Judges 21:16 (WEB)

Passage

Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

Nearby Context

Judges 21:14 Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead. There still weren’t enough for them.

Judges 21:15 The people grieved for Benjamin, because Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

Judges 21:16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

Judges 21:17 They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.

Judges 21:18 However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elders", "congregation", "said", "shall", "provide", "wives", "remain", and "since". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elders" and "congregation", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "The people grieved for Benjamin because Yahweh..." into verse 17's "They said There must be an inheritance...", so "elders" and "congregation" 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 "elders" and "congregation" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.