Judges 19 28

Judges 19:28 kjv

And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

Judges 19:28 nkjv

And he said to her, "Get up and let us be going." But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.

Judges 19:28 niv

He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

Judges 19:28 esv

He said to her, "Get up, let us be going." But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home.

Judges 19:28 nlt

He said, "Get up! Let's go!" But there was no answer. So he put her body on his donkey and took her home.

Judges 19 verses

Judges 19 28 Meaning

Judges 19:28 details the chilling discovery made by the Levite in the morning after his concubine's horrific ordeal. He attempts to rouse her, expecting her to "get up," but is met with silence, indicating her death. Following this grim realization, he mechanically places her lifeless body on his donkey and proceeds on his journey back to his home, showing a remarkable lack of immediate emotional response, and setting the stage for his subsequent calculated act.

Judges 19 28 Context

Judges chapter 19 plunges into the moral abyss of Israel during a period when "there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Jdg 19:1; 21:25). The chapter begins with a Levite and his concubine. Her unfaithfulness (or going away) leads her back to her father's house. The Levite goes to retrieve her, and after four days of hospitality, they depart. As night falls, they seek lodging in Gibeah, a Benjamite town, but face cold rejection until an old man, himself an outsider, takes them in. However, the men of Gibeah, akin to the Sodomites, surround the house demanding sexual access to the Levite. To appease them, the Levite shockingly offers his concubine, who is then brutalized throughout the night. Verse 28 is the immediate morning after this unspeakable act, where the Levite discovers her fate. It sets the scene for his subsequent, equally shocking, act of dismembering her body to incite the other tribes of Israel to vengeance against Benjamin, leading to a devastating civil war.

Judges 19 28 Word Analysis

• And he said: This initiates the Levite's action and voice, showing his initiative.
• to her: Specifically addresses the concubine, found collapsed at the doorway.
• 'Get up,': The Hebrew word is qum (קוּם). This imperative verb means "rise," "stand up," "arise." It implies an expectation of her revival or physical movement. There is a sense of direct command, suggesting perhaps a lack of immediate emotional connection to her potential suffering or an attempt to hurry the departure.
• 'let us go.': This phrase indicates the Levite's desire to continue their journey. It implies a presumption of her ability to travel and a focus on his immediate objective – leaving Gibeah.
• But there was no answer.: This is the stark, pivotal point of the verse. The silence signifies her death, the brutal end to her suffering. This realization dawns on the Levite. The lack of "answer" highlights her complete inability to respond, a chilling indictment of her dehumanization and the ultimate cost of the men's violence.
• Then he put her: This is a sudden shift from attempted interaction to physical action. "He put her" (va-yisa'ah, וַיִּשָּׂאֶהָ) can also mean "he lifted her." The action is functional and detached, devoid of tenderness or visible grief.
• on the donkey,: The donkey serves as a practical means of transport for luggage or passengers. Here, it tragically carries a corpse, indicating the complete dehumanization and treatment of her as mere baggage.
• and the man: Refers to the Levite. The term "the man" instead of "the Levite" emphasizes his universal male role, stripping him of his priestly tribal identity, underscoring his failure to uphold spiritual duties.
• set out: Began his journey. The word for "set out" (va-yelekh, וַיֵּלֶךְ) is often used for movement or journey.
• and went to his home.: His final destination, a place that should represent safety and order, but to which he brings a dead body and a plan for revenge. This ending of the journey implies his intention for what would come next.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "And he said to her, 'Get up, let us go.'": This phrase reveals the Levite's immediate response. It is either an incredibly callous or a tragically oblivious command. He addresses her as if she were merely exhausted, not violated and possibly deceased. This expectation highlights his egocentric focus on leaving, rather than concern for her well-being.
• "But there was no answer.": This phrase marks the tragic turning point. The silence is profound and chilling, signifying her absolute stillness and ultimate fate. This lack of response is the first concrete indicator in the narrative of her death. It's a stark revelation for the reader and presumably for the Levite.
• "Then he put her on the donkey, and the man set out and went to his home.": This sequence of actions speaks volumes. There's no recorded lament, grief, or anger from the Levite in this immediate moment. His actions are mechanical, almost procedural. He loads her body and simply leaves. This immediate shift to his domestic base foreshadows his strategic use of her death, underscoring a calculated response rather than a humane one.

Judges 19 28 Bonus Section

• Silence of the Concubine: Throughout her ordeal in Judges 19, the concubine has no spoken lines. Her lack of "answer" in verse 28 emphasizes her voicelessness even in death, reflecting her complete dehumanization.
• Contrast with Hospitality: This narrative stands in stark contrast to ideal biblical hospitality seen elsewhere (e.g., Abraham and Lot in Gen 18-19). Gibeah's perversion highlights how deeply Israel had fallen from its divine calling.
• Levite's Responsibility: Despite presenting himself as a victim in Jdg 20, this verse underscores the Levite's complicity. He offered her to the mob, and his coldness here shows his profound moral failure, which extended to manipulating the nation into civil war.
• Prophetic Foreboding: This chapter, ending with the gruesome act involving the concubine's body, serves as a dark foreboding of what happens when God's people abandon His law, spiraling into a moral abyss comparable to Sodom. It foreshadows the national judgment and chaos that follows in chapters 20 and 21.

Judges 19 28 Commentary

Judges 19:28 encapsulates the horrifying nadir of human and spiritual depravity described in the book of Judges. The verse paints a picture of stark indifference. The Levite's cold command, "Get up, let us go," reveals a horrifying lack of empathy. His immediate response upon finding her is not one of distress or lamentation but a pragmatic, almost impatient instruction to move. The chilling silence that follows confirms her death, yet the text notably refrains from detailing the Levite's emotional reaction. Instead, his subsequent action is a dispassionate handling of her body, treating it merely as cargo to be transported on a donkey. This dehumanization, reducing her from a violated person to an inert object, is pivotal. It sets the stage for his utterly shocking act of dismemberment, transforming her body into a political instrument. The verse tragically demonstrates the utter breakdown of moral conscience and the grievous consequences of self-rule and spiritual blindness in a society where "everyone did what was right in his own eyes," leading to horrific violence and profound societal decay.