Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The wife of a Levite having been killed by the unspeakable lust of the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were from the tribe of Benjamin, the Levite husband, cutting his wife's corpse into twelve parts and sending them to the twelve tribes, stirs them all to avenge such a great crime. This is the second appendix to the Book of Judges, in which is recounted the history of the outrage and the Benjaminite war, which occurred at the same time as the preceding story of Micah, shortly after the death of Joshua and the Elders of that era. For, as chapter XX, 28 says, it occurred in the time of Phinehas, who succeeded his father Eleazar (who had consulted God on behalf of Joshua by God's and Moses' command, Numbers chapter XXVII, verse 21) in the High Priesthood at about the same time that Othniel succeeded Joshua. For Eleazar, being contemporary with Joshua, seems to have died shortly after him. Hence at the end of the last chapter of Joshua, his death is recorded immediately after that of Joshua. Therefore, just as the idolatry of Micah and the Danites occurred under Jonathan, grandson of Moses, as we heard at chapter XVIII, 30, so this history of the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin occurred under Phinehas, grandson of Aaron; and Aaron was the brother of Moses. So the Rabbis, Josephus, Abulensis, Lyranus, Serarius, and Genebrard in the Chronology. Sulpicius and Arias, therefore, are not quite correct in thinking this history occurred in the time of Eli the High Priest; nor Suidas, who places it under Samson; nor Masius, under Ehud the second Judge; nor others, under Othniel, who was the first Judge.
Vulgate Text: Judges 19:1-30
1. There was a certain Levite dwelling on the side of Mount Ephraim, who took a wife from Bethlehem of Judah; 2. she left him and returned to her father's house in Bethlehem, and stayed there for four months. 3. Her husband followed her, wishing to be reconciled with her, to speak kindly to her, and to bring her back with him, having in his company a servant and two donkeys. She received him and brought him into her father's house. When his father-in-law heard and saw him, he met him with joy, 4. and embraced the man. The son-in-law stayed in his father-in-law's house for three days, eating and drinking with him familiarly. 5. On the fourth day, rising before dawn, he wished to set out, but his father-in-law detained him and said: Take first a little bread and strengthen your stomach, and then you may go. 6. They sat down together and ate and drank. And the girl's father said to his son-in-law: Please stay here today and let us be merry together. 7. But the man rose, wanting to leave. Nevertheless his father-in-law pressed him earnestly and made him stay. 8. When morning came, the Levite prepared for his journey. His father-in-law said again: Please take a little food and build up your strength; when the day has advanced, then depart. So they ate together. 9. The young man rose to continue on with his wife and servant. His father-in-law spoke to him again: Consider that the day is declining toward sunset and evening is near; stay with me also today and enjoy the day, and tomorrow you shall depart for your home. 10. The son-in-law would not agree to his words, but set out immediately and came toward Jebus, which by another name is called Jerusalem, leading with him two laden donkeys and his concubine. 11. They were already near Jebus and the day was turning into night; the servant said to his master: Come, I beg you, let us turn aside to the city of the Jebusites and stay there. 12. His master answered: I will not enter a town of a foreign people who are not of the children of Israel, but I will go on to Gibeah; 13. and when I arrive there, we will stay in it, or else in the city of Ramah. 14. They therefore passed Jebus and continued their journey, and the sun set on them near Gibeah, which is in the tribe of Benjamin. 15. They turned aside to it, to stay there. And when they had entered, they sat in the city square, and no one would receive them as a guest. 16. And behold, an old man appeared, returning from the field and from his work in the evening. He too was from Mount Ephraim and was a sojourner in Gibeah. But the men of that region were sons of Benjamin. 17. Raising his eyes, the old man saw the traveler sitting with his baggage in the city square, and said to him: Where do you come from, and where are you going? 18. He answered: We have come from Bethlehem of Judah and are going to our home, which is on the side of Mount Ephraim, from where we had gone to Bethlehem; and now we are going to the house of God, and no one will receive us under his roof, 19. although we have straw and fodder for the donkeys, and bread and wine for myself and your handmaid and the servant who is with me; we lack nothing except lodging. 