In Judges 17-18, the event revolved around the Levite who became a priest for the household-level idol worship service then was “promoted” to a priest for the tribe-level idol worship service. The story shifts to the second Levite, filled with shocking events.
The event in Judges 19 is not something you will hear in Sunday school. Nevertheless, it is an important story that depicts a pitiful fall of the people of God, especially the Levite. Let this be a warning to us.
Summary of Judges 19:1-20:7
A certain Levite from the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine. But the concubine was unfaithful and ran away. The Levite searched for her and took her back from her father’s house with kind words. On their way back to home, they decided to spend the night in Gibeah, a city that belongs to the Benjamin tribe
While no one showed hospitality to the Levite and the concubine, an old man showed up later in the evening and invited them to his house. However, certain worthless men of Gibeah surrounded the house to harm them. The Levite brought the concubine out to them. They abused her all night, and she died. The Levite cut her body in twelve pieces and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
In response to the gruesome death of the concubine, the whole Israel arose in anger to punish the men of Gibeah, which belonged to the Benjamin tribe. The Levite provided his testimony of what the men of Gibeah did to him and his concubine.
Levite Took a Concubine
A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine for himself (Judges 19:1). Notice this: For himself, he took a concubine. We are not sure the exact reason that he took a concubine – to have children because of his barren wife, or for purely physical pleasure. Regardless, the action was for himself.
What was the role of the Levites? In micro-perspective, they need to be demonstrating holiness in their individual life, including decisions related to marriage (Levite 21:7). Taking a concubine certainly did not fit well into a “holiness” category. In macro-perspective, they were to remind the Israelites of the LORD God. They were to serve as a sign that points to God. When Joshua allotted land to the twelve tribes, the Levites resided in 48 cities throughout the twelve tribes of Israel (Joshua 21). Their role was to remind the rest of the Israelites that the land was given by God and God would be the center of their lives.
Taking a concubine was probably an acceptable norm at that time in society. However, the Levites were to represent God and the word of God above the social norm. For this Levite, a societal norm was more important than the word of God.
Levite Searches for the Concubine
The concubine went away from the Levite to her father’s house. Despite her unfaithfulness, the Levite rose to search for her with tender words and brought a pair of donkeys as a gift (Judges 19:3). He stayed with his father-in-law and her for several days.
Up to this point, the Levite seem to be a genuine person who cared about the concubine. Well, let’s continue to read the story to see if that was the case.
Israelite Society: Ominous and Disturbing Signs
On his way back home, the Levite decided to pass by Jebus, a foreign land, so that he could spend the night in Gibeah, a city in Benjamin, one of the twelve Israelite tribes. However, this decision turned out to be a disaster.
Hospitality to strangers was one of the backbone characteristics of the Israelite society based on the word of God. Abraham, as well as Lot, showed hospitality to travelers (Genesis 18-19). However, no one in Gibeah took them into their houses for the night (Judges 19:15). It was not until evening when an old man came out of the field to take them into his house. The old man warned them not to spend the night in the open square (Judges 19:20). This was the first ominous sign.
Then, the men of Gibeah came to the old man’s house, pounding the door, demanding to have relations with the man (Judges 19:25). The almost exact scene incident took place in Sodom and Gomorrah where all the men, both young and old, surrounded Lot’s house to have relations with the guests (Genesis 19:4). This showed that the Israel society, or at least the Benjamin tribe, had fallen to the level similar to people in Sodom and Gomorrah, which were eventually destroyed because of their wickedness by the judgement of the LORD God (Genesis 19:24-28). This was the second ominous, disturbing sign.
Levite to the Concubine: You Die, so I can Live!
When the men of Gibeah started to threaten, in order to mitigate the tension, the Levite seized his concubine and brought her out to them (19:25). The Levite, whom we thought could have been a “nice” guy who spoke tenderly to bring the concubine back to him even after her unfaithfulness, threw the concubine to the men of Gibeah, so that he could live.
Levite: the Mentally Ill?
The concubine died after being abused all night. The Levite did not even bother checking her status at all until morning. He took her body on the donkey and went back to his home as if nothing had happened. Then, he cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel (Judges 19:29).
Why did he cut his concubine? I think it is an understatement to say that this Levite was mentally ill. The Levite was called to cut sacrificed animals, not human bodies, in serving the LORD God.
Levite Testimony
In response to the gruesome death of the concubine, the whole Israel arose in anger to punish the men of Gibeah, part of the Benjamin tribe.
To the assembled Israelites, the Levite testified what happened to the concubine and him by the men of Gibeah (Judges 20:4-7). Although the overall story of the testimony generally depicted the correct result, a further examination of his testimony could reveal a few important aspects about the Levite and the Israelite society.
First, there was an important missing piece of information. He stated that men of Gibeah rose up against him to kill him, and ravished his concubine (Judges 20:5). However, a missing key info was that he, in fact, brought and gave his concubine to the men of Gibeah in order to save his life (Judges 19:25).
Second, the Levite said that he came with his concubine at Gibeah. The Levite was to represent God. The Levite was not to acquire a concubine as others did. Although this may have been acceptable in society’s norm, Levite acquiring concubine, who was not faithful, was not the way to represent God (Leviticus 21:7-9).
Third, his action of cutting the body into twelve pieces seemed to indicate the unhealthy mental status of the Levite. One of the main roles of the Levite was to cut the sacrificed animals, not a human body, into pieces for offerings before the LORD.
The second and third factor should have raised a red flag for the Israelites to examine the integrity of the Levite’s testimony. The Israelites could have sought to cross-examine Levite’s testimony (Proverbs 18:17: the first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him). The old man who sheltered the Levite could have been summoned to be a witness. In addition, they could have formally invited the Benjamin tribe to participate in this judicial process in a hope to convict their sin in a fair, transparent way, instead of condemning them early.
The testimony of the Levite actually reflected the wickedness of his character as much as the wickedness of the men of Gibeah of the Benjamin tribe.
The Overall Assessment of the Levite
Why did the Levite take the concubine in the first place? I believe it was for his physical pleasure. We can see that from how the Levite treated the concubine when he was in a crisis by throwing her into a dangerous situation under the men of Gibeah. He used her as a shield.
Why did the Levite cut her body in twelve pieces? Other than something off with his mental status, I think he became angry that his property was gone. Instead of seeing her in the image of God, he saw her as his property – nothing more. For that reason, he had no qualm in cutting her body in twelve pieces.
The Levite was called to represent God, showing mercy and love to neighbors and especially the weak. The Levite displayed nothing like that.
This behavior of the Levite was as sinful as that of the men of Gibeah.
Give Life 