Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 21:18

Howbeit 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.

For the children of Israel have sworn – See Jdg 21:1. Compare Sauls rash oath 1Sa 14:24, and his breach of the oath made to the Gideonites 2Sa 21:2. For the guilt of a broken oath, see Eze 17:15-20; Exo 20:7.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

i.e. To this generation of Benjamites who have made themselves guilty of this foul wickedness; but this oath did not extend to their posterity. And some think it had another exception, to wit, unless the surviving Benjamites could not otherwise be supplied with wives.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

Howbeit, we may not give them wives of our daughters,…. Though their case was so very necessitous and desperate:

for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin, Jud 21:1 and therefore without the violation of their oath could not give any of their daughters in marriage to them: wherefore some other way must be devised to help them.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

‘ However, we may not give them wives of our daughters.’ For the children of Israel had sworn saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’

The latter phrase was probably literally part of the wording of the covenant made at Mizpah. Blessings and cursings regularly accompanied covenants. The repetition of the former (Jdg 21:1; Jdg 21:7) was to remind the hearers of the narrative when it was read, and may also indicate their continual repetition to themselves because of the headache they had caused themselves.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 21:18 Howbeit 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.

Ver. 18. Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters. ] And unless those daughters were given them by their parents, they would not marry with the Benjamites, though it were to be made mistresses of such large inheritances. It is of the law of nature, that parents have the dispose of their children in marriage. But the Pope taketh upon him to dispense in that case. Potest de iniustitia facere iustitiam, saith Bellarmine a out of the Canonists. Ex nihilo aliquid, ex virtute vitium. Papae!

Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. ] They had backed their oath with an imprecation. This was to be too hot in a cold matter. They will not break their unlawful oath; but they devise how to elude it, which was worse. Dum vitant stulti vitium, &c.

a De Pontif. Rom., lib. iv.

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

sworn: Jdg 21:1, Jdg 11:35

Reciprocal: Lev 5:4 – to do evil Lev 27:28 – no devoted Jdg 21:5 – a great oath Jdg 21:7 – sworn Jdg 21:22 – give unto Mat 26:74 – began

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge