Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 19:12
And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
12. The text is to be preferred to the marg.; but that is not should be construed with a stranger rather than with the city.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
City of a stranger – This shows how completely, even in these early days, the Jebusite population had excluded both the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Of a stranger, i.e. of a strange nation, which the Canaanites possess; for though the city Jerusalem had been taken by Caleb, Jdg 1, yet the strong fort of Zion was still in their hands, 2Sa 5:6,7, whence it is likely they did much molest, and afterwards, by Gods permission, and for the punishment of their sin, drive out the Israelites who dwelt there.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And his master said unto him, we will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger,…. A city of the children of the Gentiles, as the Targum, as the Jebusites were, being one of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, who were to be dispossessed and destroyed; and which, one would think, he would not have so called, had it been inhabited, though but in part, by the children of Judah and Benjamin: by this it appears, that this Levite was a good man, and conscientious, and shunned all appearance of evil, and the company of wicked men, as became his character and profession: and it is added,
that is not of the children of Israel; which further confirms the above conjecture, that this city was not as yet at all in the hands of the Israelites; or if it had been, was retaken, and now in the hands of the Jebusites:
we will pass over to Gibeah; which was in the tribe of Benjamin, and inhabited by men of that tribe, and so more agreeable to this Levite, though it proved fatal to him; this was, as Josephus says r thirty furlongs, or near four miles from Jebus or Jerusalem; and though it was near sun setting, he chose rather to proceed on to this place, than to lodge at Jebus, and the rather it may be, as it was a Levitical city,
Jos 21:17.
r De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) To Gibeah.This is the Gibeah of Saul, where the first king of Israel was born (1Sa. 11:4). It was one of the fourteen cities of Benjamin (Jos. 18:28), and is the modern Tuleil el Ful. It only involved a journey of four miles more (Jos. Antt. v. 2, 8).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘ And his master said to him, we will not turn aside into the city of a stranger, who are not of the children of Israel, but we will pass over to Gibeah.’
The Levite was a patriotic and religious man and preferred not to depend on or trust foreigners if he could help it. The Jebusites were one of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, who were to be dispossessed and destroyed, and were idolaters and worshippers of Baal, with their sexually abandoned beliefs, and he knew that his wife had already been led astray by similar religious beliefs. Thus as a Levite responsible for the maintenance of the religion of Israel he preferred to trust to his own people. He was not aware how debased many of them too had become, permeated as they had been by Canaanite practises, the result of their not having been faithful to God’s demands to totally destroy the Canaanites and their religion.
“The children of Israel.” Usually in the predicate the writer uses ‘Israel’. But here the stress is on covenant relationship so that he uses the longer phrase (see Introduction).
“But we will pass over to Gibeah.” Gibeah was in the portion of the tribe of Benjamin, and was inhabited by men of that tribe, and so was more agreeable to this Levite, who thought that it would not have been deeply affected by depraved religion. He thought that they would know how to treat a Levite. It was around Jdg 6:5 kilometres (four miles) from Jebus or Jerusalem, and, although it was near sun setting, he chose rather to proceed on to this place than to lodge at Jebus. It was a relatively ‘new’ town, having no natural water supply, and therefore dependent on lime plastered cisterns. It was probably built on a hill (Gibeah means ‘hill’). It was later famous as the birthplace of Saul. It is probably not connected with the Gibeon or Geba which were levitical cities (Jos 21:17).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
Ver. 12. We will pass over to Gibeah. ] But where can a man be safe from the devil and his imps? And what place but hell itself can yield a worse creature than a depraved Israelite, than a profligate professor? We used to say that an Englishman Italianate is a devil incarnate. In Mexico and other parts of America, whoredom and sodomy – those Spanish virtues – are common without reproof among the pseudo-Catholics; whereas the Indians abhor this most loathsome living; showing themselves in respect of the Spaniards, as the Scythians did in respect of the Grecians, whom they so far excelled in life and behaviour, as they were short of them in learning and knowledge.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons.
Gibeah. City of Benjamin; later, the residence of Saul (1Sa 10:26; 1Sa 11:4).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Gibeah: Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, and the birth-place of Saul, was situated near Rama and Gibeon, according to Josephus, thirty furlongs north from Jerusalem; or, according to Jerome, about two leagues. Jdg 19:12
Reciprocal: Jos 18:28 – Gibeath 1Sa 10:26 – Gibeah 1Sa 13:2 – in Gibeah Isa 10:29 – Gibeah Hos 5:8 – Gibeah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 19:12. The city of a stranger That is, of a strange nation; a city which the Canaanites possess. For though Jerusalem had been taken by Caleb, (chap. 1.,) yet the strong fort of Zion was still in their hands, whence it is likely they did much molest, and afterward, by Gods permission, drive out the Israelites who dwelt there.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:12 And his master said unto him, {d} We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that [is] not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.
(d) Though in these days there were most horrible corruptions, even necessity could not compel them to associate with those who did not profess the true God.