Chapter 19 of Judges begins with a Levite who had found work in the land of Ephriam returning to Bethlehem to get his concubine. His concubine, the text says, was “unfaithful” and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem. But, as the story unfolds we find that she may have left the Levite in Ephriam to escape a dangerous, unhealthy domestic relationship.

The Levite goes to get his wife (or, concubine) in Bethlehem after four months. On the return trip back to Ephriam as the sun was setting they had a chance to spend the night in safety in Jerusalem (then called Jebus, and still occupied the Jebusites). Instead, the Levite wanted to press on into the land of Benjamin to spend the night among Israelites in Gibeah or Ramah. The Levite and his concubine spent the night in the home of a man, until the house was attacked by men who desires where like those of the men of Sodom when Lot’s house was attacked. To protect himself and his host the Levite sent his wife (concubine) out to these men.

The depth of Israel’s social and private sin is beyond comprehension. How quickly Israel sank as a culture in a 200 year period (From 1405 BC, when Joshua led them into the Promised Land, until here in the book of Judges around the year 1200 BC.)

The Levites unbelievable behavior becomes even more calloused. The dismembering of his concubine and the distribution of her parts was a call to Israel to respond of be judged for their negligence. This method of distributing the parts of a dismembered body will be used by King Saul in 1 Samuel 11:5-11 when he dismembers his oxen and uses the parts to call the men of Israel to war against the Ammonites.

An ancient account from Mari in Mesopotamia documents this practice at this time in history. Bahdi-Lim, a local governor in Mesopotamia, needs the troops to assemble from the settlements, but they are not moving in that direction even though he has sent several appeals and has waited several days. The governor sends a letter to the king of Mari suggesting that a prisoner be taken from jail and his body dismembered and displayed among these settlements to induce a fear that will induce the people to assemble for battle. This was the practice in Mari near the time of the book of Judges.

“To my lord, speak. Bahdi-Lim, your servant, speaks as follows: For five full days I have waited for the Hanaeans, but the people do not gather. The Hanaeans have arrived from the steppe and established themselves among the settlements. Once, twice, I have sent to the settlements and the appeal has been made. But they have not gathered together, and for the third day they have not gathered. Now, if I had my way, a prisoner in jail should be killed, his body dismembered, and transported to the area between the villages as far as Hundum and Appan, in order that the people would fear and gather quickly, and I could make an attempt to accordance with the command which my lord has given to carry out the campaign quickly.” (details and text here and here.)

This practice is repeated by King Saul in 1 Samuel 11:5-11.

"The wrath of God is
as terrible
as His grace is lovely." 
- Johann Peter Lange