20. The old man answered: Peace be with you; I will provide everything that is needed; only, I beg you, do not stay in the square. 21. He brought him into his house and provided fodder for the donkeys; after they washed their feet, he received them at his table. 22. While they were feasting and refreshing their bodies with food and drink after the labor of the journey, men of that city, sons of Belial (that is, men without a yoke), came and surrounded the old man's house, and began to pound on the doors, shouting to the master of the house and saying: Bring out the man who entered your house, that we may abuse him. 23. The old man went out to them and said: Do not, brothers, do not do this evil, for this man has entered my lodging; cease from this folly. 24. I have a virgin daughter, and this man has a concubine; I will bring them out to you, that you may humble them and satisfy your lust; only, I beg you, do not commit this crime against nature upon the man. 25. They would not agree to his words. Seeing this, the man brought out his concubine to them and handed her over to be abused; and when they had abused her all night long, they let her go in the morning. 26. But the woman, as the darkness receded, came to the door of the house where her master was staying, and there she collapsed. 27. When morning came, the man rose and opened the door to continue his journey, and behold, his concubine lay before the door with her hands spread upon the threshold. 28. Thinking she was resting, he said to her: Rise, let us go. But when she gave no answer, realizing she was dead, he took her, placed her on the donkey, and returned to his house. 29. When he had entered it, he seized a sword and cutting the body of his wife with its bones into twelve parts and pieces, sent them to all the territories of Israel. 30. When each one saw this, they cried out: Never has such a thing been done in Israel from the day our fathers came up from Egypt until the present time; pass judgment and together determine what must be done.
Verse 2: She Left Him.
Our translator reads tiznach, that is, "she left, she distanced herself." But others read tizneh, that is, "she committed fornication." Hence the Rabbis think she was dismissed by the Levite for adultery. But neither the Septuagint, nor the Chaldean, nor Josephus mentions this crime. The Septuagint translates: "she was angry with him"; the Chaldean: "she despised him." Josephus says she departed from her husband because of his jealousy. It is likely that there were differing temperaments between them, and from these arose resentments, quarrels, and disputes — such as are frequent between married couples — and therefore the wife withdrew from her husband to her parents. This is gathered from verse 3: "And her husband followed her, wishing to be reconciled with her."
Verse 10: And His Concubine — that is, his secondary wife.
Verse 12: I Will Not Enter a Town of a Foreign People
That is, Jerusalem, which was then occupied by the Jebusites; for although it was conquered by Caleb, Judges chapter I, verse 8, the Jebusites afterward retook it. Or rather, Caleb conquered the city of Jerusalem, but not the citadel of Zion; for David conquered this much later. Therefore the Jebusites, holding the citadel, dominated the city, in which Jews and Jebusites — namely, Benjaminites — lived together, as was expressly stated at chapter I, verse 21, and Joshua chapter XV, last verse. For this reason, therefore, the Levite here refused to spend the night in Jerusalem, lest he be forced to associate with the idolatrous Jebusites.
Verse 15: No One Would Receive Them as Guests.
"I would be lying," says St. Ambrose, Book V of the Hexameron, chapter XVI, "if I did not say that this was the cause of the Sodomites' punishment: inhospitality." Indeed, Ezekiel chapter XVI, verse 49: "This," he says, "was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fullness of bread and abundance, and the idleness of her and her daughters, and they did not extend a hand to the needy and the poor."
Verse 16: Sons of Benjamin — that is, sons of Benjamin; for here, by aphaeresis of the first syllable ben, he is called Jemini.
Verse 18: We Are Going to the House of God — to the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh, for the sake of devotion, that having invoked and worshipped God there, we may return safely home to Mount Ephraim.
Verse 19: Having Straw and Fodder.
From this it is clear that at that time in Judea there were no public inns, but travelers carried their own provisions and sought lodging with a friend or some citizen, as is still done in Turkey, Tartary, Scythia, etc.
