And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.
When he arrived at his house, he took a knife and cut up his concubine's body, dividing it into twelve pieces along with the bones, and sent the pieces throughout all the territories of Israel.
This verse describes a horrific act where a man dismembered his dead concubine's body and sent the pieces to all twelve tribes of Israel as a shocking call for justice.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the dark period of the Judges when 'everyone did what was right in their own eyes' and Israel had no king. The Levite's concubine had been brutally assaulted and killed by men from the tribe of Benjamin in Gibeah. By sending her dismembered body to the twelve tribes, the Levite was following an ancient practice of using shocking acts to summon the tribes to war or demand justice for terrible crimes.
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