Judges 19 contains one of the most gruesome stories in the Bible. Few people read it, and as far as I know, no one enjoys it, but God placed it in His word as a powerful indictment of sin. Christians can and must learn from it to help ourselves and our society avoid sin’s traps, specifically in the area of sexual abuse. The following is a fictional story based on a real event as recorded in the Bible.
By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA
The Story
Aaron, a middle-aged priest from Ephraim, dismounted his donkey in the small village of Bethlehem, while his two servants removed the bags and fed and watered the donkeys. Aaron’s primary wife, Rama, was unable to conceive a child so he had come to Bethlehem to find a concubine, a secondary wife. The priest looked anxiously for the people he was meeting. As the sun neared the top of the sky, a small group walked towards him.
A man with salt and pepper hair and beard, furrows on his brow, and a dark, weather-beaten face approached. Walking behind him and to his left was a trim, petite woman. Standing at a distance was an older woman with younger boys and girls.
“I am Jocham,” said the older man as he approached the priest.
“I am Aaron,” replied the priest. “My merchant friend in Ephraim told me that you have a daughter that I might be interested in.”
“Yes,” answered Jocham. The thought of selling his daughter was revolting, but the hungry man felt he had no choice. Jocham struggled to grow and sell enough crops, wool, meat, and milk to support his family. Winter was near and Jocham was unsure if they would have enough food and warm clothing to survive. He and his wife had tried everything they knew to make money, but they failed. Weeks before, in the late summer, Jocham had met a caravan returning to Ephraim by way of Bethlehem. Jocham asked the merchant if he knew anyone who needed a servant girl. The merchant had replied, “I have a friend in Ephraim. Let me ask him.”
The group was silent for several moments. Suddenly, a donkey brayed.
Jolted from his remembrance, Jocham looked at his daughter and motioned for her to step forward and remove her veil. She did so, lowering her eyes so as not to meet Aaron’s gaze.
“Her name is Saiya” Jocham continued, his stomach churning with nausea and his heart praying that this would benefit Saiya and their family.
Aaron gasped when he saw her. Saiya was young and beautiful, with smooth curves, black hair, and an olive complexion. Her smile lit up the dreary late fall day, and her dark eyes radiated mystery.
Jocham paused for a moment for Aaron to look over his daughter. “Do you like her?”
Though over 30, Aaron burst out like a schoolboy, “I do!”
“Then let’s go into my house and talk about the details,” Jocham replied. Aaron and Jocham, servants and family, walked to Jocham’s home. They talked for hours as if they were old friends. Saiya and her sisters helped their mother prepare food and a place for Aaron and his servants to sleep. The boys finished their chores.
“Tell me about your work” Jocham inquired of Aaron. He wanted at least to know that Saiya would be well-treated. As a priest, Aaron had a stable income and a good place to live. He seemed like a good man who would not abuse Saiya, even though she would only be a secondary wife. Jocham felt a little more at ease.
The next morning came quickly. Aaron paid 30 shekels for Saiya, a premium price (Leviticus 27:4). As Jocham watched Saiya ride away on the donkey, tears gathered in his eyes. But he also felt relief, having extra money and one less mouth to feed.
Aaron, Saiya, and two servants took their small caravan to Aaron’s home in Ephraim, over twenty miles away. Aaron loved Saiya, at first showering her with attention and gifts. Soon, however, Saiya was lonely in her new home. Only 16 years old, she missed her family and her former life. She bristled under the authority of Rama, Aaron’s primary wife, who resented her. Saiya also found the much older Aaron to be too busy for her, except at bedtime. For reasons unknown, Saiya did not get pregnant.
Every day, Saiya went outside the house to pick some fall olives for food and oil. One day as she picked olives, Saiya saw a young carpenter, Manoah. He was bringing a table he had assembled to the house. He passed Saiya with a smile, and then he paused, and probed her with his eyes. Quickly turning his head, Manoah walked to the door where Rama met and paid him. Rama went back inside the house and Manoah walked toward Saiya.
