Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 21:14
And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
14. and yet so they sufficed them not ] i.e. the 400 virgins were not sufficient for the 600 Benjamite survivors; a prosaic attempt to harmonize with the old story in Jdg 21:15-23, as though the rape at Shiloh were a supplementary device to bring the number of wives up to the total required; cf. Jdg 21:16 a. Lit. the phrase may be rendered and they (the Israelites) did not find enough for them even so, cf. Num 11:22; as a rule enough is expressed in the Heb., Lev 12:8; Lev 25:26; Lev 25:28.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 14. Yet so they sufficed them not.] There were six hundred men at Rimmon, and all the young women they saved from Jabesh were only four hundred; therefore, there were two hundred still wanting.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Benjamin; the poor remainders of the tribe of Benjamin.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Benjamin came again at that time,…. The six hundred Benjaminites returned with the messengers at the same time to the people of Israel, putting confidence in the assurances they had given them of peace and safety:
and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead; in doing which they supposed they had not violated their oath, since though they had sworn that they would not give their own daughters, they had not sworn they would not give the daughters of others; and besides, as the men of Jabeshgilead were not at Mizpeh when the oaths were made, they had taken none, and so their daughters might be given in marriage to the Benjaminites, notwithstanding that oath:
and yet so they sufficed them not; there were not wives enough for them all; for they were six hundred men, whereas the daughters of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead were but four hundred, so that there were two hundred more wanting. Abarbinel interprets the word we render “so” in a different manner, by “right”, as in Nu 27:7 and gives the sense thus, that it was not a point of justice and judgment to do this to the daughters of Jabeshgilead, namely, to save and give them in marriage; but they did this because the people repented for Benjamin, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) Came againi.e., returned to their desolate towns.
Yet so they sufficed them not.There would still be 200 Benjamites left without wives.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
Ver. 14. And Benjamin came again at that time. ] They believed their brethren, and obeyed their voice. Had they done so at first, and not tried it out with them, they had redeemed their own sorrows, and been much happier. But bought wit, they say, is best.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sufficed them not: Jdg 21:12, Jdg 20:47, 1Co 7:2
Reciprocal: Jdg 21:22 – each man
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Two hundred men still remained of Benjamin who had no wives. Because of the oath at Mizpah, the men could not give them any wives. However, they did advise them to come up at the next annual feast at Shiloh and seize some daughters of that city while they were dancing outside the town. The elders promised that when the relatives of the virgins came to present their case, they would answer in their behalf that enough wives were not secured in the battle at Jabesh Gilead. Also, they would pronounce the men of Shiloh free from the oath because they had not given their daughters to the men of Benjamin.
When the wives were thus secured, the men of Benjamin returned to their land and rebuilt the cities which had been destroyed ( Jdg 21:14-25 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
21:14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet {f} so they sufficed them not.
(f) For they were short two hundred.