To the house of God – It should be, to Bethel. See Jdg 20:18.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 2. The people came to the house of God] Literally, the people came to Bethel; this is considered as the name of a place by the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Septuagint.

And wept sore] Their revenge was satisfied, and now reflection brings them to contrition for what they had done.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The people came to the house of God; partly to mourn for the common loss, and partly to ask counsel from God about the repairing of it.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

2-5. the people came to the house ofGod, . . . and lifted up their voices, and wept soreThecharacteristic fickleness of the Israelites was not long in beingdisplayed; for scarcely had they cooled from the fierceness of theirsanguinary vengeance, than they began to relent and rushed to theopposite extreme of self-accusation and grief at the desolation whichtheir impetuous zeal had produced. Their victory saddened and humbledthem. Their feelings on the occasion were expressed by a public andsolemn service of expiation at the house of God. And yet thisextraordinary observance, though it enabled them to find vent fortheir painful emotions, did not afford them full relief, for theywere fettered by the obligation of a religious vow, heightened by theaddition of a solemn anathema on every violator of the oath. There isno previous record of this oath; but the purport of it was, that theywould treat the perpetrators of this Gibeah atrocity in the same wayas the Canaanites, who were doomed to destruction; and the enteringinto this solemn league was of a piece with the rest of theirinconsiderate conduct in this whole affair.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And the people came to the house of God,…. Not to the city Bethel, as the Targum, Septuagint, and other versions, but to Shiloh, where were the tabernacle and ark; and this is to be understood of the army after they had utterly destroyed the Benjaminites: hence we read of the camp in Shiloh, Jud 21:12, here they came not so much to rejoice, and be glad, and to return thanks for the victory they had at last obtained, as to lament the unhappy case of the tribe of Benjamin, and to have counsel and advice, and consider of ways and means to repair their loss:

and abode there till even before God; fasting and praying, instead of feasting and rejoicing:

and lifted up their voices, and wept sore; not so much, or at least not only for the 40,000 Israelites that were slain, but for the tribe of Benjamin, in danger of being lost, as follows.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(2) To the house of God.Rather, to Bethel, as in Jdg. 20:18; Jdg. 20:27.

Wept sore.As after their defeat (Jdg. 20:26); but this time they were remorseful for the fate of those whom they were then pledged to destroy.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

2. House of God Rather, Beth-el; see notes on Jdg 20:18; Jdg 20:26-27.

Abode before God In solemn penitence and humiliation before the ark of the covenant which was there.

Wept sore Not so much over their sins, as over the calamities of Benjamin.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And the people came to Bethel and sat there until the evening before God, and lifted up their voices and wept grievously.’

Having carried out their dreadful massacre the people suddenly realised the consequences of what they had done, they had destroyed a tribe in Israel. This struck them so vividly that they went to Bethel to seek God’s guidance on the matter. This fact would again confirm that the Tabernacle had been moved temporarily to Bethel.

“Sat there until the evening before God.” Compare Jdg 20:26. This seems to be the custom for seeking God when some disaster has struck. And as they sat there they wept. They realised what they had done. To lose a tribe was like losing a near relative, indeed a brother. The use of ‘God’ indicates how dreadfully they felt this hole in the Confederacy. A tribe was missing from the covenant. It was breached. It was as though Yahweh was far away.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

It is pleasing to remark, that though at this time, the interests of Religion appeared at so low an ebb; yet, the ordinances of worship were still kept up at Shiloh.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jdg 21:2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;

Ver. 2. And the people came to the house of God. ] That is, To Shiloh, for that was now their Bethel, there to praise God for their recent ctory; and to seek direction what to do, and how to wind out of that labyrinth whereinto they had inconsiderately cast themselves.

“ qui non moderabitur irae,

Infectum velit esse dolor quod suaserit et mens. ” – Horat.

And abode there till even before God. ] To the shame of such as, held but a while longer than ordinary at holy meetings, cry out, as Mal 1:13 , “Behold, what a weariness it is! and snuff.” They sit in the stocks when they are at prayers, and come out of the church, when the tedious sermon runs somewhat beyond the hour, like prisoners out of a jail.

And lifted up their voices, and wept sore. ] Notwithstanding their recent victory, which now they met to praise God for, Adeo nihil est ex omni parte beatum. It is seldom seen that God alloweth men here a perfect contentment. Something they must have to complain of, that they may not set up their rest on this side heaven.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

the house of God. Probably Shiloh, Compare Jdg 21:12 with Jdg 18:31.

God. Hebrew. ha-‘Elohim, “the [true] God”. App-4.

wept sore. Figure of speech Polyptoton (App-6), “wept a great weeping”. See note on Gen 26:28. Benjamin is indeed, now, “a son of sorrow” (Ben-oni, a son of sorrow. Gen 35:18).

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

the house: Jdg 21:12, Jdg 20:18, Jdg 20:23, Jdg 20:26, Jos 18:1

lifted: Jdg 2:4, Gen 27:38, 1Sa 30:4

Reciprocal: Num 11:18 – ye have wept Jos 7:6 – until the eventide 1Sa 1:10 – wept sore 1Sa 11:4 – lifted up

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jdg 21:2. And lift up their voices and wept sore Some days after their fury was over, and they coolly considered what they had done in the heat of war, their joy and triumph for their victory were turned into mourning and lamentation, for the loss of so many of their brethren.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments