Bible Strands
Judges 21:8
So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And, in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The assembled Israelite leaders question the congregation at Mizpah regarding which tribe skipped the military muster against Benjamin. This inquiry follows their immediate resolution to address the shortage of wives for the surviving Benjamite men.
The words — The phrase מִי אֶחָד (mi echad) literally asks “who [is] one,” isolating a single absent tribe, while עָלָה ('alah) specifies the required act of “going up” to the Lord’s camp.
The thread — The narrative identifies Jabesh-gilead as the absent city, a detail that resurfaces in accounts of the city’s earlier rescue mission (1 Samuel 11:1) and its later commendation for loyal burial of Saul (2 Samuel 2:5).
Why it lands — The text records a concrete roll call that exposes a gap in covenant participation, requiring a reader to observe how communal vows and military obligations demand explicit accounting of who stands inside or outside the assembly.
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 they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh–gilead to the assembly.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 31:11 When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
- 1 Samuel 11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
- 2 Samuel 2:5 So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead to tell them, “The LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.