.
Metzudat David
"With Jebus." Adjacent to Jebus.
And the day was far spent. The sun had descended greatly and was near to setting:
"And let us turn aside." [Meaning:] Let us turn aside from the road, opposite the city of the Jebusites.
And his master said to him: ‘We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.’
verse value 3036
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·from·sons·of" (לֹא־מִבְּנֵ֥י, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "his·lord" (אֲדֹנָ֔יו), "to·the·city·of" (אֶל־עִ֣יר), "foreign" (נׇכְרִ֔י). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "to·the·city·of" (root איל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֵלָיו֙ [to·him] (47) + אֲדֹנָ֔יו [his·lord] (71) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + נָסוּר֙ [we·will·turn·aside] (316) + אֶל־עִ֣יר [to·the·city·of] (311) + נׇכְרִ֔י [foreign] (280) + אֲשֶׁ֛ר [that] (501) + לֹא־מִבְּנֵ֥י [not·from·sons·of] (133) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + הֵ֑נָּה [they] (60) + וְעָבַ֖רְנוּ [but·we·will·pass·over] (334) + עַד־גִּבְעָֽה [until·Gibeah] (154) = 3036.
Rashi
"Until Gibeah." Gibeah of Benjamin:
Radak
"Henah [they/these, fem. pl.]." The term "henah" is stated with regard to the cities, even though only one city is mentioned; it means: not in this one, nor in any other that does not belong to the Children of Israel.
Metzudat David
“to a non-Jewish city”: namely, a city in which only non-Jews reside.
"And we shall pass." For this [reason] we shall pass until Gibeah, which is a city of Israel.
Malbim
Questions (12): The duplication of the phrase "a foreign city, which is not of the children of Israel."
“Unto a city of the nations which is not of the children of Israel.” This means that there were cities of the Canaanites that belonged to Israel and were subject to them for tribute, and the fear of Israel was upon them. Not so was Jebus; it was a city of the nations which is not of the children of Israel. This means that they were not subject to Israel, for they were not assigned to pay tribute (as stated above, 1:21).
And he said to his servant: ‘Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.’
verse value 2060
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "come" (לְךָ֥, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·let·us·come·near" (וְנִקְרְבָ֖ה, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "to·his·servant" (לְנַֽעֲר֔וֹ), "and·let·us·come·near" (וְנִקְרְבָ֖ה), "in·one·of" (בְּאַחַ֣ד). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "come" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "in·one·of" (root אחד, 25x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·places', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + לְנַֽעֲר֔וֹ [to·his·servant] (356) + לְךָ֥ [come] (50) + וְנִקְרְבָ֖ה [and·let·us·come·near] (363) + בְּאַחַ֣ד [in·one·of] (15) + הַמְּקֹמ֑וֹת [the·places] (591) + וְלַ֥נּוּ [and·we·will·lodge] (92) + בַגִּבְעָ֖ה [in·Gibeah] (82) + א֥וֹ [or] (7) + בָרָמָֽה [at·Ramah] (247) = 2060.
Rashi
"And let us lodge." Like "velananu" [written with two nuns], the dagesh in the nun stands in place of a second nun:
Radak
"Go, and let us draw near." Like "lechah" [Come], written with a heh; and similarly "lech nitra'eh fanim" [Come, let us look one another in the face] (2 Kings 14:8), as it is also written in Divrei HaYamim [2 Chronicles 25:17].
"Velanu" [and we will lodge]. It is missing the third root letter ["lamed ha-po'al"], which is absorbed into the dagesh; and its regular form would be "velananu" [and we shall lodge] in Gibeah, on the pattern of "vekamnu" [and we shall arise].
Metzudat David
"Come, and let us draw near." This means: let us hasten to go and draw near to some place, and lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah, wherever we can arrive before the sun sets.
Metzudat Zion
Go. From the word for going, and even though it is without a heh, so too (Numbers 23:13) 'come now with me':
Malbim
"And let us lodge in Gibeah or in Ramah." For he does not know which city is nearer. (And the word "lecha" is one of three places where the term of going is written without the letter heh, according to the Masorah.)
