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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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 16:28Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
- Deut 22:21Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
- Lev 21:9And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt 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.