Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 19:18
And he said unto him, We [are] passing from Bethlehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence [am] I: and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I [am now] going to the house of the LORD; and there [is] no man that receiveth me to house.
18. the farther side ] See on Jdg 19:1.
the house of the Lord ] The marg. is to be preferred; the last letter of bth = my house was taken as the initial of the divine name Yahweh. A converse mistake occurs in Jer 6:11, where fury of Yahweh has become my fury in the LXX There is nothing in the context to suggest that the Levite was going to Shiloh.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The house of the Lord – Probably at Shiloh (marginal references). The Levite was probably one of those who ministered at the tabernacle. His two donkeys and servant show him to have been in good circumstances, and he had a home of his own.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The house of the Lord was in Shiloh, Jos 18:1; 22:12 Thither he went, either because he lived there, for that in the tribe of Ephraim; or rather, because he would there offer prayers, and praises, and sacrifices unto God, for his mercy in reconciling him and his wife together, and for his blessing upon them again, and to make atonement for his wife.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he said unto him, we are passing from Bethlehemjudah,…. He answers to his last question first, for this was the place from whence they came:
towards the side of Mount Ephraim: thither they were going, which is an answer to the first question: and then adds, which is more than what was requested,
from thence am I; that is, he was an inhabitant of a city on one side of Mount Ephraim, but what that city was, he says not, nor is it elsewhere said:
and I went to Bethlehemjudah; on what account he does not declare, but the above narrative clearly shows for what reason he went thither:
but I am now going to the house of the Lord; that is, the tabernacle in Shiloh, there he proposed to go first to offer sacrifice for the success of his journey, and for the reconciliation of his wife to him, and to pray to God for happiness in his family yet to come, and where some think his habitation was; but rather it was at some distance, not far from Mount Ephraim, and on the side of it, whither he should return when he had performed those acts of religion and devotion, which he judged were his duty:
and there is no man that receiveth me to house: that had invited him to his house to take a lodging there, as was common to do to travellers, as the instances of Abraham, Lot, Job, and others, show. It was a law with the Lucani (a people in Italy), that if a stranger came at sun setting, and was desirous of coming under the roof of anyone, if such an one did not receive him, he was to be fined, and suffer the punishment of inhospitality t.
t Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 4. c. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
‘ And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem-judah to the far side of the hill country of Ephraim. I am from there. And I went to Bethleham-judah , and I am now going to the house of Yahweh. And there is no man who takes me into his house.” ’
He answered his last question first, giving the starting point of the journey, so as to make clear what he was doing passing Gibeah. In troublesome times it was necessary to make clear that there was nothing suspicious about his circumstance.
Then he explained his destination, and explained that that was where he lived. He did not realise that the old man also came from the same area which would warm his heart towards him. Finally he pointed out that, prior to returning home, he was bound for ‘the house of Yahweh’, the tabernacle of God, possibly at this time at Bethel (Jdg 20:26-28), but more probably at Shiloh, presumably to give thanks for his wife’s return and offer appropriate sacrifices.
Thus he was on a kind of pilgrimage which meant that his treatment should, in a godly town, have been of the best. The fact that he was going to the central sanctuary of the covenant emphasises the breach of the covenant by the men of the town.
At no stage does he mention any town from which he came. Thus it may be that he actually dwelt in a house away from the towns. Or it may be that the reason for the non-mention is the same as the reason for the non-mention of his name. He was seen as standing in some way for all Levites, a reminder that they were holy to the Lord and to be protected and cared for.
“And there is no man who takes me into his house.” In most places hospitality was seen as a bounden duty, and he was clearly surprised, especially as a Levite, that he had not been welcomed. But it did explain why they were settling down in the square for the night. It was not that they had refused hospitality but that they had not been asked.
There are certain similarities with the story of Lot, but the event was not one that was so unusual that it was limited to these two incidents. The sexual mistreatment, and even murder, of strangers was probably no uncommon thing. What brought this case to the fore was that the Levite was a man of action, and was a Levite, a holy man.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 19:18 And he said unto him, We [are] passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence [am] I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I [am now] going to the house of the LORD; and there [is] no man that receiveth me to house.
Ver. 18. , But I am now going to the house of the Lord, ] viz., at Shiloh, there to wait upon mine office as a Levite, which is my chief care. Verbi Minister es, hoc age, was Mr Perkins’s motto. Thou art a minister, mind thy work.
And there is no man that receiveth me to house.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
going. His direction was towards mount Ephraim, not to Shiloh!
the house of the LORD. So Micah’s temple was already called. Compare Jdg 18:31.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I am now: The LXX read, “I am going to my own house;” which is probably the true reading, as we find – Jdg 19:29 that he really went home; yet he might have gone previously to Shiloh, or to “the house of the Lord,” because that was also in mount Ephraim.
the house: Jdg 18:31, Jdg 20:18, Jos 18:1, 1Sa 1:3, 1Sa 1:7
receiveth: Heb. gathereth, Jdg 19:5, Psa 26:9, Joh 15:6
Reciprocal: Jdg 18:2 – mount Jdg 19:15 – no man Pro 25:17 – Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 19:18. House of the Lord Which was in Shiloh. Thither he went, either because he lived there for that was in the tribe of Ephraim; or, rather, because he would there offer prayers and praises, and sacrifices to God, for his mercy in reconciling him and his wife.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:18 And he said unto him, We [are] passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence [am] I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I [am now] going to the {f} house of the LORD; and there [is] no man that receiveth me to house.
(f) To Shiloh of Mizpeh where the ark was.