And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah; and he went in, and sat him down in the broad place of the city; for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.
verse value 3243
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֔ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "taking·them·in" (מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 116: to·go·in·to·lodge, to·lodge. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·they·turned" (וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ), "taking·them·in" (מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם). The root בוא appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·come" (root בוא, 93x in Judges); "into·the·house·to·lodge" (root בית, 88x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיָּסֻ֣רוּ [and·they·turned] (282) + שָׁ֔ם [there] (340) + לָב֖וֹא [to·come] (39) + לָל֣וּן [to·go·in·to·lodge] (116) + בַּגִּבְעָ֑ה [in·Gibeah] (82) + וַיָּבֹ֗א [and·came] (19) + וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ [and·dwelt] (318) + בִּרְח֣וֹב [in·broad·place·of] (218) + הָעִ֔יר [the·city] (285) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·nothing] (67) + אִ֛ישׁ [man] (311) + מְאַסֵּֽף־אוֹתָ֥ם [taking·them·in] (628) + הַבַּ֖יְתָה [into·the·house·to·lodge] (422) + לָלֽוּן [to·lodge] (116) = 3243.
Ralbag
And indeed he relates that they came to Givat Binyamin. And the evil of their disposition reached such a degree that there was no man of the city who took them into the house to lodge, until one man came from the hill country of Ephraim who was dwelling there, and he brought them into his house. And the evil of the disposition of the men of the city reached such a degree that they wished to take the Levite man for lying, and the man held his concubine and brought her out to them outside. And it seems that she was already very beautiful, and for this reason they were appeased with this at seeing her, for the old man had already permitted them to bring out to them his eldest daughter, a virgin, and the concubine of the Levite man. And they were not appeased with this. And these sinful men abused her all night until morning. And from the abundance of the intercourse, the wondrous weakness overtook her, until she died at the door of the house where her master was, when she returned to him. And the Levite man was greatly indignant at this matter, and he was silent until he came to his house. And from there he sent her portions to the twelve remaining tribes, for he did not send to the tribe of Binyamin, for from them the evil came out. And for this reason he cut his concubine into twelve portions.
Metzudat Zion
In the street. In the marketplace, in a place where many are found:
Gatherer. The sense of gathering in, as in (Deuteronomy 11:14) 'and you shall gather in your grain':
And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even; now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
verse value 3667
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 71 letters. The shortest word is "going·in" (בָּ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·deed" (מִֽן־מַעֲשֵׂ֤הוּ, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "old" (זָקֵ֗ן), "from·deed" (מִֽן־מַעֲשֵׂ֤הוּ), "from·the·field" (מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה֙). The root איש appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "sons·of" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "going·in" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 4 words.
Radak
"Bene Yemini." This is to inform us that the hill belonged to Benjamin, for there was another hill upon which a city stood, as it says, "the hill of Benjamin." And some say that the reason it is called "Bene Yemini" is that they were presumed to be evildoers, and their deeds testify against them.
Metzudat David
“Sons of Yemin.” From the sons of Benjamin:
Malbim
"And behold, a certain man, an old man." Just as the text recounts the disgrace of the men of Gibeah, who barred their door against the guest even though they were residents of the city and not constrained by lack of space, so too it recounts the praise of this old man: A) despite his being old; B) that he came at this very moment; C) that he came from his hard labor in the field; D) that he was a sojourner in Gibeah, and the obligation [to host guests] was not incumbent upon him more than upon the residents of the city; nevertheless [he fulfilled it].
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the broad place of the city; and the old man said: ‘Whither do you go? and whence do you come?’
verse value 3865
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "where?" (אָ֥נָה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·man" (אֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "his·eyes" (עֵינָ֗יו), "that·wanders" (הָאֹרֵ֖חַ), "in·broad·place·of" (בִּרְחֹ֣ב). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "the·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "you·shall·go" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשָּׂ֣א [and·lifted] (317) + עֵינָ֗יו [his·eyes] (146) + וַיַּ֛רְא [and·saw] (217) + אֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ [the·man] (717) + הָאֹרֵ֖חַ [that·wanders] (214) + בִּרְחֹ֣ב [in·broad·place·of] (212) + הָעִ֑יר [the·city] (285) + וַיֹּ֨אמֶר [and·said] (257) + הָאִ֧ישׁ [man] (316) + הַזָּקֵ֛ן [the·aged·one] (162) + אָ֥נָה [where?] (56) + תֵלֵ֖ךְ [you·shall·go] (450) + וּמֵאַ֥יִן [and·from·where] (107) + תָּבֽוֹא [you·will·go·in] (409) = 3865.
