Judges 21:8 (WEB)

Passage

They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah?” Behold, no one came from Jabesh Gilead to the camp to the assembly.

Nearby Context

Judges 21:6 The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel today.

Judges 21:7 How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”

Judges 21:8 They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah?” Behold, no one came from Jabesh Gilead to the camp to the assembly.

Judges 21:9 For when the people were counted, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.

Judges 21:10 The congregation sent twelve thousand of the most valiant men there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "said", "tribes", "israel", "didn", "come", "yahweh", "mizpah", and "behold". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "said" and "tribes", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "How shall we provide wives for those..." into verse 9's "For when the people were counted behold...", so "said" and "tribes" 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 "tribes" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.