Bible Strands
Judges 19:24
Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The unnamed host of Gibeah addresses a hostile mob outside his doorway, offering his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine to spare his guest. This occurs immediately after the host’s initial plea to prevent the men from committing a "wicked thing" against the traveler.
The words — אוֹצִיאָה־נָּא (o.tzi.'ah-na) renders "let me bring out please," while עַנּוּ ('a.Nu) means "afflict" or "abuse." These verbs frame the host’s desperate negotiation to redirect the mob’s violence away from the guest.
The thread — The offer parallels Genesis 19:8, where Lot similarly presents his daughters to protect guests, and stands in tension with Deuteronomy 21:14’s command to release a captive wife rather than exploit her. It also anticipates the violent violation recorded in Genesis 34:2.
Why it lands — The text records a host trading women to preserve a guest’s safety. It asks the reader to observe how established social codes can be inverted to justify the sacrifice of the vulnerable.
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
Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
Cross-references
- Genesis 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
- Deuteronomy 21:14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
- Genesis 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.
- Romans 3:8 Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!