Metzudat Zion
The traveler. The one who goes on a road and path:
Where. To what place:
And whence. And from what place:
Malbim
And he lifted up his eyes, etc. And immediately upon seeing him, he asked him, "Whither are you going?" for he was in doubt, perhaps he wished to go on his way, and therefore he would stand in the street:
And he said to him: ‘We are passing from Beth-lehem in Judah to the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem in Judah, and I am now going to the house of Hashem; and there is no man that takes me into his house.
verse value 6022
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 105 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "from·there" (מִשָּׁ֣ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Beth-lehem" (מִבֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: Judah, Judah. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "passing·over" (עֹבְרִ֨ים), "from·Beth-lehem" (מִבֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם), "until·flanks·of" (עַד־יַרְכְּתֵ֣י). The root בית appears 4 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Judah', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 9 words.
Rashi
“And the house of the Lord.” I am going to Shiloh:
Radak
"And I will go to the house of the LORD." This refers to Shiloh, and Shiloh was his city, for he was from Mount Ephraim, as it is stated, "From the far end of Mount Ephraim," and Shiloh belonged to Ephraim. Alternatively, the explanation of "And I will go to the house of the LORD" is: even though Shiloh was not his city, he said that he would go there to pray or to offer sacrifices. This aligns with the understanding of the Targum, which renders it, "And to the house of the sanctuary of the LORD I am going." He said this so that they would gather him into his home with a good heart.
Metzudat David
“Until the innermost parts.” This means: I go “until the innermost parts,” etc., for from there I am, and I went as far as Bethlehem of Judah.
"And the house of the Lord." Now I am going on my way, following the path to the house of the Lord at Shiloh to sacrifice to the Lord. And although I am going on the path of a mitzvah, nevertheless, no one admits me into the house.
Metzudat Zion
And to. Like 'and toward':
Malbim
The Questions (18): Why did he repeat, "And I will go as far as Bethlehem"? And why did he say, "And I will go to the House of the Lord"?
And he said to him, "We are travelers." This means: Our journey extends from Bethlehem of Judah to the far end of the hill country of Ephraim, a distance that cannot be covered while it is still day, for that is where I am from, and that is my desired destination. Lest he be mistaken for a peddler who goes about from town to town, he said, "I am going only as far as Bethlehem." And lest he be thought to be among the men of Micah, the worshippers of the idol (for Micah was in the hill country of Ephraim), he said, "And I am going to the house of the Lord." Nevertheless, "no one gathered me into his house," and therefore I sat outside.
Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man that is with your servants; there is no want of any thing.’
verse value 3644
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "being" (יֵ֣שׁ, 2 letters) and the longest is "also·fodder" (גַּם־מִסְפּוֹא֙, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·also·straw" (וְגַם־תֶּ֤בֶן), "also·fodder" (גַּם־מִסְפּוֹא֙), "I·have" (יֶשׁ־לִי֙). The root גם appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "any·thing" (root דבר, 52x in Judges); "bread" (root לחם, 45x in Judges); "nothing" (root אין, 29x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·your·servants', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words.
Radak
"And for the lad with your servant." "For me and your maidservant." He said this concerning his concubine. And for the lad there is much bread and wine, and also for your servants who are in your house, if they wish to eat and drink from what is with us. And the Targum [renders it]: "and for the lad who is with your servant." He said "your servant," referring to the man and his concubine, that is to say, the lad who is with us. And this is correct.
Metzudat David
"And also straw." This means: If, on account of the food for us and for our donkeys, they would not take us in, behold “and also straw” etc., and if so, what shall I take from their hand?
"And to your handmaid." She is the concubine.
"And to the lad with your servants": [This refers] to the lad who is with your servants. And he referred to himself and his concubine as "his servants" as a term of courteous humility, just as he said "and to your maidservant" regarding his concubine; or, he stated that he had the means to feed his lad along with his servants, and concerning the servants of the old man he said:
"There is no lack." There is nothing lacking to me.
