Judges 19:16

16 Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from 1the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place 2were Benjamites.

Judges 19:16 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 19:16

And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the
field at even
Which is the time that men come from their labour, and take their rest; and this man, though a man in years, and of some substance, as appears by what follows, yet attended the business of his calling, which was very commendable in him:

which was also of Mount Ephraim;
as the Levite was, which when the old man understood, he was the more ready no doubt to receive him into his house:

and he sojourned in Gibeah;
he was not a native of the place, and yet more kind to strangers than such as were; nor does he appear to be a Levite, though it was a Levitical city; on what account he sojourned here is not manifest:

but the men of the place were Benjamites:
for as yet the number of Levites were not large, others dwelt in the cities besides them, even such as were of the tribe to which they belonged.

Judges 19:16 In-Context

14 So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.
15 They turned aside there in order to enter and lodge in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
16 Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites.
17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going, and where do you come from?"
18 He said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no man will take me into his house.

Cross References 2

Footnotes 1

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