Jud19 & the Dismembered Concubine - In the Levitical rules, the Hebrew word that is commonly translated as #wife is distinct from the Hebrew word that means #concubine. However, on at least one other occasion the term is used to refer to a woman who is not a wife – specifically, the handmaiden of Jacob's wife. - Genesis 35:22 - While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. #hollywood - Notice they always make movies that involve the actors subtly breaking torah. (Subtly - in a manner that is difficult to analyze or describe.) #TheLastBoyinNewYork - A Son tries to sleep with a woman that would have been considered a concubine or an adulteress because she was sexually involved with his father, whom himself was married. The Devil loves twisted plots. - Disagree? Post your Scriptures! @israelitebibl The Children of the Concubine & The History of Benjamin & Homosexuality!! - But today you have revolted against my father’s family. You have murdered his seventy sons on a single stone and have made Abimelek, the son of his female slave, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is related to you. Here the child of a concubine had received an inheritance that was not legally his. The status was considered lower because the status of a concubine was considered lower. But what would we consider a concubine today? Hospitality to strangers was an important custom in the ancient world, the travelers initially have a difficult time finding a place to spend the night. They are finally offered hospitality by an old man who, like the Levite, is from Ephraim. Due to the unwillingness of the Levite to spend the night in a city of “foreigners” (Judges19:12), arrive at the Benjaminite city of Gibeah after the sun has gone down. They are finally offered hospitality by an old man who, like the Levite, is from Ephraim. While the travelers are eating, the house is surrounded by men of the city who, according to the Hebrew text, wish “to know” the Levite (Judges19:22). The Ephraimite host attempts to dissuade the men of the city from raping his male guest, offering to them his own daughter and the Levite’s concubine in place of the Levite. Apparently the sexual violation of women was considered less shameful than that of men, at least in the eyes of other men. Such an attitude reflects both the social subordination of women and the fact that homosexual rape was viewed as a particularly severe attack on male honor. The Levite, upon his arrival in Ephraim, cuts the woman’s body into twelve pieces and sends these pieces throughout the land. As a result of this action, the Israelites gather at Mizpah, a traditional site of tribal assembly, to listen to the Levite’s story and plan a response to the Benjaminites. A cycle of violence ensues, resulting in the slaughter of many Benjaminite men, women, and children (Judges20:35–48), the slaughter of most of the inhabitants of the city of Jabesh-gilead (Judges21:8–12), and the kidnapping of young women at Shiloh (Judges21:15–24). Understanding the Concubine - If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,[a] he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter. If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these three things, she is to go free, without any payment of money.
