Judges 21:17

17 And they said, "[There must be] a remnant for Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.

Judges 21:17 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 21:17

And they said, there must be an inheritance for them that be
escaped Benjamin
The escaped are the six hundred men in the rock Rimmon; four hundred of them were supplied with wives, the other two wanted; and as there was an inheritance divided by lot to the tribe of Benjamin, to that tribe and to that only it belonged, and they must have it and no other; it now of right devolved on these six hundred men, and them only, and therefore provision must be made to increase their number, that they may occupy the inheritance they have a right to, rebuild their cities, till their land, cultivate their vineyards and oliveyards, and enjoy all the advantages of their possessions:

that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel;
but the full number of the tribes be preserved, and their inheritances belonging to them, according to the predictions of Jacob and Moses, and the assignment of them by lot unto them by Joshua.

Judges 21:17 In-Context

15 And the people felt sorry for Benjamin because {Yahweh weakened the tribes of Israel}.

16 So the elders of the congregation said, "What should we do for the remaining [ones] for wives, since the women from Benjamin have been destroyed?"

17 And they said, "[There must be] a remnant for Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel.

18 But we cannot give them wives from our daughters." (For the {Israelites} swore, saying, "Cursed be [anyone] who gives a wife to Benjamin.")

19 And they said, "Look, the annual feast of Yahweh [is] in Shiloh, which [is] to the north of Bethel, {east} of [the] main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.