And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
JUDGES 21:12KJVWhat does Judges 21:12 mean?
Judges 21:12 describes how the Israelites found four hundred young women in Jabesh-gilead who were virgins—meaning they had not slept with any man—and brought them to their camp at Shiloh in Canaan. This action was part of their effort to provide wives for the surviving men of the tribe of Benjamin after a devastating conflict.
The verse is set during a crisis at the end of the book of Judges, after a civil war nearly wiped out the tribe of Benjamin. The leaders of Israel are trying to find a way to preserve the tribe, since they had previously sworn not to give their own daughters as wives to the Benjaminites. The women from Jabesh-gilead were chosen because that town had not joined the assembly against Benjamin, and the Israelites took them to Shiloh, a central place of worship.
The Hebrew behind Judges 21:12
- "Virgins" (בְּתוּלָה, bĕtulah): This word specifically means a young woman who has not had sexual relations. The use of this term emphasizes the intent to provide wives who were considered ritually and socially eligible for marriage in Israelite society.
- "Known" (יָדַע, yada‘): In Hebrew, this verb often means more than just intellectual knowledge; here, it refers to sexual relations. The phrase clarifies that these women had not had intimate relations with a man.
- "Jabeshgilead" (יָבֵשׁ גִּלְעָד, Yavesh Gil‘ad): The mention of this town is significant because its inhabitants did not participate in the earlier assembly, which is why the Israelites targeted it to find wives for Benjamin.
Why Judges 21:12 matters
- This verse highlights the desperate and unusual measures the Israelites took to preserve one of their own tribes after a near-extinction, showing the complexity and moral challenges of the period.
- Understanding the specific terms for "virgins" and "known" helps clarify the cultural and ritual concerns that shaped the Israelites' actions in this story.
- The verse connects to the larger narrative of Judges, where cycles of violence and attempts at resolution reveal the instability and moral confusion in Israel before the time of the kings.