Verse 22: Sons of Belial — namely, unbridled, impious, wicked men. See what I said about Belial at II Corinthians chapter VI, verse 15.
Verse 24: I Have a Virgin Daughter
One may ask whether this man sinned in offering his daughter to the lust of the men of Gibeah, and whether the Levite husband sinned in bringing out his wife to escape sodomy. I respond that they were permitted, when others intended to inflict a graver injury, to offer a lesser one in order to redeem the graver. For it was a lesser injury that a daughter or wife be violated than that a man be violated by the unspeakable crime, and he a guest — violating at the same time the law of hospitality, which at that time was most sacred and inviolable. Thus it is permitted to counsel someone who intends to commit adultery to commit fornication with a harlot instead, and to counsel someone who intends a greater sin to commit a lesser one. For this counsel is prudent and honest; what is counseled here is not the lesser evil absolutely, but under this condition: if you are determined to commit the greater sin, commit rather the lesser — which is the prudent object of this counsel, worthy of a sensible man. So St. Chrysostom, Homily 27 to the People, and Homily 43 on Genesis — to someone accustomed to swearing by God, he counsels that he rather swear by his own head. And St. Augustine, Book II On Adulterous Marriages, chapter XV: "If he is going to do what is not permitted," he says, "let him commit adultery rather than murder" — that is, let him commit the lesser sin rather than the greater. The same is taught by St. Ambrose, Book I On Abraham, chapter VI; St. Gregory, Book XXXII of the Morals, chapter XX; and expressly Cajetan here; Bartholomew Fumus, in the Summary of Cases, under the word "Tyrant"; Dominic Soto, Book VI On Justice, Question I, article 5; Adrian, Quodlibet I, Question II; St. Thomas, Question On Evil. See Navarro, chapter XIV, number 40, at the end. This in general; now in particular.
I respond, secondly, that this man seems to have sinned against piety. For piety dictates that a father look after his daughter's modesty and welfare rather than that of an outside guest, even if a graver injury would be inflicted on the latter. And against justice, if he offered her to be violated against her will and despite her resistance (as usually happens). And against charity, if there was danger that the daughter would consent to sexual pleasure. So Lyranus, Abulensis, Dionysius, and Pererius on Genesis chapter XIX, verse 5, where I said something similar about Lot offering his daughters to the Sodomites to free his guests. But if there was no danger of consent in the daughter, and she had voluntarily submitted herself to her father for this purpose, or had even offered to endure this disgrace in order to avoid such a great crime — then there was absolutely no sin.
Finally, the disturbance of mind, thoughtlessness, and lack of counsel greatly diminished the guilt of this man.
More excusable is the Levite who, to escape the unspeakable outrage intended for himself, offered his wife to be raped — if she consented to this sacrifice of herself (to which she was not obligated). For each person should rather ward off injury from himself, especially one so abominable, than from another — for instance, from a wife. For charity begins with oneself.
Verse 25: He Brought Her Out
So that, enticed by her presence and the woman's beauty placed before them, they would refrain from the man and demand nothing further, as indeed happened. So Abulensis. And perhaps the inhabitants of Gibeah were demanding the man as a pretense, so that the woman whom they desired — and whose remarkable beauty they had seen as she passed through the marketplace — would be offered to them, as Josephus asserts.
This was an enormous crime, which God accordingly avenged with the near-total destruction of the tribe. Hence it is said about it at Hosea chapter IX, verse 9: "They have deeply sinned, as in the days of Gibeah. He (the Lord) will remember their iniquity and will visit their sins."
Verse 29: Cutting the Body into Twelve Parts
That is, to the twelve tribes, one part to each tribe. The husband did not sin here, because he did not cut up his wife to dishonor her body, but rather to restore honor to her through vengeance for such a great crime, which indeed followed shortly after: for by this dismemberment he roused everyone to vengeance. So Abulensis.
St. Athanasius, Epistle to the Orthodox, cites this deed and example of the Levite; and in a similar way, recounting the unspeakable crimes of the Arians committed against Catholics, he stirs them to detest the Arians.