The narrator continues to emphasize the father’s joy at having his son-in-law with him. This great display of hospitality, typical of the Middle East, is meant to contrast with the total lack of hospitality the couple will encounter in the town of Gibeah.

And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay: Good News Translation and many other versions omit the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And. The term father-in-law seems to indicate that there was a formal or legal relationship here. However, it is possible that this use of father-in-law is ironic, since the woman was not a wife, but a concubine. The two phrases his father-in-law and the girl’s father put heavy emphasis on the father. For girl see verse 19.3. Made … stay renders a Hebrew verb meaning “be strong.” The father put strong pressure on the Levite to stay. Since distances were long and visits were difficult to make, it is natural that he insist his son-in-law stay. Made him stay may be rendered “insisted that he stay” (Good News Translation) or “put pressure on him to stay.”

And he remained with him three days: It would be hard for any son-in-law to resist this pressure, and in this culture, a refusal would have been considered impolite. The pronoun he refers to the Levite, and the pronoun him points to his father-in-law. Remained renders the Hebrew verb yashab meaning “live” or “inhabit,” but most languages will prefer to use a verb that indicates a temporary stay, such as “stayed” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). There does not seem to be any particular reason for the time period of three days. However, the number three and its multiples occur often in this book (see, for example, verse 1.20; verse 7.6).

So they ate and drank, and lodged there: So renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction here. The pronoun they may refer to the Levite and his father-in-law, but it is also possible that it refers to the couple, as in Good News Translation: “The couple had their meals and spent the nights there.” However, according to the cultural norms of that day, it is likely that the two men ate and drank together. See verse 19.6. It may be significant that nothing is said about their talks concerning the couple’s problems or the negotiations necessary to reconcile them. There may even be a touch of irony on the narrator’s part that the two men spent most of their time eating and drinking. Whatever the tone is here, this time of joy is meant to set the backdrop for and contrast with the scenes of horror to come. Ate and drank may be rendered “ate together and drank together.” The verb drank implies that they had wine, which may be made explicit. The subject of the verb lodged may be the Levite and his servant, but it could also be the whole party, including the concubine. The Hebrew verb rendered lodged (lin), a key one in this section (verse 19.6-7, 9-11, 13, 15, 20), implies a temporary stay (see verse 18.2). It is often translated “spend the night.” When the Levite and his wife look for temporary lodging later, they expose themselves to grave danger. The adverb there refers to the father’s house.

Remained and lodged render two separate verbs in Hebrew, but it may be possible to use only one by saying “so he stayed with him for three days eating and drinking.” However, this translation does not allow the important verb lodged to be emphasized as it is throughout this section.

Translation models for this verse are:

• The Levite’s father-in-law insisted that he stay, so he stayed for three days, and they ate and drank together.

• The woman’s father pressed the Levite to stay. So he passed the night, and ended up staying three days, and they spent their time eating and drinking wine.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .