ellauri083.html on line 147: As Wang Lung becomes more prosperous, he buys a concubine named Lotus. O-Lan endures the betrayal of her husband when he takes the only jewels she had asked to keep for herself, two pearls, so that he can make them into earrings to present to Lotus. O-Lan's health and morale deteriorate, and she eventually dies just after witnessing her first son's wedding. Wang Lung finally appreciates her place in his life as he mourns her passing. Farewell my concubine.
ellauri153.html on line 816: David had four wives whose names we know—Ahinoam, Abigail (2 Samuel 2:2), Eglah (2 Samuel 3:5), and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:27)—and possibly others such as Absalom’s mother Maakah. This doesn’t count the concubines he had (2 Samuel 5:13). The natural question is, with plenty of female intimates to keep David warm, why did his attendants seek out a beautiful virgin stranger for the job? The following are several issues regarding Abishag’s “job description”:
ellauri153.html on line 822:

Why not a concubine? Though concubines had a lesser status than wives, they, too, possessed a certain rank and dignity. Abishai fortunately had neither. Absalom demonstrated this fact when, as part of his attempted coup, he slept with his father’s concubines (2 Samuel 16:21–22). Moreover, the personal dynamics within harems were infamous for the jealousy and infighting they engendered. To select one wife or concubine over another would be a mark of favoritism that would likely incite resentment and squabbling in the household. Don't even try this at home!
ellauri153.html on line 824: Abishag was neither a wife nor a concubine, but her position in the king’s household gave her such high prestige that David’s son Adonijah asked to marry her after the king’s death, but Solomon recognized this as an attempt by Adonijah to make himself king, and he had his brother summarily executed (1 Kings 2:21–25).
ellauri153.html on line 826: Nowhere does the Bible approve of David’s state of affairs—just the opposite! God had warned Israel through Moses that any future king “must not take many wives” (Deuteronomy 17:17). Scripture does not say that Abishag’s presence in David’s bed was a good thing, nor does it present David as a good father. His many children by multiple mothers were a cause of great trouble for him and the whole kingdom (2 Samuel 13; 2 Samuel 15; 1 Kings 12:23–25). His own son and successor, Solomon, ignoring God’s clear warning, took his father’s excesses to a shocking extreme with 700 wives and 300 concubines who led him astray and turned his heart after other gods (1 Kings 11:2–4). The kingdom itself was divided and lost by Solomon’s son shortly after his coronation, barely one generation after the glory of King David (1 Kings 12).
ellauri156.html on line 524: For some time afterward the war was carried on, the advantage being invariably on the side of David. At length, Ish-bosheth lost the main prop of his tottering cause by accusing Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines, an alliance which, according to contemporary notions, would imply pretensions to the throne. Starhill stablessa oli muuten issikkatamma nimeltä Rispa. Kukahan senkin kanssa nukkui öisin tallissa?
ellauri156.html on line 738: I fear some of us tend to miss the point here. We read Nathan's story and we hear Nathan's rebuke as though David's sin is all about sex. David does commit a sexual sin when he takes Bathsheba and sleeps with her, knowing she is a married woman. But this sexual sin is symptomatic, according to Nathan, and thus according to God. God is not just saying, “Shame on you, David. Look at all the wives and concubines you had to sleep with. And if none of these women pleased you, I could have given you another woman, just one that was not already married.” Wow, this is the same 'gotcha' as with Adam earlier: I give you about anything as long as you keep your fingers off my property.
ellauri156.html on line 768: The consequences are not only appropriate, but intensified. David took one man's wife; another will take several (I bet four) of his wives. This happens when Absalom rebels against his father's rule and temporarily takes over the throne. Following the advice of Ahithophel, Absolom pitches a tent on the roof of David's palace (the place from which David first looked upon Bathsheba) and there, in the sight of all Israel, sleeps with David's concubines as a declaration that he has taken over his father's throne and all that goes with it (2 Samuel 16:20-22). While David seeks to commit his sins in private, God sees to it that the consequences are very public. Aijaa. Kai tää Absalom-tarinakin täytyy vielä lehteillä.
ellauri163.html on line 183: ¹Reuben was denied this privileged position, because he had dishonoured his father by having sex with his father's concubine.
ellauri171.html on line 609: A Levite man and his concubine (a secondary wife without the legal status of a wife) were traveling through the hill country of Judah. The village they entered seemed unfriendly but they were eventually make welcome by an old man, who let them stay in his house. During the night they they were attacked by some gay villagers who wanted to rape not the woman, but the man.
ellauri171.html on line 610: The old man who was the Levite’s host offered the men his own daughter instead, as well as the concubine, but the men outside would not listen.
ellauri171.html on line 611: The Levite then pushed the concubine out the door, giving her to the villagers. They gang-raped and tortured her throughout the night. Finally they left her for dead.
ellauri171.html on line 617: ‘In the morning her master got up, opened the doors of the house, and when he went out to go on his way, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. ‘Get up’ he said to her, ‘we are going’. But there was no answer.’ (Judges 19:27-28)
ellauri171.html on line 622: Why is this story important at all for people without foreskins? In verse 1 we are told that a Levite had taken a concubine, a second class wife, for himself.
ellauri171.html on line 624: Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. Judges 19:1 (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 626: Verse 2 describes the problem that cascades into tragedy. The events that follow in the chapter would not have occurred if the concubine had not sinned by becoming a prostitute.
ellauri171.html on line 628: But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for a period of four months. Judges 19:2 (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 630: We are told that the concubine became a prostitute. Since we are told that she went to her father’s house, it may be that she and the Levite had an argument about her adultery before she fled. Verses 1 and 2 imply they were not happy together. Now before we find fault with the Levite and accuse him of using her as a mistress, read the next two verses.
