Judges 21:3They said, "Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?"
The setting
Bethel, Israel, ~1050 BC. Tribal leaders crying out after Benjamin was nearly extinct. Modern-day Palestinian territory.
The emotion here: documenting raw human anguish and honest questioning
The original word
lamah (לָמָה) — why, for what reason, an agonized demand for explanation
Why it matters
Benjamin was the smallest tribe and nearly went extinct with only 600 men surviving
Read with care
What most readers miss in Judges 21:3
They're not questioning God's existence but His apparent allowing of family destruction
Common misconceptionPeople think questioning God shows lack of faith, but even faithful Israelites demanded answers when families were torn apart.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Judges 21:3
Bible Genome reading
Judges 21:3 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Judges 21:3 comes from the book of Judges, written during the judges period. These words are attributed to Israelites. The dominant emotion in this verse is seeking, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the prayer genre of biblical literature. Key themes include questioning God, loss. Notable phrases: why has this happened. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same seeking
“Pray without ceasing.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“But let justice roll on like rivers, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
— Amos 5:24
“Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that …”
— Genesis 18:25
“Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don't know.”
— Jeremiah 33:3
“Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evi…”
— Luke 11:4
Your reflection
What does Judges 21:3 mean to you, today?
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