That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin.
Parallel translations
- WEB Behold, an old man came from his work out of the field at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.
- KJV And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.
- BSB That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.
- NKJV Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.
- NASB 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 Benjaminites.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
An old man returning from his fields is the only one to notice the travelers. Notably, he is himself an outsider from Ephraim.
Overview
The lone person willing to help is not a native Benjamite but a sojourner from Ephraim. The detail sharpens the indictment of Gibeah, whose own citizens offered no welcome. The old man's compassion stands as a small light against the town's encroaching darkness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 14:23In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.
- Judg 19:1In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a certain Levite living on the farther side of the hill country of Ephraim, who took for himself a concubine out of Bethlehem Judah.
- Ps 104:23Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening.
- Ps 128:2For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you.
- Judg 19:14So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
- Eph 4:28Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
- 1 Th 4:11–12and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you;
- 2 Th 3:10For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: “If anyone will not work, don’t let him eat.”
- Gen 3:19By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
- Eccl 1:13I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under the sky. It is a heavy burden that God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.
- Prov 13:11Wealth gained dishonestly dwindles away, but he who gathers by hand makes it grow.
- Prov 24:27Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.
- Eccl 5:12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 19:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.