Judges - 19:26



26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until it was light.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Judges 19:26.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
But the woman, at the dawning of the day, came to the door of the house where her lord lodged, and there fell down.
And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was, till it was light.
and the woman cometh in at the turning of the morning, and falleth at the opening of the man's house, where her lord is, till the light.
Then at the dawn of day the woman came, and, falling down at the door of the man's house where her master was, was stretched there till it was light.
Then at daybreak the woman arrived and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, until daylight.
But the woman, as darkness was receding, came to the door of the house, where her lord was staying, and there she fell down.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Fell down at the door - She had strength to reach the door, but not to knock for admittance: when she reached the door she fell down dead! The reason of this abominable and horrid catastrophe is strongly signified by the original words, Judges 19:25 : וידעו אותה ויתעללו בה כל הלילה vaiyedu othah, vaiyithallelu bah col hallailah, which we modestly translate, and they knew her, and they abused her all the night. More literally, but still not fully: Illi cum ea rem habuerunt, et alternatim in eam tota nocte ascenderunt. The hithpahel used here in the verb עלל greatly increases the sense: Conjugatio hithpahel frequentiam actus et immanem libidinem designat. The Arabic is not too strong; the following is its meaning: Exercuerunt in ea cupiditates suas, et maechati, sunt in ea ad matutinum usque.

Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and (i) fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord [was], till it was light.
(i) She fell down dead, as in (Judges 19:27).

Then came the woman in the dawning of the day,.... When those wicked wretches who had abused her had left her, having had her from place to place, at some distance from the house out of which she was put, and to which she got again, as well as she could:
and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was; her husband, so called, not because she had been his servant, but because she was his wife; and at the door of the old man's house, where he was, which she knew, and had found out by one means or another; she fell down, either purposely for her ease, and to lie and wait there, until the time of opening the door in the morning; or rather through weakness, not being able to stand, nor so much as to knock at the door to get admittance: and there she lay
till it was light; broad daylight.

When the morning drew on (i.e., at the first dawn of day), the woman fell down before the door of the house in which אדוניה, "her lord," i.e., her husband, was, and lay there till it was light, i.e., till sunrise.

Fell down - Namely, dead; killed partly with grief of heart, and partly with excessive abuse. Thus the sin she formerly chose, Judges 19:2, is now her destruction; and though her husband pardoned her, God would punish her, at least as to this life.

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