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There was a Levite
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a man of a vulgar family, that belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and dwelt
therein: this man married a wife from Bethlehem, which is a place belonging
to the tribe of Judah. Now he was very fond of his wife, and overcome with
her beauty; but he was unhappy in this, that he did not meet with the like
return of affection from her, for she was averse to him, which did more
inflame his passion for her, so that they quarreled one with another perpetually;
and at last the woman was so disgusted at these quarrels, that she left
her husband, and went to her parents in the fourth month. The husband being
very uneasy at this her departure, and that out of his fondness for her,
came to his father and mother-in-law, and made up their quarrels, and was
reconciled to her, and lived with them there four days, as being kindly
treated by her parents. On the fifth day he resolved to go home, and went
away in the evening; for his wife's parents were loath to part with their
daughter, and delayed the time till the day was gone. Now they had one
servant that followed them, and an ass on which the woman rode; and when
they were near Jerusalem, having gone already thirty furlongs, the servant
advised them to take up their lodgings some where, lest some misfortune
should befall them if they traveled in the night, especially since they
were not far off enemies, that season often giving reason for suspicion
of dangers from even such as are friends; but the husband was not pleased
with this advice, nor was he willing to take up his lodging among strangers,
for the city belonged to the Canaanites, but desired rather to go twenty
furlongs farther, and so to take their lodgings in some Israelite city.
Accordingly, he obtained his purpose, and came to Gibeah, a city of the
tribe of Benjamin, when it was just dark; and while no one that lived in
the market-place invited him to lodge with him, there came an old man out
of the field, one that was indeed of the tribe of Ephraim, but resided
in Gibeah, and met him, and asked him who he was, and for what reason he
came thither so late, and why he was looking out for provisions for supper
when it was dark? To which he replied, that he was a Levite, and was bringing
his wife from her parents, and was going home; but he told him his habitation
was in the tribe of Ephraim: so the old man, as well because of their kindred
as because they lived in the same tribe, and also because they had thus
accidentally met together, took him in to lodge with him. Now certain young
men of the inhabitants of Gibeah, having seen the woman in the market-place,
and admiring her beauty, when they understood that she lodged with the
old man, came to the doors, as contemning the weakness and fewness of the
old man's family; and when the old man desired them to go away, and not
to offer any violence or abuse there, they desired him to yield them up
the strange woman, and then he should have no harm done to him: and when
the old man alleged that the Levite was of his kindred, and that they would
be guilty of horrid wickedness if they suffered themselves to be overcome
by their pleasures, and so offend against their laws, they despised his
righteous admonition, and laughed him to scorn. They also threatened to
kill him if he became an obstacle to their inclinations; whereupon, when
he found himself in great distress, and yet was not willing to overlook
his guests, and see them abused, he produced his own daughter to them;
and told them that it was a smaller breach of the law to satisfy their
lust upon her, than to abuse his guests, supposing that he himself should
by this means prevent any injury to be done to those guests. When they
no way abated of their earnestness for the strange woman, but insisted
absolutely on their desires to have her, he entreated them not to perpetrate
any such act of injustice; but they proceeded to take her away by force,
and indulging still more the violence of their inclinations, they took
the woman away to their house, and when they had satisfied their lust upon
her the whole night, they let her go about daybreak. So she came to the
place where she had been entertained, under great affliction at what had
happened; and was very sorrowful upon occasion of what she had suffered,
and durst not look her husband in the face for shame, for she concluded
that he would never forgive her for what she had done; so she fell down,
and gave up the ghost: but her husband supposed that his wife was only
fast asleep, and, thinking nothing of a more melancholy nature had happened,
endeavored to raise her up, resolving to speak comfortably to her, since
she did not voluntarily expose herself to these men's lust, but was forced
away to their house; but as soon as he perceived she was dead, he acted
as prudently as the greatness of his misfortunes would admit, and laid
his dead wife upon the beast, and carried her home; and cutting her, limb
by limb, into twelve pieces, he sent them to every tribe, and gave it in
charge to those that carried them, to inform the tribes of those that were
the causes of his wife's death, and of the violence they had offered to
her.