Judges 20 6

Judges 20:6 kjv

And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

Judges 20:6 nkjv

So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel.

Judges 20:6 niv

I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel's inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel.

Judges 20:6 esv

So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel.

Judges 20:6 nlt

So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime.

Judges 20 verses

Judges 20 6 Meaning

Judges 20:6 details the Levite's desperate and horrifying act of dismembering his dead concubine. He recounts how he took her, cut her into twelve pieces, and sent these parts throughout all the tribal territories of Israel. His rationale for this extreme deed was to galvanize the tribes, demonstrating the utter atrocity and profound wickedness ("lewdness and villainy") that had been committed against her by the men of Gibeah within Israel. It was a visual plea for justice and a call to collective action against the egregious moral decay among their own people.

Judges 20 6 Context

Judges 20:6 is part of the final, grim narrative in the Book of Judges, beginning in chapter 19. This period, characterized by the refrain "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judg 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25), portrays Israel at its moral nadir. Chapter 19 details a Levite, travelling with his concubine, seeking lodging in Gibeah, a town in Benjamin. The residents of Gibeah, reminiscent of Sodom (Gen 19), assault their host and savagely rape and abuse the concubine through the night, leading to her death.

The Levite's subsequent act of dismembering her body and distributing the pieces throughout the tribes was an ancient, desperate form of call to arms, akin to tearing clothes or casting dust on one's head in extreme distress. It served as undeniable evidence of an unspeakable crime and a vivid, shocking indictment of the Benjaminites' behavior, designed to elicit outrage and unify the other tribes against this pervasive wickedness that threatened the very fabric of Israelite society and its covenant with God. This verse represents the climax of the Levite's horrifying appeal, preceding the tribal assembly and the ensuing civil war against Benjamin.

Judges 20 6 Word analysis

• And I took my concubine (וָאֶאֱחֹז אֶת-פִּילַגְשִׁי, va'e'echōz et-pilagshe, lit. "and I seized my concubine"):

  • "Took/seized" (אֶאֱחֹז - e'echōz): The verb achaz (אָחַז) means "to seize, grasp, take hold of." It suggests a deliberate action, perhaps with a sense of force or determination in the context of what follows. The Levite asserts control over the corpse.
  • "My concubine" (פִּילַגְשִׁי - pilagshe): The Hebrew word pilegesh refers to a secondary wife, often of lower social status, but legally recognized. Her death, while tragic, is used by the Levite as a catalyst for a tribal crisis, rather than focusing on the specific justice for her. His possessive language "my concubine" highlights his connection, albeit a detached one given his previous actions (Jdg 19:25).

• and cut her in pieces (וָאֲנַתְּקֶהָ - va'anatkehā):

  • "Cut her in pieces" (וָאֲנַתְּקֶהָ - va'anatkehā): Derived from the root natak (נָתַק), meaning "to tear, break apart, sever, pull away." This word powerfully conveys the horrific and violent nature of the act. It is not merely cutting, but tearing or dismembering, emphasizing the complete desecration of the body. This act serves as a gruesome and unmistakable visual sign of an ultimate affront against human dignity and God's order. It amplifies the atrocity described in Jdg 19:25-27.

• and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel (וָאֲשַׁלְּחֶהָ בְּכָל-שְׂדֵה נַחֲלַת יִשְׂרָאֵל - va'ashallekhā b'chol-sedeh nachalat Yisra'el):

  • "Sent her" (וָאֲשַׁלְּחֶהָ - va'ashallekhā): From shalach (שָׁלַח), "to send." It implies dissemination or distribution. The verb's normal meaning stands in stark contrast to the abhorrent nature of what was sent.
  • "Throughout all the country/field of the inheritance of Israel" (בְּכָל-שְׂדֵה נַחֲלַת יִשְׂרָאֵל - b'chol-sedeh nachalat Yisra'el): "Country" (sadeh) here refers broadly to the land, indicating the widespread distribution. "Inheritance of Israel" (nachalat Yisrael) refers to the land given to Israel by God (Deut 4:21, 12:9). This phrasing emphasizes that the defilement and horror occurred within God's sacred territory, making the sin more grievous. The division into twelve pieces likely corresponds to the twelve tribes, ensuring each tribal area received a part as a direct appeal for accountability and action. This was an ultimate sign of public appeal and condemnation (similar to 1 Sam 11:7).

