Judges 21:12 (GNV)

Passage

And they found among the inhabitants of Iabesh Gilead foure hundreth maides, virgins that had knowne no man by lying with any male: and they brought them vnto the hoste to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:10 Therefore the Congregation sent thither twelue thousande men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Goe, and smite the inhabitants of Iabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, both women, and children.

Judges 21:11 And this is it that ye shall do: ye shall vtterly destroye all the males and all the women that haue lien by men.

Judges 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Iabesh Gilead foure hundreth maides, virgins that had knowne no man by lying with any male: and they brought them vnto the hoste to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

Judges 21:13 Then the whole Congregation sent and spake with the children of Beniamin that were in the rocke of Rimmon, and called peaceably vnto them:

Judges 21:14 And Beniamin came againe at that time, and they gaue them wiues which they had saued aliue of the women of Iabesh Gilead: but they had not so ynough for them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "found", "inhabitants", "iabesh", "gilead", "foure", "hundreth", "maides", and "virgins". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "found" and "inhabitants", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And this is it that ye shall..." into verse 13's "Then the whole Congregation sent and spake...", so "found" and "inhabitants" 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 "found" and "inhabitants" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.