ellauri171.html on line 635: Now we learn that the Levite and the concubine are husband and wife because the Levite is described as “her husband,” and the woman’s father is the Levite’s “father-in-law.” We also learn that the Levite travelled to Bethlehem to speak kindly to her and return home together. Because we are told that he planned to “speak tenderly to her,” this once again suggests that they may have argued after she played the prostitute, and as a result she left.
ellauri171.html on line 637: Verses 4-8 tell us that the Levite remained in the home of the father-in-law for five days. Judges 19:9-15 tells us the Levite and his concubine left the house. They passed by Jebus (Judges 19:11), the ancient name for Jerusalem, and stopped at Gibeah or Ramah to spend the night (Judges 19:13).
ellauri171.html on line 639: Judges 19:15-26 describes what happened the night the couple stayed in Gibeah, a city of the Benjamites. When they entered the open square of the city an old man invited them to his home (Judges 19:16-21). While the old man and the Levite and his concubine were having dinner, we are told some “worthless fellows” surrounded the house and pounded on the door. Verses 22-24 describe the discussion that occurred with these “worthless fellows.”
ellauri171.html on line 642: While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him.” Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. “ Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man.” Judges 19:22-24 (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 644: The worthless fellows wanted the old man to send out the Levite so that they could engage in sexual activity with him. But the old man refused and offered the crowd of men his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine. The old man said, “you may ravish them” and do “whatever you wish.” He granted them permission to engage in sexual relations with the two women. Now it is obvious the men surrounding the old man’s house wanted to engage in sexual activity when the two women were offered. It is also obvious the men described as “worthless fellows” were homosexuals since they wanted sex with the Levite and two women were offered.[1, 2]
ellauri171.html on line 646: But the men surrounding the house refused the offer of the women. So the Levite brought his concubine outside and the men raped her all night (Judges 19:25). The Hebrew translated as “raped” is yada. It was commonly used to refer to sexual intercourse. That is, the men raped her all night. At sunrise the concubine lay at the door of the house.
ellauri171.html on line 648: But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her out to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight. Judges 19:25-26 (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 652: When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, “Get up and let us go,” but there was no answer . . . Judges 19:27-28a (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 654: Then the Levite took his dead concubine home.
ellauri171.html on line 656: . . . Then he placed her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his home. When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!” Judges 19:28b-30 (NASB)
ellauri171.html on line 659: Judges 20-21 describes the reaction of the tribes of Israel to the horror that occurred in the city of Gibeah, except for those in the tribe of Benjamin. It becomes apparent in Judges 21:1-5 that the Levite had butchered his concubine to send a message to all Israel – a piece of her body for each tribe as a call to action.
ellauri171.html on line 661: Eleven tribes (called Israel in the account) reacted by demanding that the tribe of Benjamin give the guilty men, who caused the death of the concubine, to be released. But the people of Benjamin protected the guilty men and refused to turn them over for justice (Judges 20:12–14).
ellauri171.html on line 664: Thus the tribes of Israel (minus Benjamin) invoked capital punishment on the men who raped and murdered the Levite’s concubine and the tribe. In time, a total of forty thousand Israelites died as a result of God’s punishment on the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:21, 25). Six hundred men of Benjamin remained alive (Judges 20:47). Judges 20:48 states that Israel destroyed the cities of the tribe of Benjamin that they could find, including the cattle. Later Judges 21:16 states all the women were killed too!
ellauri171.html on line 678: Our second lesson is that our sins affect others and potentially lead others to sin. The first sin in this account occurred in the home of the Levite and concubine. The fact that the Levite planned to “speak tenderly to her” (Judges 19:3) in order to win her back, seems to imply that they had quarreled. The most obvious sin is that she committed adultery when she became a prostitute. The initial sin cascaded into the horrific evils in Gibeah and subsequently to the 400 virgins who were taken alive in Jabesh-gilead to be given as wives to the remaining men of Benjamin. Judges 21:25 says, “. . . everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
ellauri171.html on line 688: Judges 19-21 demonstrates that God is opposed to the abuse of women in this account. He commanded the destruction of an entire tribe because they did not punish those who raped and abused a concubine and caused her to die. Only when she died did they stop! We are told they abused her all night until dawn. Further, they were so morally bankrupt and corrupt that they left her dead at the door of the Levite. Scripture lifts women above the degradation of the Canaanites and the surrounding nations, but the town of Gibeah had become like the Canaanites. God has a higher view of women than described here. That is why He ordered the destruction of the unjust and morally bankrupt tribe of Benjamin.
ellauri171.html on line 774: We hope you enjoyed our Bible Study: famous murders in the Bible: Cain and Abel, Herod and John the Baptist, the death of Absalom, Judith and Holofernes, Jehu murders Jezebel, the Levite’s concubine, Jael and Sisera, Ehud murders Eglon, Jehu slaughters the royal children. Check out also other Bible murder links!
xxx/ellauri193.html on line 217: In traditional societies, women could not complain about mistresses, concubines, and in many cultures even other wives (such as polygyny); whereas male sexual jealousy was recognized as the highest emotion that could justify even murder. The recognized license of the Ancient Greek husband may be seen in the following passage of the pseudo-Demosthenic Oration Against Neaera: "We keep mistresses for our pleasures, concubines for constant attendance, and wives to bear us legitimate children and to be our faithful housekeepers. Yet, because of the wrong done to the husband only, the Athenian lawgiver Solon allowed any man to kill an adulterer whom he had taken in the act.''
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