1De israelitiske ledere havde under mødet i Mitzpa svoret på, at de aldrig ville lade deres døtre gifte sig med mænd fra Benjamins stamme.2Men efter slaget holdt de endnu et møde—denne gang i Betel—hvor de sørgede og græd for Herrens ansigt indtil aften.3„Herre, Israels Gud,” klagede de, „hvorfor skulle denne ulykke ramme os? Nu må vi savne en stamme i Israel!”4Næste morgen stod de tidligt op, byggede et alter og ofrede brænd- og takofre på alteret.5Da spurgte de hinanden: „Var nogen af Israels folk ikke repræsenteret under mødet i Mitzpa?” De havde nemlig svoret på, at hvis nogen nægtede at møde op, skulle de straffes med døden.6Men samtidig følte Israel medlidenhed med benjaminitterne og sagde: „Ak, en hel stamme er næsten totalt udryddet af Israel!7Hvordan skal vi skaffe koner til de få mænd, der er tilbage, når vi for Herrens ansigt har svoret på, at vi ikke vil lade vores døtre gifte sig med dem?”8Da de nu undersøgte, om nogen var udeblevet fra det omtalte møde i Mitzpa, opdagede man, at ingen fra Jabesh i Gilead havde været til stede.10Så sendte de en hær på 12.000 af de bedste soldater af sted med følgende besked: „Udryd alle indbyggerne i Jabesh med undtagelse af unge piger, som er jomfruer.”12Det gjorde de så, og de fandt 400 unge jomfruer. Disse piger blev ført til den israelitiske lejr i Shilo i Kana’ans land.13Derefter sendte man en delegation af sted for at fortælle de 600 overlevende benjaminitter ved Rimmons klippe i ørkenen, at de nu kunne tage hjem i fred.14Det gjorde de så, og de fik overdraget de 400 piger fra Jabesh, men der var ikke koner nok til dem alle.15Israelitterne var meget kede af, at Gud således næsten havde udryddet en af deres stammer. De følte medlidenhed med de sidste benjaminitter og lederne spurgte hinanden: „Hvordan skal vi skaffe koner til de sidste 200 mænd? Alle kvinder i Benjamins stamme er jo udryddet.17Der må findes en udvej, så de overlevende kan få efterkommere og stammen kan komme på fode igen,18selv om vi ved vores ed har udelukket muligheden af at bortgifte vores egne døtre til dem.”19Pludselig var der en, som fik en lys idé! „Hør,” sagde han, „måske kan vi løse problemet under den kommende religiøse byfest i Shilo.” (Shilo ligger øst for vejen mellem Betel og Sikem, syd for Lebona og nord for Betel.)20Så blev de enige om at sige til de benjaminitter, som stadig manglede koner: „Hold jer skjult i vinmarkerne uden for Shilo og se godt på de piger, der tager derhen for at danse. Under dansen kommer I frem fra jeres skjulested, og finder jer hver især en pige, som I tager med hjem til Benjamins land.22Når deres fædre og brødre så kommer og nedlægger protest over for os, skal vi nok berolige dem og overtale dem til at lade jer beholde deres døtre, for der var ikke koner nok til jer i Jabesh. Vi skal også nok forklare dem, at de ikke har brudt deres ed, for de har ikke bortgiftet deres døtre frivilligt. I har jo selv taget dem!”23Så gjorde benjaminitterne, som de fik besked på. De fik hver fat i en pige under festen, hvorefter de hjemførte dem som deres koner til deres eget land. Her genopbyggede de byerne og bosatte sig igen i deres eget stammeområde.24Derpå opløstes den israelitiske hær, og de forskellige stammer vendte hver for sig tilbage til deres land og deres familier.25Men der var stadig ingen konge i Israel, så alle gjorde, som de havde lyst til.
King James Version
1Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.2And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;3And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?4And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.5And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.6And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.7How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?8And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.9For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.10And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.11And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.12And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.13And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.14And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.15And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.16Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?17And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.18Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.19Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.20Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;21And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.22And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.23And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.24And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.25In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Diese Website verwendet Cookies, um Ihnen die bestmögliche Nutzererfahrung bieten zu können.