The day was far spent. — Jerusalem is only two hours distant from Bethlehem. The father of the woman, by his unwise neglect to “speed the parting guest,” had greatly added to the perils of their journey in a half-conquered country, and in such wild times.
Unto his master. — Literally, to his lord, a mere form of respect, as in Genesis 39:2.
This city of the Jebusites. — Their complete and undisturbed possession shows that this narrative falls at an early date (Judges 1:7-8; Judges 1:11; Judges 1:21; Joshua 15:63). The travellers would reach the town from Bethlehem at about five o’clock.