¹tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”
²sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.
³map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
⁴tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁵tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb hn\z+T!w~ (w~T!zn\h) as being from hn`z` (z`n`h, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 1:275).
⁶tn Heb “went from him.”
⁷tn Heb “arose and came.”
⁸tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”
⁹tn Or “young man.”
¹⁰tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”
¹¹tn Heb “and he arose to go.”
¹²tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”
¹³tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”
¹⁶tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”
¹⁷tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.
¹⁸tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”
¹⁹tn Heb “the man arose to go.”
²⁰tn Or “young man.”
²¹tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”
²²tn Or “declining.”
²³tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”
²⁴tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
²⁵tn Heb “to the front of.”
²⁶map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
²⁷tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”
²⁸tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”
²⁹tn Or “young man.”
³⁰tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).
³¹tn Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”
³²tn Or “young man.”
³³tn Heb “we will enter one of the places.”
³⁴tn Heb “and they passed by and went.”
³⁵tn Heb “which belongs to.”
³⁶tn Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”
³⁷tn Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”
³⁸tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”
³⁹tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”
⁴¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴²map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
⁴³tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”
⁴⁴tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.
⁴⁵tc Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.
⁴⁶tn Heb “Peace to you.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “ate and drank.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and look.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.
⁵¹tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.
⁵²tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).
⁵³tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁵⁴tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁵⁶tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.
⁵⁸tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.
⁵⁹tn Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”
⁶⁰tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.
⁶¹tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”
⁶²tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”
⁶³tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”
⁶⁴tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
⁶⁵tn Heb “from the day.”
⁶⁶tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”