Judges 21:9 (DBY)

Passage

for the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:7 What shall we do for wives for them that remain? since we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters for wives.

Judges 21:8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpah to Jehovah? And behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-Gilead, to the congregation;

Judges 21:9 for the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there.

Judges 21:10 And the assembly sent thither twelve thousand men of the most valiant and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead with the edge of the sword, and the women and the children.

Judges 21:11 And this is the thing which ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain with man.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "people", "numbered", "behold", "none", "inhabitants", and "jabesh-gilead". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "people" and "numbered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And they said What one is there..." into verse 10's "And the assembly sent thither twelve thousand...", so "people" and "numbered" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "people" and "numbered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.