“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.”
If Judges 19 sounds like déjà vu, it’s no accident. After all, the last few chapters have been
hammering away at the underlying problem: Hebrews acted horribly because “there was no
king in Israel.” According to Abravanel, recall, there was a judge and his name was Samson.
However, he was not in Israel. Philistines entrapped him, shackled him, and brought him to
Gaza. In his absence, and with nobody else to step up, these concluding chapters in Judges tell
the sorry saga of a sidetracked nation.
Beside the common refrain of an unmoored society, Abravanel identifies additional links
between these chapters. Venue is one common denominator – “the farther side of the hill-
country of Ephraim.” Another common location is Beth-lehem. Turning from places to people,
the previous chapter and our chapter feature Levites. Tragedy struck for the Jews, also, on
account of women. In Judges 18, Micah’s mom, a true termagant contributed not a little to
national morass; whereas in Judges 19 we read about internecine fighting as a result of the
Levite’s concubine.
Here is another observation by Abravanel. These chapters highlight a total religio/societal
freefall. Namely, Micah and mother flouted Torah law by openly introducing a molten image in
religious rites. Thereby, Hebrews faltered in a spiritual sense. Contrast that to our chapter. It
stresses something else: physical destruction. That is because our chapter’s imbroglio
fomented civil war, pitting the tribe of Benjamin against the other tribes. But let us not jump
ahead, as far as storyline here is concerned.
Abravanel’s comments allow for a methodical interpretation of the cataclysmic occurrences
that triggered a conflagration in Israel, as the Book of Judges comes to its fiery close. Let us first
establish the facts and then we shall see how Abravanel infuses novel insights. Note, that while
the ultimate cause of these chapters has to do with a dearth of leadership, there are substrata
at play.
“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.” Concubines are, for our purposes, wives. “And his
concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to
Beth-lehem in Judah, and was there for a space of four months.” Actually, in the Bible, “Playing
the harlot” is more innocuous than it sounds. She hadn’t been unfaithful to her Levite husband.
She had, though, walked out on him.
Time elapsed. “Four months” to be precise. The Levite and his attendant went to the
concubine’s father’s house to accompany her home to the hill-country. After spending several
days with his father-in-law, a gracious host who found it difficult to part with the traveling
party, the couple made their way to the hill-country of Ephraim. The visit and the warm
dialogue between the Levite and his wife’s father are recorded in our chapter. On the road to
the hill-country of Ephraim, trouble lurked.
Intending to enter a Jewish-populated city to spend the night (and bypass Gentile-ruled Jebus),
the travelers reached Gibeah. It was situated within Benjamin’s territory. A nightmare out of
the Book of Genesis awaited. We refer to the story of Lot, Abraham’s nephew who dwelled in
the cruel environs of Sodom and Gomorrah.
In journalistic fashion, we record the bald facts of the crime and its aftermath.
- A kind, old man came in from the fields in the evening. He took pity on the out-of-
towners, inviting them to stay the night. - At nightfall, local rowdies pounded on the door and surrounded the host’s house. They
threatened the old man, insisting they send out the Levite to sodomize him.
Abravanel interjects that the ruffians were not homosexuals. Had that been their sexual
orientation, they would have demanded the Levite and his male attendant. It is likely, then, that
their initial demand for the Levite guest was merely a ruse. Probably, word spread quickly that
visitors were staying with the old man. Among them was a gorgeous and voluptuous woman.
Vile scumbags desired her (not her husband). Back to the facts in Gibeah.
- Reminiscent of Lot’s gambit (See Genesis 19.), the host ignobly offered the howling
sickos his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine, setting the unconscionable stage,
albeit with a twist. The host pushed out the concubine, while sparing his daughter. - After gang rape, perpetrators sent their victim out. The concubine staggered back to the
old man’s house. Outside the front door, she collapsed. - In the morning, the Levite opened the front door to leave. He found his wife barely
alive. Picking her up and placing her on the pack animal, the Levite headed home to the
hill-country. - Along the way, the concubine succumbed and died.
- Then, the Levite dismembered wife’s lifeless body, distributing pieces to all the tribes.
Abravanel scrutinizes the unconscionable sequence of circumstances, in what goes down as one
of the Bible’s most deranged deeds. But that’s for Bible Seascapes, an Abravanel Anthology, to be published in 2026.