Bible Strands
Judges 19:17
When he looked up and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going, and where have you come from?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — An elderly Ephraimite resident in Gibeah addresses a traveling Levite at dusk in the city square. The inquiry occurs immediately after the traveler's arrival and before his explanation of the journey.
The words — וַ/יִּשָּׂ֣א (va/i.yi.Sa') = and he lifted up [H5375]; עֵינָ֗י/ו ('ei.Na/v) = his eyes [H5869]. The phrasing records the physical act of looking up to initiate a direct verbal examination.
The thread — The identical interrogative structure regarding origin and destination appears in Genesis 16:8 and Genesis 32:17. Each instance uses the question to establish a traveler's identity and intended route.
Why it lands — The text demands that a reader recognize the immediate requirement of route disclosure before any claim to protection. It establishes that ancient hospitality protocols functioned as a transaction requiring verified purpose and destination.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
Cross-references
- Genesis 16:8 “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
- Genesis 32:17 He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’