Judges 21 11

Judges 21:11 kjv

And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.

Judges 21:11 nkjv

And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately."

Judges 21:11 niv

"This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin."

Judges 21:11 esv

This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction."

Judges 21:11 nlt

"This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin."

Judges 21 verses

Judges 21 11 Meaning

Judges 21:11 presents a directive issued by the assembled Israelites to their troops concerning the people of Jabesh-Gilead. It instructs the complete annihilation of every male and every non-virgin woman within that city. This specific command was part of a desperate plan to acquire wives for the surviving six hundred men of the tribe of Benjamin, after the main Israelite assembly had vowed not to give their daughters to Benjamin following a destructive civil war.

Judges 21 11 Context

Judges chapter 21 concludes the grim narrative of the near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19-20). The severe civil war between Benjamin and the other tribes left only 600 Benjaminite men surviving. However, the rest of Israel had sworn a rash and severe oath at Mizpah that no man would give his daughter in marriage to a Benjaminite. This oath presented a profound dilemma: upholding their vow meant the complete extinction of an entire tribe of Israel, an outcome considered devastating. To avoid this tribal loss while attempting to uphold their oath, the Israelites devised a pragmatic, yet ethically questionable, two-part plan. The first part, described in Judges 21:11, targets Jabesh-Gilead for failing to join the unified Israelite assembly against Benjamin (Judges 21:5). This absence was considered a grave offense, breaking a crucial, implicit covenant of all-Israelite participation. This verse, therefore, dictates the harsh judgment against Jabesh-Gilead as a means to obtain virgin women as wives for the remaining Benjaminites, serving their immediate pragmatic needs over divinely inspired justice. The overarching context of Judges 19-21, culminating in "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25), portrays a society in moral and spiritual decline, often resorting to human solutions for complex problems, leading to tragic consequences.

Judges 21 11 Word analysis

• And this is the thing that ye shall do: וְזֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשׂוּ (v'zeh ha-davar asher ta'asu).
  • דָּבָר (davar): Hebrew for "word," "thing," "matter," or "decree." Here, it signifies a specific command or action determined by the Israelite assembly. It carries the weight of an official resolution, underscoring the collective decision-making, albeit deeply flawed, of the nation. This implies a settled judgment or policy.
• Every male: כָּל־זָכָר (kol-zakhar).
  • זָכָר (zakhar): "Male." This specifies the complete eradication of all men, leaving no male lineage to perpetuate Jabesh-Gilead's families. This ensures there are no future claimants to the women or avengers of their people from Jabesh-Gilead.
• and every woman that hath lain by man: וְכָל־אִשָּׁה יוֹדַעַת מִשְׁכַּב זָכָר (v'khol-ishah yoda'at mishkav zakhar).
  • יוֹדַעַת מִשְׁכַּב זָכָר: Literally, "knowing the lying down of a male." This is a Hebrew idiom or euphemism for a woman who has experienced sexual intercourse, distinguishing her as non-virgin. In ancient Israelite society, virginity was highly valued, especially for marriage and continuing the purity of the lineage. This selective destruction, sparing virgins for the Benjaminites, demonstrates the pragmatic and survival-oriented rather than solely punitive motive of the action. It highlights a critical component of their plan: preserving suitable potential wives.
• ye shall utterly destroy: תַּחֲרִימוּ (tacharimu).
  • Root: חָרַם (kharam): "To put under the ban," "to utterly destroy," "to devote to destruction." This is the term for herem warfare, usually applied by God's command against wicked idolatrous nations (e.g., Canaanites, Amalekites) where no spoils or survivors are permitted. Its application here, against fellow Israelites, is highly significant. It showcases the extreme degradation of spiritual and ethical norms during the Judges period, as the people misapplied principles of divine justice for their own human-centered political and tribal solutions. It reflects a dangerous confusion between divinely mandated judgment and self-serving violence.

Judges 21 11 Bonus section

The severe action against Jabesh-Gilead underscores the gravity of collective oaths and communal responsibility in ancient Israel. The men of Jabesh-Gilead had apparently not joined the grand assembly at Mizpah to confront Benjamin, and by this omission, were seen as violating the implicit covenant of all-Israelite unity in response to a grave national sin (the Levite's concubine, Judg 19). Their non-participation was viewed as an act of treason or extreme negligence, sufficient cause for being placed under a decree of destruction similar to an enemy, albeit paradoxically for the preservation of one of Israel's own tribes. This incident reflects the tension between individual community identity and overarching tribal/national unity within Israel during the period of Judges.

Judges 21 11 Commentary

Judges 21:11 is a stark and difficult verse, revealing the moral depths to which Israel had fallen in the absence of godly leadership. Following a catastrophic civil war and a rash oath, the nation found itself caught in a seemingly impossible bind: preserving Benjamin or upholding a misguided vow. This verse outlines their pragmatic, human-driven solution, marked by severe violence and a distorted application of religious concepts. The instruction to "utterly destroy" (herem) normally reserved for the idolatrous enemies of God, here becomes a tool for tribal politics and desperate demographic control among God's own people. The selectivity of destruction, preserving virgins while slaughtering all males and non-virgins, exposes the raw expediency of their actions – the lives of innocents (from Jabesh-Gilead) were considered disposable if they served the Israelites' immediate needs. This passage serves as a grim example of human reasoning gone awry when decoupled from divine guidance, where self-interest and expediency supersede true righteousness and mercy, leading to escalating cycles of violence and moral compromise within the very people called to be a light to the nations.