• for they have committed lewdness and villainy in Israel (כִּי עָשׂוּ זִמָּה וּנְבָלָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל - ki asu zimmah u'nvalah b'Yisra'el):

  • "For" (כִּי - ki): A conjunction indicating the reason or explanation for the preceding action.
  • "Lewdness" (זִמָּה - zimmah): A strong Hebrew term for premeditated and heinous crime, often with sexual connotations (Lev 18:17, 20:14). It signifies depravity, an evil plot or perversion, making the offense against the concubine not just a random act of violence, but a profound moral defilement that warranted severe societal repercussions.
  • "Villainy" (נְבָלָה - n'valah): This term implies an act of great moral folly, disgrace, or outrageous indecency, a vile and shameful deed against common decency and divine law (Deut 22:21, Gen 34:7, Josh 7:15). It indicates a fundamental lack of respect for what is right or holy, often resulting from spiritual depravity and ungodliness (Psa 14:1). The coupling of zimmah and n'valah conveys the utter reprehensibility and shocking nature of the crime, portraying it as a direct challenge to God's covenant and Israel's identity as a holy nation.
  • "In Israel" (בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל - b'Yisra'el): This phrase underscores that the crime was committed among God's chosen people, not among gentiles. It highlights the internal corruption and the grave threat it posed to the community's relationship with Yahweh and its collective future.

Judges 20 6 Bonus Section

The act of sending body parts to summon an assembly is paralleled in 1 Samuel 11:7, where Saul similarly dismembered oxen to gather Israel against Nahash the Ammonite. This suggests it was an established, albeit extreme, method for issuing a urgent, public call to arms against a perceived existential threat. However, unlike Saul's call against an external enemy, the Levite's appeal was against a severe internal moral failure, pitting tribe against tribe. This highlights the unprecedented nature of the internal corruption Israel faced, requiring an equally unprecedented and shocking appeal for attention and unity. While the Levite's actions are gruesome, they reflect the depth of his conviction regarding the dire spiritual state of Benjamin and by extension, the entire nation of Israel. It marks a moment where communal covenant responsibility was gravely challenged and ultimately re-asserted, albeit through terrible civil war.

Judges 20 6 Commentary

Judges 20:6 encapsulates the dramatic climax of the Levite's appeal for justice against the unprecedented atrocity committed in Gibeah. His act of dismemberment, though horrifying, was not random violence but a symbolic, deeply impactful summons to the entire nation. By sending portions of the corpse to each tribe's inheritance, the Levite made the abstract horror of a single act of brutality a concrete, visceral reality for every Israelite. This method bypassed any ambiguity or doubt regarding the severity of the crime, demanding an unequivocal response from the unified tribes of Israel.

The use of "lewdness" (zimmah) and "villainy" (n'valah) is crucial. These terms are not just descriptors of generic wrongdoing; they denote crimes of extreme moral perversion, often associated with sexual offenses, deliberate wickedness, and acts that defy both human decency and the foundational covenant laws of God. They indicate a societal cancer that had festered in Israel during the period of "no king" and widespread moral autonomy. The verse highlights that the Levite's intention was to expose an internal decay that threatened the entire nation's spiritual and social fabric, serving as a desperate plea for national introspection and decisive judgment before the defilement became widespread. The event reveals how quickly a community can devolve when there is no shared moral authority rooted in God's law.

Examples of practical usage:

• Exposing evil: This verse illustrates the principle of exposing profound wickedness to bring it into the light for communal action and justice, even when confronting it is difficult or repulsive.
• Consequences of moral apathy: It serves as a stark warning about the societal breakdown that occurs when moral boundaries erode and severe evil is allowed to flourish unchecked within a community, impacting collective responsibility and integrity.