Sanctioning Sin

Not long ago, the Israelites were determined to ‘ “repay all the vileness that [the Benjamites] have done in Israel’ ” (20:10b). In their zeal, they would have wiped out every last member of the tribe had not six hundred men escaped to the wilderness in the providence of God. Now, however, the Israelites have a new priority: ‘ “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin.’ ” As we saw in yesterday’s study, this goal pushed the Israelites into an ethically questionable method of providing wives for some of me Benjamite men. Now an even more questionable scheme is hatched to find spouses for the rest.

The Israelites’ oath keeps getting in their way: ‘ “We cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, “Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ” ” Finally, however, it occurs to someone that if the Benjamites simply take the daughters of the Israelite men without explicit permission, no one’s oath will have been violated. Seizing on this angle, the Israelites begin formulating a plan to let the Benjamites abduct the young women of their choice. But then, to make the developing plan more proactive (and probably to spare their own daughters), the Israelites suggest an ideal opportunity for the Benjamite bachelors to make their abductions. A yearly feast is coming up in Shiloh (probably the feast of tabernacles, according to Matthew Henry), when the young women of the city and the surrounding region customarily dance along a roadway. The Benjamites can hide in the vineyards beside the road and emerge to snatch the women. Best of all from the Israelites’ perspective, no men of Shiloh are present to object to this scheme, so they will be completely innocent of any violation of their oath. We are not told whether any Benjamites question the propriety of this plan, but the Israelite leaders voluntarily offer to intercede for the Benjamites if any men of Shiloh demand justice. Thus, the spirit of the Israelite oath is violated again, kidnapping is officially sanctioned, and justice is short-circuited even before the crime is committed.

The Benjamites, we’re told, capture enough wives for themselves, then return to their territory to rebuild their cities. And with their “Benjamite problem” finally solved, the Israelites adjourn their national assembly and return to their own homes and lands.