· Translation: KJV

Judges 21:13The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

The setting

Rock of Rimmon, Israel, ~1100 BC. Modern-day Rammun village near Ramallah. Surviving Benjamites hiding in caves after months of siege, finally hearing messengers call for peace.

The emotion here: cautiously hopeful after months of recording tragedy

The original word

shalom (שלום) — peace, wholeness, restoration of relationship and wellbeing

Why it matters

The Rock of Rimmon was a natural fortress with caves that could hide several hundred people

Read with care

What most readers miss in Judges 21:13

These men had been hiding in caves for months, probably thinking their tribe was finished forever

Common misconceptionPeople see this as a happy ending, but it's actually the desperate attempt to save a tribe from extinction after a devastating civil war that nearly destroyed Israel.

Bible Genome reading

Judges 21:13 — Bible Genome reading

Speakercongregation
Erajudges
Primary emotiondeciding
Literary typedialogue

Emotional genome

Comfort power60%
Quotability40%
Memorability50%
Crisis relevance60%
Standalone50%
Themes:reconciliationpeace

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open Judges 21

Judges 21:13 comes from the book of Judges, written during the judges period. These words are attributed to congregation. The dominant emotion in this verse is deciding, with a comfort power of 60% and a tone that is conversational. It belongs to the dialogue genre of biblical literature. Key themes include reconciliation, peace. Notable phrases: proclaimed peace.

Your reflection

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