Judges 21:2

Key Reflection

The men of Israel swore an oath in Mizpah, vowing not to marry their daughters to any Benjamite. This vow was a response to the tragic events where Benjamin nearly disappeared as a tribe due to the death of all its adult males during a civil war. The original audience would have understood this as a communal and binding promise to protect the tribe's identity and ensure it did not become extinct, reflecting the severe social and familial disruptions they had just experienced.