Discovery BoxJudges 19:16-21 
Context19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. 1 The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) 2 19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler 3 in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 19:18 The Levite 4 said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem 5 in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. 6 But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, 7 and the young man who is with your servants. 8 We lack nothing.” 19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! 9 I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. 10
1 tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”
2 tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”
3 tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
6 tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”
7 tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.
8 tc Some Hebrew
9 tn Heb “Peace to you.”
10 tn Heb “ate and drank.”
