Juízes 19:1

O Levita e a Morte da sua Concubina

1 Naquela época, não havia rei em Israel. Aconteceu que um levita que vivia nos montes de Efraim, numa região afastada, tomou para si uma concubina, que era de Belém de Judá.

Juízes 19:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 19:1

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no
king in Israel
The same is observed in ( Judges 17:6 ) ( 18:1 ) and refers to the same times, the times before the judges, between them and the death of Joshua, during which time there was no supreme magistrate or ruler in Israel, which is meant; and this is observed, as before, to account for wickedness being committed with impunity, such as adultery, sodomy, murder afterwards related:

that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of Mount
Ephraim;
in a city that was on one side of that mountain; it seems not to have been a Levitical city, because he was only a sojourner in it; perhaps he chose to reside there, as being near to the tabernacle of Shiloh, which was in that tribe;

who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah;
the same place from whence the wicked Levite came, spoken of in the preceding chapters, and who was the means of spreading idolatry in Israel; and here a wicked concubine of a Levite comes from the same, and was the cause of great effusion of blood in Israel; which two instances may seem to reflect dishonour and disgrace on Bethlehem, which were wiped off by the birth of some eminent persons in it, as Boaz, Jesse, David, and especially the Messiah. The woman the Levite took from hence is in the Hebrew called, "a wife, a concubine" ^F8; for a concubine was a secondary wife, taken without espousals and a dowry: some think they were espoused, though there was no dowry, and were reckoned truly wives, though they had not all the honour and privilege as others; and that this woman was accounted the wife of the Levite, appears from his being called her husband frequently; and her father is said to be his father-in-law, and he his son-in-law; nor could she have been chargeable with adultery otherwise.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 So Pagninus, Tigurine version, Drusius.

Juízes 19:1 In-Context

1 Naquela época, não havia rei em Israel. Aconteceu que um levita que vivia nos montes de Efraim, numa região afastada, tomou para si uma concubina, que era de Belém de Judá.

2 Mas ela lhe foi infiel. Deixou-o e voltou para a casa do seu pai, em Belém de Judá. Quatro meses depois,

3 seu marido foi convencê-la a voltar. Ele tinha levado o seu servo e dois jumentos. A mulher o levou para dentro da casa do seu pai, e quando seu pai o viu, alegrou-se.

4 O sogro dele o convenceu a ficar ali; e ele permaneceu com eles três dias; todos comendo, bebendo e dormindo ali.

5 No quarto dia, eles se levantaram cedo, e o levita se preparou para partir, mas o pai da moça disse ao genro: “Coma alguma coisa, e depois vocês poderão partir”.