Judges - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 275

The History of the People of Israel

21-—3 THE BOOK OF THE PERIOD OF THE ]UDGES. 21-25` Why, EVER-Lwmc Gon of Israel, has this come to Israel, to destroy t0·day one of the tribes of But when next day came the people got up and built an altar, and offered a burnt offering and peace oHerings. T hen the children of Israel asked,

‘Who has not come up to the Assembly of all the tribes of Israel before the EVER-LIVING, for a great oath has been sworn that whoever came not up to the EvER—L1vING at Mitzphah shall be put, to death, The Children of Israel also grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, ‘ T o·day a tribe has been blotted from Israel. What shall we do for them to provide them wives, since we have sworn not to give them a supply Is there a single tribe of Israel which has not come up to the EVER-LIVING at and found that no man had come to the camp from ]abesh~

g Gilad, to the Assembly. They there- fore reviewed the army, and did not find there a jabeshite from jabesh-

xo Gilad. The_Par1iament consequently sent there twelve thousand chosen men, and commanded them saying, ‘Go and assail the jabeshites of ]abesh—Gilad with the sword, both 11 men and boys. But act in this way; You shall destroy every male and every female who has had connection

But they found of the population of jabesh four hundred girls, maidens, who had not known man by connection with a male, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canan.

13 Then all the Parliament sent and addressed the Benjaminites who were on the cliff of Rimon, and proclaimed

14 peace with them. So the Benjaminites returned, and they gave them the women who came from ]abesh·Gilad, but they were not found sufhcient.

15 The people therefore grieved for Benjamin, because the EVER-L1V1NG had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16 'I`hetLords of the Parliament also What shall we do to supply wives, for we have destroyed the

So they said Let Benjamin seize upon the un-

willing rather than a tribe should be blotted from Israel, for we are not able to give them wives from our daughters, because the Children of Israel have sworn, imposing a curse on whoever gives a wife to Benjamin. They then made a feast of several

days to the Even-Livmo in Shiloh, which is at the north of Bethel towards the sun-rise, on the highway leading up from Bethel to Shekem, and near to Libnah, and they also instructed the Benj aminites, saying ; ‘ Go and hide yourselves in the vine~ yards and watch, and when you see the girls come out from Shiloh to dance in the dances, then come out from the vineyards, and each of you catch a wife for himself from the girls of Shiloh, and take them to the country of Benjamin. And if their fathers should come, or their brothers, to com- plain to us, we will command them to be lenient with you for taking each one his wife by force, because we cannot give to you as at ordinary T he Benjaminites accordingly did

so, and carried off wives to the number of those deficient, who stole, and went off, and returned to their estates, where they rebuilt their villages and settled in them. The Israelites also marched from there at the same time to their tribes and clans, so everyone came from there to his home. Rnrnaxn. In those days there was no king in Israel; 18 20 21 22 Every man did_ what was right in his own eyes. ded beautiful l These two epics, regaras narrative poems, were pro ably the produc- tion of Isaiah himself, founded upon traditions of the eyents, or from historical records long since lost; and were intended to show his corrupted and party—riven countrymen the horrors and crimes roduced by disregard to plion and politica unity. I especial y con-

re§clu e so from the insistence upon the doctrine of a Monarchy being the best security for social laws and safeguard of individua life. The poet has made no attempt to Bx any definite dates to them, and I consequently do not attempt it.-··Fn1znA1z Fmvron. Tun Eno or run Boon or ]cnens.·-—Boo1< II. or rm: Hrsroav or Isitast,. 275

Ferrar Fenton Bible page 0275

The History of the People of Israel