Wives for the Benjamites
Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
And the people came to Bethel and sat there until the evening before God; and they lifted up their voice and wept a great weeping.
And they said, “Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel — that today one tribe should be missing from Israel?”
And it was the next day that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
And the sons of Israel said, “Who is there of all the tribes of Israel that did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?” For the great oath had been taken concerning whoever did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”
And the sons of Israel had compassion toward Benjamin their brother, and said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.
What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters as wives?”
And they said, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah?” And look — no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.
For the people were mustered — and look, not a man was there of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.
And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the men of valor, and commanded them, saying: “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword — with the women and the little ones.
And this is the thing you shall do: every male, and every woman who has known the bed of a male, you shall devote to destruction.”
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgin women who had not known a man by the bed of a male; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
And the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead — but they did not find enough for them so.
And the people had compassion toward Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
And the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since woman has been destroyed out of Benjamin?”
And they said, “There must be a possession for the escaped remnant of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not wiped out from Israel.
But we — we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”
And they said: “Look — there is the festival of the LORD at Shiloh from year to year, which is north of Bethel, toward the rising of the sun from the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying: “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards.
And watch — and look, when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out from the vineyards, and each of you seize his wife from the daughters of Shiloh; and go to the land of Benjamin.
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to contend with us, that we will say to them: ‘Be gracious to them for our sake — for we did not take a wife for each man in the war; and it is not you who gave them to them, or you would now be guilty.’”
And the sons of Benjamin did so, and carried off wives for their number from the dancers whom they seized; and they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them.
And the sons of Israel went away from there at that time, each man to his tribe and to his family; and they went out from there each man to his inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel; each man did what was right in his own eyes.