“Later, as the man and his concubine and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, “Look, it’s almost evening. Stay the night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way.” But this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two saddled donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). It was late in the day when they neared Jebus, and the man’s servant said to him, “Let’s stop at this Jebusite town and spend the night there.” “No,” his master said, “we can’t stay in this foreign town where there are no Israelites. Instead, we will go on to Gibeah. Come on, let’s try to get as far as Gibeah or Ramah, and we’ll spend the night in one of those towns.” So they went on. The sun was setting as they came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin, so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night. That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin. When he saw the travelers sitting in the town square, he asked them where they were from and where they were going. “We have been in Bethlehem in Judah,” the man replied. “We are on our way to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim, which is my home. I traveled to Bethlehem, and now I’m returning home. But no one has taken us in for the night, even though we have everything we need. We have straw and feed for our donkeys and plenty of bread and wine for ourselves.” “You are welcome to stay with me,” the old man said. “I will give you anything you might need. But whatever you do, don’t spend the night in the square.” So he took them home with him and fed the donkeys. After they washed their feet, they ate and drank together. While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so we can have sex with him.” The old man stepped outside to talk to them. “No, my brothers, don’t do such an evil thing. For this man is a guest in my house, and such a thing would be shameful. Here, take my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out to you, and you can abuse them and do whatever you like. But don’t do such a shameful thing to this man.” But they wouldn’t listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and pushed her out the door. The men of the town abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally, at dawn they let her go. At daybreak the woman returned to the house where her husband was staying. She collapsed at the door of the house and lay there until it was light. When her husband opened the door to leave, there lay his concubine with her hands on the threshold. He said, “Get up! Let’s go!” But there was no answer. So he put her body on his donkey and took her home. When he got home, he took a knife and cut his concubine’s body into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each tribe throughout all the territory of Israel. Everyone who saw it said, “Such a horrible crime has not been committed in all the time since Israel left Egypt. Think about it! What are we going to do? Who’s going to speak up?””
Judges 19:9-30 NLT
One cannot read this passage without first acknowledging the similarity to the story of the angels visiting Sodom and Gomorrah. In that story, we see that the town has degraded to the point of warranting destruction on a cosmic scale. They had become completely overcome by their unholy lusts and wished to destroy the angels. Here, we see that the same degradation had taken place. It is a sad story that emphasizes the way in which the woman is utterly betrayed, destroyed in the process. Her brutal torture and death are the impetus and barometer for their judgment. The degree of evil had taken an innocent life with such disregard that she became a rallying cry for war. The passage makes no mention of God. It is clearly meant to highlight what the absence of God brings, even to his people. When they do what is right in their own sight, they do wrong. They harm, abuse, and destroy the innocent. This is the result of men’s good intentions given enough time and opportunity. It serves as a cautionary tale as to just how close we all are to the depravity of Sodom. No one is better than another. We are all capable of sliding into the depths of our wickedness. We must keep our eyes on God, lest we do.
Passage Theme: The passage highlights the consequences of human depravity and the absence of God, emphasizing the destruction and suffering that can arise from acting on one’s own desires.
Story Similarity: The passage draws parallels to the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah, illustrating how, even a godly society can degrade to the point of warranting divine judgment.
Cautionary Message: The passage serves as a warning, urging readers to recognize their own capacity for wickedness and to seek guidance from God to avoid falling into the same traps.
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