Synopsis of the Chapter
The wife of a Levite having been killed by the unspeakable lust of the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were from the tribe of Benjamin, the Levite husband, cutting his wife's corpse into twelve parts and sending them to the twelve tribes, stirs them all to avenge such a great crime. This is the second appendix to the Book of Judges, in which is recounted the history of the outrage and the Benjaminite war, which occurred at the same time as the preceding story of Micah, shortly after the death of Joshua and the Elders of that era. For, as chapter XX, 28 says, it occurred in the time of Phinehas, who succeeded his father Eleazar (who had consulted God on behalf of Joshua by God's and Moses' command, Numbers chapter XXVII, verse 21) in the High Priesthood at about the same time that Othniel succeeded Joshua. For Eleazar, being contemporary with Joshua, seems to have died shortly after him. Hence at the end of the last chapter of Joshua, his death is recorded immediately after that of Joshua. Therefore, just as the idolatry of Micah and the Danites occurred under Jonathan, grandson of Moses, as we heard at chapter XVIII, 30, so this history of the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin occurred under Phinehas, grandson of Aaron; and Aaron was the brother of Moses. So the Rabbis, Josephus, Abulensis, Lyranus, Serarius, and Genebrard in the Chronology. Sulpicius and Arias, therefore, are not quite correct in thinking this history occurred in the time of Eli the High Priest; nor Suidas, who places it under Samson; nor Masius, under Ehud the second Judge; nor others, under Othniel, who was the first Judge.
Verse 2: She Left Him. ¶
Our translator reads tiznach, that is, "she left, she distanced herself." But others read tizneh, that is, "she committed fornication." Hence the Rabbis think she was dismissed by the Levite for adultery. But neither the Septuagint, nor the Chaldean, nor Josephus mentions this crime. The Septuagint translates: "she was angry with him"; the Chaldean: "she despised him." Josephus says she departed from her husband because of his jealousy. It is likely that there were differing temperaments between them, and from these arose resentments, quarrels, and disputes — such as are frequent between married couples — and therefore the wife withdrew from her husband to her parents. This is gathered from verse 3: "And her husband followed her, wishing to be reconciled with her."
Verse 10: And His Concubine — that is, his secondary wife.
Verse 12: I Will Not Enter a Town of a Foreign People ¶
That is, Jerusalem, which was then occupied by the Jebusites; for although it was conquered by Caleb, Judges chapter I, verse 8, the Jebusites afterward retook it. Or rather, Caleb conquered the city of Jerusalem, but not the citadel of Zion; for David conquered this much later. Therefore the Jebusites, holding the citadel, dominated the city, in which Jews and Jebusites — namely, Benjaminites — lived together, as was expressly stated at chapter I, verse 21, and Joshua chapter XV, last verse. For this reason, therefore, the Levite here refused to spend the night in Jerusalem, lest he be forced to associate with the idolatrous Jebusites.
Verse 15: No One Would Receive Them as Guests. ¶
"I would be lying," says St. Ambrose, Book V of the Hexameron, chapter XVI, "if I did not say that this was the cause of the Sodomites' punishment: inhospitality." Indeed, Ezekiel chapter XVI, verse 49: "This," he says, "was the iniquity of Sodom: pride, fullness of bread and abundance, and the idleness of her and her daughters, and they did not extend a hand to the needy and the poor."
Verse 16: Sons of Benjamin — that is, sons of Benjamin; for here, by aphaeresis of the first syllable ben, he is called Jemini.
Verse 18: We Are Going to the House of God — to the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in Shiloh, for the sake of devotion, that having invoked and worshipped God there, we may return safely home to Mount Ephraim.
Verse 19: Having Straw and Fodder. ¶
From this it is clear that at that time in Judea there were no public inns, but travelers carried their own provisions and sought lodging with a friend or some citizen, as is still done in Turkey, Tartary, Scythia, etc.
Verse 22: Sons of Belial — namely, unbridled, impious, wicked men. See what I said about Belial at II Corinthians chapter VI, verse 15.
