Judges 21:21 (GNV)

Passage

And when ye see that the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catche you euery man a wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and goe into the land of Beniamin.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:19 Therefore they said, Beholde, there is a feast of the Lord euery yere in Shiloh in a place, which is on the Northside of Beth-el, and on the Eastside of the way that goeth vp from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the South of Lebonah.

Judges 21:20 Therefore they commanded the children of Beniamin, saying, Goe, and lye in waite in the vineyardes.

Judges 21:21 And when ye see that the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catche you euery man a wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and goe into the land of Beniamin.

Judges 21:22 And when their fathers or their brethren come vnto vs to complaine, we wil say vnto them, Haue pitie on them for our sakes, because we reserued not to eche man his wife in the warre, and because ye haue not giuen vnto them hitherto, ye haue sinned.

Judges 21:23 And the children of Beniamin did so, and tooke wiues of them that danced according to their nomber: which they tooke, and went away, and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and dwelt in them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "daughters", "shiloh", "come", "dance", "dances", "vineyards", and "catche". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "daughters" and "shiloh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Therefore they commanded the children of Beniamin..." into verse 22's "And when their fathers or their brethren...", so "daughters" and "shiloh" 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 "daughters" and "shiloh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.