Judges 21:3 (WEB)

Passage

They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”

Nearby Context

Judges 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”

Judges 21:2 The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.

Judges 21:3 They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be one tribe lacking in Israel today?”

Judges 21:4 On the next day, the people rose early, and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

Judges 21:5 The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "yahweh", "israel", "happened", "should", "tribe", and "lacking". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The people came to Bethel and sat..." into verse 4's "On the next day the people rose...", so "said" and "yahweh" 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 "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.