Judges 20:5 Meaning and Explanation
“And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →The Levite testifies that the men of Gibeah surrounded the house meaning to kill him, and abused his concubine until she died.
What Does Judges 20:5 Mean?
The Levite recounts the night's terror: the men of Gibeah surrounded the house, intending to kill him, and instead seized his concubine, whose abuse left her dead. His telling compresses the horror of chapter 19 into a single charge. The crime was not one man's madness but a town's, 'the men of Gibeah,' a public, collective assault on a guest under another's roof.
His summary leaves out his own part in handing her over, and Scripture lets that silence stand without comment. What the verse drives home is the depravity that a community can sink into when it loses the fear of God. A woman's life was treated as nothing. The Bible refuses to look away from such evil; it names it, so that we never grow numb to the suffering of the powerless or excuse the cruelty of the crowd.
Frequently Asked Questions About Judges 20:5
What does Judges 20:5 mean?
The Levite testifies that the men of Gibeah surrounded the house meaning to kill him, and abused his concubine until she died.