Metzudat Zion
Feed. So is called that which is set aside for animal food, so too (Genesis 24:32) 'and he gave straw and fodder [maspu'a]':
And your maidservant. From the word for maidservant and handmaid:
Anything. Anything at all:
Malbim
And do not think that you will need to provide grain for the donkeys; rather, this means that there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys. Likewise, you will not need to provide me with food or for the servant, for there is also bread and wine, and there is more than enough so that the servant will eat with your servants from the bread and wine that I will allot to his portion. And likewise, other items such as spices and the like are available, for there is no lack of anything.
And the old man said: ‘Peace be to you; howsoever let all your wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the broad place.’
verse value 2984
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָ֔ךְ, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·need" (כׇּל־מַחְסוֹרְךָ֖, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 300: only, only. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "all·need" (כׇּל־מַחְסוֹרְךָ֖), "not·lodge" (אַל־תָּלַֽן). The root רק appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "not·lodge" (root איל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֨אמֶר [and·said] (257) + הָאִ֤ישׁ [man] (316) + הַזָּקֵן֙ [the·aged·one] (162) + שָׁל֣וֹם [belonging·to] (376) + לָ֔ךְ [to·you] (50) + רַ֥ק [only] (300) + כׇּל־מַחְסוֹרְךָ֖ [all·need] (384) + עָלָ֑י [upon·me] (110) + רַ֥ק [only] (300) + בָּרְח֖וֹב [in·the·broad·place] (218) + אַל־תָּלַֽן [not·lodge] (511) = 2984.
Metzudat David
"Peace be with you" means: Do not fear, for you will not spend the night in the street.
"Only all your need is upon me." This means: Since you have with you food and drink, I will not give you anything; eat what you have in your hand. And only that which is lacking for you is upon me. He then returns to explain, "Only do not lodge in the street," for it is only a lodging house that is lacking for you, and that is upon me.
Malbim
"And he said." On the contrary, he stipulates with him that all his needs shall be upon him, for in this way he fulfills the commandment properly.
So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.
verse value 2327
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 51 letters. Verse gematria: 2327 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·he·gave·fodder" (וַיָּ֖בׇל, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·he·brought·him" (וַיְבִיאֵ֣הוּ, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·he·gave·fodder" (וַיָּ֖בׇל), "and·washed" (וַֽיִּרְחֲצוּ֙), "their·feet" (רַגְלֵיהֶ֔ם). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·brought·him" (root בוא, 93x in Judges); "to·his·house" (root בית, 88x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on '(he) ass', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. 6 of the verse's 9 words begin with the letter ו.
Rashi
"And he gave fodder to the donkeys." He gave provender to the donkeys; "vayaval" is "aprovender" in the vernacular [Old French]:
Radak
"Vayavol." It is written vayavol, but read vayaval, and they are the same [word]; the first root letter has a patach, and it is one of the geminate verbs whose root is b-l-l, meaning that he gave them fodder. Fodder is called "belil," as it is written, "They eat belil ḥamitz [fermented fodder]" (Isaiah 30:24), and "Does an ox bellow over its belil?" (Job 6:5). And since barley and oats, or one of them, are mixed with straw for animal feed, it is called so.
Metzudat David
"And he gave them food for the donkeys." He prepared the food for the donkeys:
Metzudat Zion
And he mixed. From the word for mixing and blending, for the custom is to mix grain with fodder, so too (Isaiah 30:24) 'the mixed grain [belil chamitz]':
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying: ‘Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him.’
verse value 7604
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 116 letters. The shortest word is "abundance" (הֵ֘מָּה֮, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·worthlessness" (בְנֵי־בְלִיַּ֗עַל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 361: man, man. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "making·merry" (מֵיטִיבִ֣ים), "inner man" (אֶת־לִבָּם֒), "surrounded" (נָסַ֙בּוּ֙). The root איש appears 3 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that·came" (root אשר, 178x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·the·door', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 11 words.
Rashi
And we shall know him. A lying with a male:
Radak
"Those who do good." Its root is y-t-b, from the hifil binyan.
"Mitdapkim." We have already noted its grammatical point in the book Mikhlol, in the section on grammar, concerning the cause of the hitpael; it is from the language of "My beloved knocks" (Song of Songs 5:2), and it refers to the knocking on the door.
"And let us know him." They interpreted it as referring to a sexual act, because he said, "Behold, my virgin daughter and his concubine; but to this man do not do this vile deed." It appears as though they asked him for a sexual act. And one may say that they intended to kill him, as he himself relates, "They sought to kill me." And it is a vile deed to kill a guest who comes to lodge in the city. According to the commentators, the meaning of "they sought to kill me" is that their intention was to kill him before they would engage in that vile act; or, he referred to the ugly matter using the language of killing.
