Today I read Judges 19, in which the Levite’s concubine was given to the men of Gibeah to save her husband in the Benjaminite city. Today I considered that women can face danger so they need a plan and to know self-defense.
The Levite’s Concubine Killed
The Levite sacrificed the concubine’s safety for his and then declared his anger against the Benjaminites at her death (Judges 19:1-30). The Levite in mount Ephraim’s concubine left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlem-judah. After she was there four months, the Levite went to her father’s house to sweet talk her and she welcomed in. The concubine’s father was glad to meet the Levite and encouraged him to stay. The Levite started trying to leave after the third day and refused to stay the fifth day, leaving in the afternoon of the fifth day with his concubine and his servant. The Levite refused to stay in a stranger’s city like the Jebusites they were passing and made it to Gibeah, a Benjaminite city, as it was getting dark. An old man talked to them, saw they had not found a place to stay and brought the husband, concubine, and servant into his house. Men in Gibeah, sons of Belial, surrounded the old man’s house and asked that they send out the man that came to the house so they could sleep with him. The old man offered his virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, but the men of the city refused. The Levite put his concubine outside and the men abused and raped her all night until dawn was coming. She was laying unresponsive, outside the door, with her hand on the threshold when the Levite opened the old man’s door. The man picked up her body and took her to his house. The Levite cut his concubine into pieces with the bones inside and sent her to all Israel.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
The Levite sacrificed the concubine, not his servant, not the old man’s daughter, and not himself. The Levite must have wanted her alive and in his household because he traveled a long distance, stayed and was friendly with her father for days, and was bringing her back to his house. The Levite even tried to make sure he stayed in a safe city. But why did the Levite sacrifice her, is it because she was a concubine, not a wife or because she was female. According to those times a concubine was inferior to a wife and usually had to answer to the wife, some were used to have more children, and some were slave wives with certain protections (see: link). Others also consider this awful and a harsh time in history (see: JWA article). Learning from the Bible we see at least three things: it is better to have the status of a wife, even women have been sacrificed in dangerous situations, and women need to have a plan and know self-defense.
What can you do to ensure the safety of those around you?