The Levite, his concubine, and the war on Benjamin

[Tom Tighe]

This is a story that doesn’t make it into the Sunday readings. The incident starts, as so many, with sexual impropriety. There is nothing but tragedy as a young woman is raped to death, then dismembered and sent to 11 of the tribes as an invitation to war. Benjamin is defeated and then decimated, but only after killing 70,000 other Israelites. The idea of self rule, being bound only by Gods laws from Moses, seems to be beyond the capability of man. The 11 tribes have remorse after the slaughter of their brethren, and devise a goofy way to circumvent their oath and allow Benjamin to repopulate. This plan violates the instructions to not intermarry with the pagans. It’s a lose-lose deal and very sad.