Shofetim 21:3

3 And said, Hashem Elohei Yisroel, why is this come to pass in Yisroel, that there should be today shevet echad lacking in Yisroel?

Shofetim 21:3 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 21:3

And said, O Lord God of Israel
Jehovah, the only living and true God, the Being of beings, eternal, immutable, omnipotent and omnipresent, the God of all Israel, of the twelve tribes of Israel, their covenant God and Father; who had shown favour to them in such a peculiar and gracious manner, as he had not to other nations, and therefore hoped he would still have a kind regard unto them, and suffer them to expostulate with him in the following manner:

why is this come to pass in Israel;
expressing, as Abarbinel thinks, a concern for the 40,000 men of Israel which fell in the two first battles; but it manifestly refers to the case in the next words:

that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel;
meaning the tribe of Benjamin, which was all destroyed, excepting six hundred men, and these had no wives to propagate the tribe; and therefore, unless some provision could be made for that, it must in a short time be totally extinct; for which they express great concern, it not being their intention when they made the above oath to extirpate them; but such were now the circumstances of things in Providence, that it must perish unless some way could be found to relieve it, and which their oath seemed to preclude; and this threw them into great perplexity.

Shofetim 21:3 In-Context

1 1 Now the Ish Yisroel had taken an oath in Mitzpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his bat unto Binyamin as isha.

2 And HaAm went to Beit-El, and abode there till erev before HaElohim, and lifted up their voices, and wept gadol;

3 And said, Hashem Elohei Yisroel, why is this come to pass in Yisroel, that there should be today shevet echad lacking in Yisroel?

4 And it came to pass on the next day, that HaAm rose early, and built there a Mizbe’ach, and offered olot and shelamim.

5 And the Bnei Yisroel said, Who is there among kol Shivtei Yisroel that came not up with the Kahal unto Hashem? For they had made the shevuah hagedolah concerning him that came not up before Hashem to Mitzpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.