Metzudat David
“They do well” etc. – in eating, in drinking, and in the gladness of the heart.
Metzudat Zion
Wickedness. Without the yoke of Heaven, meaning: wicked men:
Knocking. The sense of knocking gently on the door, as in (Song of Songs 5:2) 'my beloved knocks [dofek]':
And we shall know him. The sense of a masculine sexual act, as in (Genesis 19:5) 'we shall know them [veda'ah otam]':
Malbim
The Questions (22): What are the differences between the incident of Gibeah and the incident of Sodom? For it appears that the two incidents are similar in every respect:
"They set their minds to do good, and behold, the men of the city..." The investigators of the heart have already spoken on this matter: What is the difference between the incident of Gibeah and the sin of Sodom, upon which He rained down sulfur and fire, and He overturned them from their foundations, whereas these [the men of Gibeah] acted like the deeds of Sodom, yet the hand of Heaven did not afflict them to punish them? And they said that there is a distinction between the wicked and the sinner. That is to say, the sin of the men of Sodom was due to their intellect, for they engraved for themselves bad statutes and judgments in which civic life could not be sustained, and they accepted these statutes upon themselves as righteous judgments, so that no one would transgress the custom of their land, and the transgressor would be punished according to their customs. They did not do what they did because of their lusts, but because of their corrupt customs. Not so were the men of Gibeah; their intellect was not involved in this transgression, nor did they do this because of a statute or custom, but only because of their lusts. The fact that they did not extend hospitality to the man was because they were stingy and miserly; and the fact that they desired to lie with him was solely because of their lust.
The points of distinction for this are: A) Lot brought the angels in secretly (as stated in the commentary on the Torah regarding the verse "Turn aside, please, into your servant's house" [Genesis 19:2]), and the angels wished to lodge in the street because they feared the custom. The old man of Gibeah, however, brought him into his house publicly. B) There it is written (ibid., 4), "And the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old," which included all the men of the city, because they were the men of Sodom, and hosting guests was against their statutes. Here it is written, "And the men of the city, worthless fellows" (Shoftim 19:22), meaning the worthless fellows of the city and the riffraff within it desired with lust; not all of them, and not because of custom, but only because they were worthless fellows who act against the law and judgment. C) There it is written, "They surrounded the house," meaning they wished to fight against the master of the house who had transgressed their statutes. Here it is written, "They surrounded the house," to guard it so that the guest would not flee, not that they surrounded the house to fight. Therefore, they did not desire his daughter, for they did not wish to do evil to the old man. Therefore, it is written, "They were pounding on the door" in the Hitpael conjugation, which indicates a fictive action, like one who "pretends to be rich" or "pretends to be poor"; they appeared to be pounding, not actually pounding, for they did not come in a manner of war. Unlike Sodom, where it is written (ibid., 9), "And they came near to break down the door." And likewise, there Lot locked the door behind him because he feared them. Not so here; it says, "And he went out to them," for he knew they would not dare to enter his house. D) He said to them that it was a disgrace, showing that their intellect was intact to recognize that it was a disgrace. Not so with Lot, who only mentioned the first argument, that they should not do evil by coming into his house, and did not say to them that it was a disgrace, for it was a good and proper thing according to their judgments.
And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them: ‘Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this wanton deed.
verse value 5391
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 81 letters. Notable word values: "to·them" (אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "please" (נָ֑א, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·senselessness" (אֶת־הַנְּבָלָ֥ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 316: man, man. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "not·act·wickedly" (אַל־תָּרֵ֣עוּ), "to·my·house" (אֶל־בֵּיתִ֔י), "not·do" (אַֽל־תַּעֲשׂ֖וּ). The root איל appears 4 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that·came" (root אשר, 178x in Judges). First appearance of the root נבלה ("the·senselessness") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'please', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Metzudat David
"No, my brothers." And he returns and explains, "Please, do not do evil," meaning: Do not do that evil now.
"Afterward. Since this man has come to my house, have regard for my honor and do not commit this wickedness by lying with him."
