Judges 19:11
And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
Chapters 17-21 stand at the end of the book, yet they record events that occurred in the early part of the history of the judges, while the main narrative ends with chapter 16. The traveler’s servant in this verse is designated by the term for young man, showing that servant and young man could denote the same person. That usage supports the distinction between a servant and a chattel.
The verse belongs to the closing record of Israel’s backsliding, disgrace, and punishment. That record reveals the gross immorality and disorder prevailing when people did what was right in their own eyes. It is part of the account of the crime at Gibeah, in which fearful backsliding is recorded. Those closing chapters are marked by internecine strife, ruffianism, and bloodshed.
In this chapter conventional hospitality was treated as more important than a woman’s virtue, and tribal loyalty as more important than justice, yet such priorities do not excuse sin. The backsliding shown here must not be taken to mean that anyone can backslide with impunity.