Judges 21:19 (WEB)

Passage

They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”

Nearby Context

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.’”

Judges 21:19 They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”

Judges 21:20 They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

Judges 21:21 and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "behold", "feast", "yahweh", "year", "shiloh", and "north". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "behold", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "However we may not give them wives..." into verse 20's "They commanded the children of Benjamin saying...", so "said" and "behold" 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 "said" and "behold" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.