And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Among the people of Jabesh-gilead, they found four hundred young women who had never been intimate with a man. They brought these women to their camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
The Israelites found four hundred unmarried young women from Jabesh-gilead and brought them to their camp to serve as wives for the surviving men of Benjamin.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Judges, this verse is set during a time of civil strife among the Israelites, following a brutal war against the tribe of Benjamin due to a grave moral outrage in the city of Gibeah. The Israelites had made a rash oath not to give their daughters in marriage to Benjaminites, which left the surviving men without wives and threatened the tribe's existence. As a solution, they attacked the town of Jabesh-gilead for not joining the assembly and took its young virgins to provide for the Benjaminites, reflecting the chaotic era before Israel's monarchy.
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