Question 1

Who are the main people in the story of the Levite’s concubine?

Accepted Answer

The main person is a Levite who lives near the hill country of Ephraim. He has a concubine from Bethlehem who leaves him and stays with her father. The Levite goes to speak kindly to her and bring her back. Her father, the young man’s servant, and an old man from Gibeah also appear. The men of Gibeah, called sons of Belial, surround the house and abuse the woman. At the end, the Levite sends her body in pieces to all Israel, drawing the whole nation into the story.

Question 2

What does it mean that there was no king in Israel in this passage?

Accepted Answer

The line about there being no king in Israel sets the mood for the whole story. It tells us that there was no strong leader to uphold justice or make sure God’s law was obeyed. People did what they thought was right, even when it was evil. The Levite’s mixed motives, the lack of hospitality in Gibeah, the violent men, and the shocking way the Levite responds at the end all show what happens when a people turn from God and have no godly leadership to restrain sin.

Question 3

Why did the Levite refuse to stay in Jebus but choose Gibeah instead?

Accepted Answer

When the servant suggests they stay in Jebus, the Levite refuses because it is a city of foreigners, not of Israel. He expects that staying among his own people in Gibeah or Ramah will be safer and more fitting. He trusts that an Israelite town will show him kindness and hospitality. The sad twist of the story is that the city of Gibeah, though belonging to Benjamin, offers no welcome at first and then becomes the place of the worst kind of abuse, showing that sinful Israelites can be more dangerous than the surrounding nations.

Question 4

Why is there such a strong focus on hospitality in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Hospitality is at the center of what happens. The Levite is warmly received and delayed by his concubine’s father, who feeds him and urges him to stay. Later, in Gibeah, no one at first takes them in, which already hints at cold hearts. Only an old man, himself an outsider from Ephraim, finally brings them into his house and warns them not to stay in the street. The failure of the town to care for travelers, and then the mob’s violence, show how badly the basic duty of kindness to strangers has broken down in Israel.

Question 5

Why did the Levite give his concubine to the men of Gibeah?

Accepted Answer

This is one of the hardest parts of the passage to read. The old man first offers his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the wicked men, trying to protect his guest. When the men refuse to listen, the Levite takes his concubine and pushes her out to them. The text shows how fear, cowardice, and a twisted view of honor lead to a terrible choice. It is not presented as good or right but as a sign of how far God’s people had fallen from his ways of justice and protection for the weak.

Question 6

What is the meaning of the Levite cutting his concubine into twelve pieces?

Accepted Answer

After finding his concubine dead at the door, the Levite takes her home, cuts her body into twelve pieces, and sends them throughout Israel. This shocking act is meant to stir the whole nation to see how serious the sin in Gibeah is. The twelve pieces match the twelve tribes, calling each tribe to face what has happened. Those who see it say nothing like this has been done since Israel came out of Egypt, and they call one another to consider it, take counsel, and speak, showing that sin in one place concerns the whole people.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about moral and social decay?

Accepted Answer

The story paints a picture of a society that has drifted far from God. A Levite treats a concubine as a lesser partner, the woman is unfaithful, a father delays his son-in-law with feasting, a whole town ignores travelers, and then a mob commits brutal sin. Even the Levite’s response to her death is shocking. The final words, calling Israel to think and speak, show that the whole nation must face how low things have sunk. It warns that when people leave God’s ways, both private and public life can become twisted and cruel.

Question 8

How can believers today respond to a story as dark as this one?

Accepted Answer

This passage is not meant to entertain but to sober us. It reminds readers to take sin seriously, in themselves and in their communities. It calls people to care for the vulnerable, to practice real hospitality, and to reject the kind of group evil seen in Gibeah. It also shows the need for wise, godly leadership and for hearts that truly follow God rather than doing whatever seems right. When reading such a dark account, prayer, repentance, and renewed commitment to God’s ways are fitting responses.

Judges 19:1

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.

The Crime of the Benjamites

The Crime of the Benjamites

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Judges 19:1

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.

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The Crime of the Benjamites

The Crime of the Benjamites

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