A Peace Message and an Inadequate Transfer
Peace between fighting men is pursued through women seized from another community.
Judges 21:13-14 (BSB)
13Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.
14And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.
Historical Context
The message goes to the rock of Rimmon, where 600 Benjamites had survived; the women are transferred after the men return.
Literary Context
The four hundred women were taken to Shiloh in 21:12 after the attack on Jabesh-gilead. Verses 13-14 reconnect the surviving Benjaminites to the assembly, then show why leaders seek a second scheme in 21:15-22. The 'peace' message must not erase the violence already done to the women or their town.
What is the big idea of Judges 21:13-14?
Peace between fighting men is pursued through women seized from another community.
Understanding the Big Idea
The congregation sends a peace message to the six hundred Benjaminites at Rimmon, who return. The assembly gives them women who survived the Jabesh-gilead raid, but the number is insufficient. Peace among fighting men is pursued through the transfer of women seized from another community. No woman is reported as consenting to this transfer.
Authorial Intent
Trace the peace message to Rimmon, Benjamin’s return, and the transfer of captured women while naming the absence of their consent.
How does Judges 21:13-14 point to Christ?
A peace message between men cannot make the forced transfer of women a gospel scene. The gospel is Christ's death for sins and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The oaths, killings, and seizure of women in this chapter are not a saving pattern or commands for Christ's people.
Questions for Reflection
- Who receives the peace message?
- Who are the women given to them?
- How were the women obtained?
- Is their consent reported?
Chapter: Judges 21
Benjamin's Preservation and Israel's Final No-King Verdict
Judges ends by showing that a covenant people without righteous rule may grieve disaster yet still repair one evil with another, proving the desperate need for the LORD's true King.