Judges 21 8

Judges 21:8 kjv

And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.

Judges 21:8 nkjv

And they said, "What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the LORD?" And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.

Judges 21:8 niv

Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.

Judges 21:8 esv

And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?" And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.

Judges 21:8 nlt

So they asked, "Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the LORD?" And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly.

Judges 21 verses

Judges 21 8 Meaning

Judges 21:8 details a crucial moment when the Israelite tribes, gathered at Mizpah to address the near extinction of the tribe of Benjamin, discover the absence of any representative from Jabesh-gilead. This revelation is significant because the assembly had previously sworn a solemn oath (Judg 21:5) that anyone who did not join the congregation at Mizpah would face a curse of death. The verse highlights the methodical way the tribes identified this sole non-participant city, setting the stage for their drastic actions to acquire wives for the remaining Benjamite men.

Judges 21 8 Context

Judges 21:8 is set in a deeply chaotic and tragic period for Israel, often summarized by the recurring phrase "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judg 17:6, 21:25). Chapters 19-21 describe the shocking events surrounding the Levite and his concubine, which led to a catastrophic civil war against the tribe of Benjamin. The initial tribal assembly at Mizpah, prior to the war, had collectively sworn an oath to put to death any city or tribe that failed to join them in the fight against Gibeah for its wickedness, and also later vowed not to give their daughters in marriage to Benjamites. After nearly annihilating Benjamin, the tribes are gripped by immense remorse, lamenting the potential loss of a tribe from Israel. The search for a way to save Benjamin's remnant from extinction without breaking their second oath (not to give daughters to Benjamin) leads them to recall the first oath about non-attendance at Mizpah. This verse specifically identifies Jabesh-gilead as the solitary city that had not participated in the earlier national assembly, marking them for severe judgment.

Judges 21 8 Word analysis

• And they said,: Refers to the collective voice of "all the children of Israel" (Judg 20:1), meaning the remaining eleven tribes, gathered again at Mizpah. This emphasizes a unified, albeit desperate, deliberation by the leadership of Israel.
• 'What one: This indicates a specific, methodical inquiry, suggesting that the tribes are recalling an earlier, critical decree or vow. It's not a general question but a search for an exception.
• of the tribes of Israel: Underscores the national, pan-Israelite scope of the initial summons and the corporate responsibility implied. Every tribal entity was expected to participate.
• did not come up: The Hebrew "עָלָה" (pronounced 'alah) means "to ascend" or "to go up," typically used for moving towards a higher, more sacred, or centrally located place. This suggests going up to Mizpah, which served as a national religious and political gathering point, often implies presence before God.
• to the LORD: The phrase "אל־יהוה" (el-YHWH) explicitly states that the assembly was called and convened under divine authority and in the presence of God. Non-attendance was not just a political slight but a religious transgression.
• in Mizpah?': Mizpah (מִצְפָּה, Miṣpāh) was a designated assembly point, previously confirmed in Judg 20:1 as the site where "the congregation was assembled as one man to the LORD." It signifies the locus of communal covenant and action.
• And behold,: The Hebrew "וְהִנֵּה" (wəhinnēh), an emphatic interjection, signals an immediate and surprising discovery or a significant revelation that follows. It heightens the dramatic impact of the subsequent information.
• no one had come: This confirms a complete and utter absence, signifying total non-participation. This indicates the gravity of Jabesh-gilead's non-compliance.
• from Jabesh-gilead: (יָבֵשׁ גִּלְעָד, Yāḇēš Gilʿāḏ) The specific town identified. Located on the east side of the Jordan River (Gilead), it implies a geographic and perhaps socio-political separation or isolation that contributed to their non-attendance at a gathering west of the Jordan.
• to the camp,: This refers to the military encampment formed by the assembled tribes. It emphasizes the readiness for war and the practical, organized nature of the gathering.
• to the assembly.: This reiterates the formal, communal gathering, specifically recalling the "קָהָל" (qāhāl), meaning "congregation" or "assembly." Its absence from this designated collective body was the grounds for their impending judgment.

• "What one... did not come up to the LORD in Mizpah?": This specific question stems from the explicit oath made by the tribes in Judges 21:5, which declared that any city not sending representatives to the sacred assembly at Mizpah for the punitive action against Benjamin would be put to death. It shows the tribes' rigid adherence to their prior, extreme oath, even as they attempt to mitigate the consequences of another. This highlights their legalistic approach, however misguided, in a period lacking clear centralized authority. The oath represents an attempt at communal justice and solidarity in the face of perceived evil, although their execution often proved flawed.
• "And behold, no one had come from Jabesh-gilead to the camp, to the assembly.": This discovery directly answers the self-posed question, providing the precise information the tribes needed to identify a target for their desperate plan. The mention of "the camp" and "the assembly" stresses the dual nature of the gathering: both a military muster (the camp) and a solemn, possibly sacred, convocation of the entire nation before the LORD (the assembly). Jabesh-gilead's absence was thus a complete dereliction of both civil-military duty and religious-communal obligation. Their lack of participation marked them as a severe breach of tribal solidarity and allegiance to the common cause of Israel and the Lord. This act of isolation led to catastrophic consequences for them but also, ironically, provided a solution for Benjamin.

Judges 21 8 Bonus section

The tragic irony of Jabesh-gilead's near annihilation here lays the groundwork for their deep loyalty to Saul in later biblical accounts. The Benjamite King Saul (1 Sam 11) hails from Benjamin, the very tribe nearly wiped out in Judges 20-21. When Nahash the Ammonite besieges Jabesh-gilead, Saul heroically rescues them, solidifying their profound gratitude. This gratefulness is later displayed when the Jabesh-gileadites bravely retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons from the Philistines (1 Sam 31). This earlier act of the unified tribes against Jabesh-gilead due to their failure in corporate responsibility, though horrific, contributes to the very history that binds Saul and the city. It highlights how desperate and violent events during the period of Judges shaped future relationships and political allegiances in Israel's early monarchy.

Judges 21 8 Commentary

Judges 21:8 encapsulates a moment of stark realization for the tribes of Israel, driven by their desperate search for wives for the surviving Benjamites. This verse is not about Jabesh-gilead's culpability in Benjamin's initial sin, but their severe failure in corporate responsibility. Their absence from the crucial national assembly at Mizpah, which was convened under the Lord's name and accompanied by a solemn, community-binding oath, was perceived as an egregious affront. In the anarchic period of Judges, oaths carried immense weight, and non-compliance, particularly with matters concerning national unity or divine mandate, was deemed a grave transgression deserving extreme punishment. The tribes, trapped by their own rash vow against Benjamin, found in Jabesh-gilead's isolation a grim "solution"—a city whose destruction could provide untouched maidens for Benjamin, thus fulfilling one oath while technically circumventing another. This painful expediency underscores the profound moral and spiritual disarray of Israel, where one crisis solution begat another violent act, demonstrating how good intentions (seeking justice, preserving a tribe) could lead to perverted means in the absence of righteous leadership.