“Hello,” he said as he paused. “How long have you lived here?”
Saiya looked down and said nothing, but Manoah’s deep voice, youthful vigor, and powerful build enchanted her. Both felt an awkward silence.
“Shalom,” Manoah said as he walked past her. A few yards away, he turned, caught her glance, and smiled.
Over the next several weeks, Manoah often came to Aaron’s house. He visited later and later in the afternoon, usually carrying something he had made. Often he brought handmade gifts for Saiya. Saiya found herself picking olives later and later. The darkening days of late fall made it harder for Saiya to find olives but also harder for others to see her with Manoah. Soon, Manoah and Saiya became intimate. Aaron’s servant saw the two of them while working in the fields, and the adulterous relationship between Manoah and Saiya came to light. Disgraced, Saiya returned to Jocham in Bethlehem. Saiya had also disgraced her family, but Jocham allowed her to stay there all winter.
In the spring, Aaron and his servant returned to Bethlehem. Aaron still cared for his young bride and wanted her back. He met Saiya in the field and spoke tenderly to her, trying to get her to come home. Saiya brought Aaron to her father’s house.
The robust first fruits of the winter wheat harvest made for a better economy in and around Bethlehem. Trying to atone for Saiya’s sin again Aaron, Jocham and his family wined and dined with the priest and his servant for a week. On the sixth day, however, Aaron refused to stay longer. Though late in the day, he took Saiya and his servants on the road to Jerusalem. It was dark.
“Please, let us go into Jerusalem to find shelter for the night,” said Aaron’s servant. “Highwaymen commonly attacked, robbed, and killed unsheltered travelers.”
The servant didn’t need to tell his master the dangers, and Aaron replied, “No, we will not stay with foreigners” answered Aaron. “We will go to our brothers in Gibeah in the country of Benjamin.” That will be safer.
Soon the little caravan came to Gibeah. Having no offers of lodging for the night, Aaron took them to the open square just inside the city gates. Travelers would commonly stay in such a square. A little while later, an old man named Phineas came into Gibeah from his work in the fields. Phineas approached Aaron, Saiya, their servant, and the donkeys. Aaron told Phineas that they had plenty of food and fodder for the night. Phineas insisted that they stay with him and his family in his home. Aaron wisely assented. The evening was going well for Aaron, Saiya, Phineas, his family, and the servant. Aaron was thrilled to have Saiya back, and the next day they would all be safely at home.
Unbeknownst to the happy group, wicked men surrounded the old man’s house and pounded on his door.
“Bring out the man who came into your house so we can rape him,” these denizens of Gibeah demanded. Quickly the demands grew louder, the crowd larger, and the situation more threatening. The men wanted sex with Aaron. All feared for their lives, just as Lot and his family did in a similar situation in Sodom nearly 1,000 years before. The old man offered the same solution that Lot did.
“No, my fellow citizens, 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.”
Phineas had the door ajar so he could talk to the mob. Hearing Phineas’ words, especially his statement that what they were trying to do was sin, the men in the crowd pushed the door open. No one considers themselves evil, and people hate those who point out their sin. Tragically, Saiya was closest to the door, so they seized her. Aaron grabbed Saiya and pulled her back while Phineas tried to close the door. They failed. The combined strength of the men inside the house could not overcome the power of the mob at the door and outside. Unlike Sodom, no angels were present in Gibeah to pull people back inside the house and strike the assailants blind (Genesis 19). Instead, the mob pulled Saiya out of the house and into the square. Dozens of men raped her and beat her. Before dawn, they left her. She staggered to the doorway of Phineas’ house and crumpled.
Not long afterward, Aaron and his servant opened the door and found Saiya collapsed. Unaware of the extent of her injuries, Aaron said:
“Get up, for we need to go.” After the horror of the night before, Aaron wanted to leave immediately. Saiya did not move. Aaron moved closer to his wife, checking for breathing and movement. There was none. Aaron realized that Saiya was dead. He erupted in screams of agony. Fortunately, the evildoers who had murdered his wife were still asleep, hungover, and sated in their desire for evil…at least for now.
