Judges 19:16

A SOJOURNER FROM EPHRAIM PROVIDES HOSPITALITY

"And, behold, there came an old man from his work, out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim; but the men of the place were Benjamites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah unto the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Bethlehem-judah: and I am now going to the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that taketh me into his house. Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants: there is no want of anything. And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever, let all thy wants be upon me; only lodge not in the street. So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink."

The hunters of so-called "contradictions" never overlook an opportunity to shout their allegations!

"I am now going to the house of Jehovah" (Judges 19:18). "By `the house of Yahweh' we must understand Shiloh ... Everywhere else in the story, however, and even in the immediately preceding context we are given to understand that the Levite is returning to his own home, which is not at Shiloh."[10] Keil fully explained this alleged contradiction. "The proper translation of the words, `I go to the house of Jehovah,' is actually, `I walk at the house of Jehovah,' meaning simply that `he worked there.' This the man gave as a reason why no one in Gibeah would take him in. It was because he served at the house of Jehovah in Shiloh!"[11] The words "I go to the house of Jehovah" could not possibly have been a statement of the Levite's destination, for that he had already uttered in the same breath. Of course, the critic's explanation of this involves theories of multiple sources, redactors and editors; but if there was indeed a contradiction here, just what kind of `an editor' would have put it together?

Before leaving this, we should also note that, according to Hervey, "The words, `I go to the house of Jehovah' may also be translated, `I frequent the house of Jehovah.'"[12]

It is clear from this that a number of the men of Gibeah had actually talked with the Levite and had refused to offer him hospitality because of his faith in God and his connection with the house of Jehovah at Shiloh. This affords additional information on the depravity of the Benjamites of Gibeah.

"Only lodge not in the street" (Judges 19:20). Like our own streets in the city of Houston, Texas, the ancient streets of Gibeah were not safe. Leaving the Levite and his little company in the street would have sentenced all three of them to death. "The ominous words of the host, `Only do not spend the night in the square,' indicate the inherent danger of the situation."[13]