Metzudat Zion
Do not. Meaning: do not do:
I pray. Now:
After. Its sense is like 'since,' so too (above 11:36) 'after that the Lord wrought vengeance for you':
This vile thing. A disgraceful and ugly matter:
Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; I will bring them out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you; but to this man do not so wanton a thing.’
verse value 5113
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 84 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·concubine" (וּפִילַגְשֵׁ֗הוּ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 447: them, them. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "virgin" (הַבְּתוּלָ֜ה), "and·his·concubine" (וּפִילַגְשֵׁ֗הוּ), "let·me·bring·out·now" (אֽוֹצִיאָה־נָּ֤א). The root עשה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·to·the·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·do" (root עשה, 87x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·eyes', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 7 words.
Metzudat David
"And they shall violate them." In the context of lying down:
"And do..." – In other matters of adultery:
Metzudat Zion
And abuse them. It is a euphemism for one who forces sexual intercourse:
Malbim
"Behold, my daughter": This means, "Here is my daughter and his concubine, to satisfy your lust." And although this too is a vile deed (nevalah), their shame is not greater than the shame of the man. And this is what it says a second time: "Do not do this vile thing to this man."
But the men would not hearken to him; so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning; and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
verse value 5598
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 99 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 5598 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·his·concubine" (בְּפִ֣ילַגְשׁ֔וֹ, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·not·were·willing" (וְלֹֽא־אָב֤וּ), "outside" (הַח֑וּץ), "and·they·perceived" (וַיֵּדְע֣וּ). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·them" (root אל, 89x in Judges); "when·came·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'outside', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 10 words.
Radak
"And the man held fast to his concubine." He forced her out against her will in order to save himself.
"And they knew her." Even though at first the men refused to listen to him, once they saw the concubine, they desired her and agreed to her alone.
"At dawn." It is written with a bet and read with a kaf:
Metzudat David
"To listen to him": to accept his words.
“And the man held fast.” For she did not wish to go out, and he seized her against her will to save himself, thinking that when they would see that she was beautiful, they would be appeased by her.
"And he brought [her] out." He brought her outside:
"And they knew her." In the context of sexual intercourse:
"And they abused her." [This refers] to other matters of adultery.
And they sent her away. They sent her away to her fate when the morning dawned, which is the light that sparkles on the eastern horizon before the sun rises.
Metzudat Zion
Were willing. They were willing:
And they knew. The sense of lying together:
And they abused her. The sense of deeds and actions, as in (Lamentations 1:12) 'that which was done to me [olal]':
Malbim
"And they refused." The commentator explains that they did not desire to disgrace the old man's daughter. "And the man held fast to his concubine." This too is proof that this was only to satisfy their lust; therefore, when they found his concubine pleasing to their lust, they were satisfied with this. "And they knew her." In the normal manner. "And they abused her." Not in the normal manner.
Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.
verse value 4528
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָּׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·her·lord" (אֲשֶׁר־אֲדוֹנֶ֥יהָ, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "at·the·turn·of" (לִפְנ֣וֹת), "and·she·fell" (וַתִּפֹּ֞ל), "house·of·the·man" (בֵּית־הָאִ֛ישׁ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·came" (root בוא, 93x in Judges); "house·of·the·man" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "the·woman" (root אשה, 59x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'morning', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַתָּבֹ֥א [and·came] (409) + הָאִשָּׁ֖ה [the·woman] (311) + לִפְנ֣וֹת [at·the·turn·of] (566) + הַבֹּ֑קֶר [morning] (307) + וַתִּפֹּ֞ל [and·she·fell] (516) + פֶּ֧תַח [opening] (488) + בֵּית־הָאִ֛ישׁ [house·of·the·man] (728) + אֲשֶׁר־אֲדוֹנֶ֥יהָ [that·her·lord] (577) + שָּׁ֖ם [there] (340) + עַד־הָאֽוֹר [until·the·light] (286) = 4528.
Metzudat David
"At the break of dawn." At the time when dawn is about to arrive.
"And she fell." Due to the weakness caused by the multitude of sexual acts, she collapsed at the doorway and did not rise again; she lay there until morning light, and then she died.
"Her lord." He is the husband, and since she was a concubine to him, he is considered a lord to her.
