Our
nameless Levite visits more misery upon us. After returning home, “he took a
knife, and grasping his concubine he cut her into twelve pieces, limb by limb,
and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel” (Judges 19:29).
So, um,
yeah, that happened.
Now, let’s
be clear, this priest, this priest
just desecrated his concubine’s body. After she had been beaten and raped to
death—yes, we now know that she died—he chopped her into twelve pieces. Jewish
burial traditions are very clear on this part, you do not dismember people! As a priest, he knows this! Jewish burials
are remarkably similar to current-day practices. The body is washed, purified,
and then dressed. There is no viewing of the body or open-casket, however. The
body is not to be put on display. Cremation is a no-no as it disrespects the
body. The body is supposed to decompose naturally.
It’s not supposed to be cut up into pieces
and sent across Israel!
Okay, I
admit, I’m pissed at this guy. This is just wrong on so many levels. Not only
did this guy throw her to her abusers, he refused to check on her, berated her
for being lazy the morning afterwards, threw her across a donkey like a piece
of meat, and carved her up! Whiskey tango foxtrot is wrong with this guy?! How
does someone like this become a priest? At what point does he start acting like
one?
It gets
worse. Because chopping her up is not a bizarre form of burial he’s pursuing.
It’s motivated by revenge. Her pieces are sent out to every tribe with the
message “to all the Israelites, ‘Has such a thing ever happened since the day
that the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until this day? Consider it,
take counsel, and speak out’ ” (Judges 19:30). He has taken offense that his
concubine was beaten, raped, and killed, and is now a prop to get revenge
against those perverse men of Gibeah.
He didn’t
need to chop her up. He didn’t need to send her dismembered and decaying limbs
throughout all of the land of Israel to make his point. It’s the final cut, the
final stripping of her humanity. Her body was raped by the men, but now her
memory has been raped by her lover. Her body was not treated with respect even
in death. She will not have a proper ceremony where people watcher over her and
recite the Pslams. Blessings and songs will not be voiced on her behalf.
Proper
treatment after her death might have done her well, or at least her memory. Now
she can only be an instrument of revenge with no humanity.