And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces: See verse 19.29. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And might be translated “So” (New Living Translation) or “Then” (New Revised Standard Version) in this context.

And sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: This clause is almost identical to the one in verse 19.29. The pronoun her refers to the pieces of the concubine’s body sent to the different regions of Israel. Many languages will prefer to say “sent them” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), referring to the body pieces, rather than to the concubine, as if she were still alive. All the country of the inheritance of Israel is an unusual expression in Hebrew, literally “all the field of the inheritance of Israel.” All the country stresses that everyone in Israel became aware of this tragedy. New International Version says “each region” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “every part.” The inheritance of Israel often refers to the land that was allotted to each tribe by Joshua (see verse 2.6), but also to the land as a whole that God had promised to Israel. This kind of speech only emphasizes how low Israel has now fallen. The tribes were given an inheritance and were told to dominate the land given by God. Instead, thievery and rape are now carried out among the tribes. Many versions seem to miss the idea of inheritance in their renderings. For example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and sent them through every part of Israel’s territory,” and Contemporary English Version has “and sent pieces everywhere in Israel.” But retaining the keyword inheritance would make the irony here clear. We might say “and sent the pieces throughout all the territory that Israel inherited [or, gained as an inheritance]” or even “and sent the pieces throughout all the land God gave us.”

For they have committed abomination and wantonness in Israel: For renders the Hebrew particle ki, which probably introduces a reason. The Levite tells why he cut his concubine’s body into pieces and sent them throughout Israel. Alternatively, ki can express emphasis, so another possible rendering is “Truly.” The pronoun they probably refers to the wicked men of Gibeah, though some scholars think it is wider, referring to “those Benjaminites.” Contemporary English Version goes even further, understanding they to refer to all Israelites, saying “It was a terrible thing for Israelites to do!” According to this rendering, the Benjaminites are part of Israel and these acts should not have happened among brothers. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh avoids the problem by using a passive: “For an outrageous act of depravity had been committed in Israel.” Following this model, we might say “because a terrible crime has been committed in Israel.” Have committed renders the Hebrew verb meaning “do” or “make.” Here it may be translated “have carried out” or “have done.”

The Hebrew words rendered abomination and wantonness are strong terms often associated to sexual sins. For example, the word for abomination is used in Lev 18.17 to refer to a man having sex both with a woman and her daughter. The word for wantonness occurs in verse 19.23, where it is translated “vile thing” (see comments there). Translators should look for very strong expressions to match the Levite’s outrage at what happened. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh suggests “an outrageous act of depravity,” and Good News Translation says “an evil and immoral act.” We might speak of “a hideous and shameful crime.” The Septuagint omits the word abomination, but most versions follow the Hebrew text. If the Greek text is followed, the Hebrew should be cited in a footnote.

Israel is repeated for emphasis, expressing the idea that there has never been a crime so horrible in Israel. If the pronoun they is understood to refer to all the Israelites, then in Israel may be rendered “among all us Israelites.” However, if the Benjaminites are in view, then translators may say “in the land of Israel.” At that time Israel was a group of tribes, distributed over a wide spread of land (see verse 1.1), even if the narrator and those speaking here make it sound like a unified country.

Translation models for this verse are:

• So I grabbed my concubine’s body and cut it into pieces. Then I sent those pieces around the whole country which Israel received as an inheritance. What they did is a completely immoral and evil act in this country of Israel.

• So I took hold of my concubine and cut her into twelve pieces, and I sent the pieces throughout all our land, the land God gave us, because a shameful and evil thing had been done in Israel.

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 .