Enraged and devastated, Aaron put Saiya’s body on one of the donkeys. He and his servant carried her corpse for several hours until they reached home. Thoughts of revenge crowded Aaron’s mind.
“How can I bring disaster on these men of Gibeah for their unspeakable acts?” he thought to himself. Images of Gibeah’s destruction gave him a smile.
Aaron’s imagination hit on a gruesome solution. Aaron took Saiya’s dead body into his home and cut it into twelve pieces. He placed each piece into its own pottery bowl and added alcohol to preserve the tissue. Aaron wrote his account of what happened on the bowl and, by messenger and caravan, sent a piece of Saiya’s body to the leaders of each tribe. The story of this heinous crime spread throughout the land. Leaders were forced to act.
All Israel, from the city of Dan in the far north to the city of Beersheba in the far south was outraged. They mobilized their armies and insisted that the people of the tribe of Benjamin give up those responsible for this crime. The leaders of Benjamin refused and instead brought up their forces. The leaders of the other eleven tribes marched against the tribe of Benjamin. After small but painful military setbacks, the combined power of the eleven tribes overwhelmed and nearly destroyed Benjamin (Judges 20-21).
The Commentary
Those who wish to learn from this story can consider many lessons:
- Marrying multiple women is rarely a good idea but was a societal standard at the time. It is hard to fault Aaron, especially in light of Rama’s infertility. Though equally ill-advised, Abraham did the same thing (Genesis 16).
- Jocham and his wife felt that economic deprivation forced them into a desperate situation…having to sell their daughter as a servant, which could easily turn into a sex slave. Such a sale was strictly against the Law of God, and they either knew it or not, but either way they violated His commands.
- Treating anyone as property is repulsive and violates the will of God. Women have historically been treated as property more than men have.
- Fathers and families must do their best to screen those who want relationships with their children. The family is sacrosanct.
- Saiya committed a grave sin in her affair with Manoah. Her youthfulness and innocence were and are no excuse. Adultery ruined her reputation and that of her family. In the mind of her society, it made her less valuable and less worthy of protection.
- Despite the protestations of modern culture, sexual purity is important, especially in women. The Bible does not have a double standard, but almost every culture in history has.
- Husbands must try again and again to bless the women that they love.
- Don’t misjudge your environment or the character of people you encounter. Be careful.
- Don’t assume people are more trustworthy just because they are like you.
- Phineas spoke the truth, warning fellow citizens that they were intending to do a wicked act.
- The root of the evil was found, as in Sodom, in homosexual activity. Man so often uses God’s good gifts, in this case, sex, in ways violating His commands.
- Phineas’ act in offering a daughter and a concubine to the ravages of wicked men is unthinkable. God calls men to protect women, not to offer them up as sacrifices.
- Phineas and Aaron could have tried to rescue Saiya from the mob. Though their likelihood of success seems low, God works in mysterious ways. Perhaps they could have saved her.
- Aaron refused to let the matter of Saiya’s murder die. He did not give up in the face of such heinous wickedness. But Aaron acted in a way in which he had a good chance to win.
- Corporate guilt is real. In protecting the murderers, the tribe of Benjamin brought judgment on itself.
- When confronted with evil, leaders must act. Though Israel lost at first against Benjamin, the later was clearly in the wrong. The persistence of the leaders of Israel won the day.
Conclusion
The story in Judges 19 is awful. It is a tale of mankind’s utter depravity. Men (human males) are especially bad at protecting those who need protection, such as women, children, and nature. In modern Western culture, we too often victimize those we are duty bound to help. Moral standards are timeless, despite the cries of moral relativists, past and present. God commands obedience to His law, even when we believe that our chance of victory is low.
