Discovery BoxJudges 19:1-4 
Context19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite 1 living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine 2 from Bethlehem 3 in Judah. 19:2 However, she 4 got angry at him 5 and went home 6 to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came 7 after her, hoping he could convince her to return. 8 He brought with him his servant 9 and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. 10 19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.
1 tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”
2 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
4 tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).
6 tn Heb “went from him.”
7 tn Heb “arose and came.”
8 tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”
9 tn Or “young man.”
10 tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”