Verse 24: I Have a Virgin Daughter ¶
One may ask whether this man sinned in offering his daughter to the lust of the men of Gibeah, and whether the Levite husband sinned in bringing out his wife to escape sodomy. I respond that they were permitted, when others intended to inflict a graver injury, to offer a lesser one in order to redeem the graver. For it was a lesser injury that a daughter or wife be violated than that a man be violated by the unspeakable crime, and he a guest — violating at the same time the law of hospitality, which at that time was most sacred and inviolable. Thus it is permitted to counsel someone who intends to commit adultery to commit fornication with a harlot instead, and to counsel someone who intends a greater sin to commit a lesser one. For this counsel is prudent and honest; what is counseled here is not the lesser evil absolutely, but under this condition: if you are determined to commit the greater sin, commit rather the lesser — which is the prudent object of this counsel, worthy of a sensible man. So St. Chrysostom, Homily 27 to the People, and Homily 43 on Genesis — to someone accustomed to swearing by God, he counsels that he rather swear by his own head. And St. Augustine, Book II On Adulterous Marriages, chapter XV: "If he is going to do what is not permitted," he says, "let him commit adultery rather than murder" — that is, let him commit the lesser sin rather than the greater. The same is taught by St. Ambrose, Book I On Abraham, chapter VI; St. Gregory, Book XXXII of the Morals, chapter XX; and expressly Cajetan here; Bartholomew Fumus, in the Summary of Cases, under the word "Tyrant"; Dominic Soto, Book VI On Justice, Question I, article 5; Adrian, Quodlibet I, Question II; St. Thomas, Question On Evil. See Navarro, chapter XIV, number 40, at the end. This in general; now in particular.
I respond, secondly, that this man seems to have sinned against piety. For piety dictates that a father look after his daughter's modesty and welfare rather than that of an outside guest, even if a graver injury would be inflicted on the latter. And against justice, if he offered her to be violated against her will and despite her resistance (as usually happens). And against charity, if there was danger that the daughter would consent to sexual pleasure. So Lyranus, Abulensis, Dionysius, and Pererius on Genesis chapter XIX, verse 5, where I said something similar about Lot offering his daughters to the Sodomites to free his guests. But if there was no danger of consent in the daughter, and she had voluntarily submitted herself to her father for this purpose, or had even offered to endure this disgrace in order to avoid such a great crime — then there was absolutely no sin.
Finally, the disturbance of mind, thoughtlessness, and lack of counsel greatly diminished the guilt of this man.
More excusable is the Levite who, to escape the unspeakable outrage intended for himself, offered his wife to be raped — if she consented to this sacrifice of herself (to which she was not obligated). For each person should rather ward off injury from himself, especially one so abominable, than from another — for instance, from a wife. For charity begins with oneself.
Verse 25: He Brought Her Out ¶
So that, enticed by her presence and the woman's beauty placed before them, they would refrain from the man and demand nothing further, as indeed happened. So Abulensis. And perhaps the inhabitants of Gibeah were demanding the man as a pretense, so that the woman whom they desired — and whose remarkable beauty they had seen as she passed through the marketplace — would be offered to them, as Josephus asserts.
This was an enormous crime, which God accordingly avenged with the near-total destruction of the tribe. Hence it is said about it at Hosea chapter IX, verse 9: "They have deeply sinned, as in the days of Gibeah. He (the Lord) will remember their iniquity and will visit their sins."
Verse 29: Cutting the Body into Twelve Parts ¶
That is, to the twelve tribes, one part to each tribe. The husband did not sin here, because he did not cut up his wife to dishonor her body, but rather to restore honor to her through vengeance for such a great crime, which indeed followed shortly after: for by this dismemberment he roused everyone to vengeance. So Abulensis.
St. Athanasius, Epistle to the Orthodox, cites this deed and example of the Levite; and in a similar way, recounting the unspeakable crimes of the Arians committed against Catholics, he stirs them to detest the Arians.