His concubine played the prostitute against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehem Judah, and was there for four months.
Parallel translations
- KJV And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
- BSB But she was unfaithful to him and left him to return to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. After she had been there four months,
- NKJV But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.
- NASB But his concubine found him repugnant, and she left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months.
- NLT But she became angry with him and returned to her father’s home in Bethlehem. After about four months,
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
The concubine is unfaithful and leaves the Levite, returning to her father's house for four months. The relationship is already broken before the tragedy unfolds.
Overview
The text notes her unfaithfulness and departure, though some manuscripts read that she became angry; faithful interpreters differ on the exact nuance. Either way, the marriage-like bond is fractured. The estrangement drives the Levite's journey to Bethlehem, beginning the chain of events leading to Gibeah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ezek 16:28You have played the prostitute also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; yes, you have played the prostitute with them, and yet you weren’t satisfied.
- Deut 22:21then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- Lev 21:9“‘The daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, she profanes her father. She shall be burned with fire.
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 19:2 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.