And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.
verse value 5689
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 75 letters. The shortest word is "opening" (פֶּ֣תַח, 3 letters) and the longest is "his·concubine" (פִֽילַגְשׁ֗וֹ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 417: the·house, the·house. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "her·master" (אֲדֹנֶ֜יהָ), "to·his·way" (לְדַרְכּ֑וֹ), "falling" (נֹפֶ֙לֶת֙). The root פתח appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·go" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "the·house" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "upon·the·threshold" (root על, 87x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·his·way', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Metzudat David
"Nofelet." This means that she was lying down in a posture resulting from a fall, with her hands resting on the threshold.
Metzudat Zion
The threshold. Even the doorstep is called a threshold, just as the doorposts are called: 'thresholds' (Isaiah 6:4); so too (I Kings 14:17) 'she came at the threshold of the house':
And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.
verse value 5276
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "ten" (עָשָׂ֖ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·knife" (אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֙לֶת֙, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "the·knife" (אֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֙לֶת֙), "and·cut·her·in·pieces" (וַֽיְנַתְּחֶ֙הָ֙), "to·her·bones" (לַעֲצָמֶ֔יהָ). The root נתח appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·his·house" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "and·came" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). First appearance of the root נתח ("and·cut·her·in·pieces") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'pieces', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 4 words.
Metzudat David
"And he cut her up according to her limbs." It means cutting according to the limbs, and not dividing one of the limbs into smaller pieces.
Into twelve portions. And in each one there were many of the limbs:
"In every border of Israel." Each tribe was allotted one piece, but to Benjamin he did not send [one], for from him came forth this evil.
Metzudat Zion
The knife. The knife, as in (Genesis 22:10) 'and he took the knife [ha-ma'akhelet]':
And he dissected. The sense of a limb, as in (Leviticus 1:6) 'and he shall split it into its parts [venitach otah lenitcheha], and meaning: he cut it into limbs, and for added clarification he said 'into her bones,' for that word too indicates a limb, as in (Ezekiel 24:4) 'a choice of bones,' and because the custom is to divide the limbs according to the bones, the limbs are called 'bones' [atzemot]:
Malbim
Questions (29): Why did he cut her into pieces and send the pieces to every border of the Land of Israel? Would it not have been sufficient if he had merely sent an account of the incident alone?
And he cut her into twelve pieces. By this, he showed them that the tribes of Israel are united as a single body. Just as it cannot be conceived that the spirit of life and intellect would reside in a body if it were cut into its parts, for then the limbs would be dead corpses, so too it cannot be conceived that the spirit of life and the Divine Presence would rest upon the entire nation if its parts were divided and its tribes not united, as all the limbs unite to sustain the life of the whole. And just as if one limb were to rot and decay, it is a harmful sickness for the entire body, and efforts would be made to heal it or to amputate it so that it might not destroy the body as a whole, so too is this matter: if certain individuals from among the nation were to become corrupt, it would necessarily be incumbent upon them to strive to bring them back through repentance or to eliminate them from their midst. And when he sent the pieces, he certainly also sent the account of the incident, to inform them that a scandal had occurred in the land.
And it was so, that all that saw it said: ‘Such a thing has not happened nor been seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.’
verse value 5199
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 87 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·was·seen" (וְלֹֽא־נִרְאֲתָה֙, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "all·who·saw" (כׇל־הָרֹאֶ֗ה), "not·was" (לֹֽא־נִהְיְתָ֤ה), "and·not·was·seen" (וְלֹֽא־נִרְאֲתָה֙). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·will·say" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "son·Israel" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Radak
"Set for yourselves." Pay heed to yourselves regarding this evil:
Metzudat David
"Everyone who saw [it]." A piece from the dismembered pieces of the woman:
"Set yourselves." This means that each one said to his companions: "Set yourselves to consider that evil, devise a plan, and discuss what should be done."
Metzudat Zion
It occurred. From the word for being [hayah]:
Malbim
Questions (30): Why is there a duplication in "it was not" and "it was not seen"? And a duplication in "put," "take counsel," "speak."
And it was that everyone who saw and said, “It did not happen.” Nevertheless, if it did happen, it was not seen, for it was in secret. Therefore, set your minds upon it, to investigate and inquire whether the matter is true and correct, and afterward, deliberate how to rectify the distortion, for the advisor takes into account all aspects of the refutation and the possibilities, and afterward, speak a definitive word, which is the agreement that follows the counsel.
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim