‘And his concubine played the harlot against him.'
That is, she was unfaithful to him (compare Deuteronomy Genesis 38:24; Genesis 22:21; Hosea 2:5 etc). This may well have been connected with her religious ideas and she may have offered herself as a cult prostitute to Baal. But whatever it was she broke the covenant and agreement between them by unfaithfulness.
Some see it as simply referring to her desertion of him, as the versions suggest, translating, ‘because she was angry with him'. But this is unlikely, as the story may be seen as, among other things, a hint that her end was related to her beginning, and ‘play the harlot' was a regular phrase for infidelity. Indeed to ‘play the harlot' was a regular prophetic picture of those whose following after Baal and after idolatry brought them into extreme sexual misbehaviour (Hosea 4:15; Jeremiah 3:1; Jeremiah 3:8; Ezekiel 16:41; Ezekiel 23:44). The emendation probably arose because the translators could not believe that if she were an adulteress she had been allowed to live.
That the Levite did not demand that she face the penalty of the law may demonstrate that there had been a slackening of obedience to the law and to the covenant, although it may be that he loved her deeply and was willing, somewhat reluctantly, to forgive her. It would have been up to him to charge her. That she was very desirable comes out later in that the would be sodomites forgot their plans when they saw her.
But the Levite did not forget what she had done, and his behaviour in later letting the men have their way with her, and then assuming that she would cope with it, suggests something of this background.
‘And went away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.'
The Levites's wife left him and returned to her parental home. There she was clearly received, in spite of the fact that she had broken a contractual relationship. Strictly some attempt should have been made to restore her to her husband, but they may have feared that she might be put to death for what she had done, and if she was a cult prostitute they may have felt her Levite husband would not want her back.
“And was there the space of four months.” Time enough for some action to have been taken if she were to be sent back.
‘And her husband arose, and went after her to speak to her heart, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses.'
Her husband went after her, and thus it was not the husband who was directly responsible for her leaving. He wanted her back. Perhaps he was finding living on his own a little tedious, and wanted someone to look after the household. He certainly took his time over following her, but this may have been because he did not know where she had gone and was waiting to hear from her father. Perhaps it was such a message that sent him on his errand.
“To speak to her heart” This suggests that he loved her and wanted to convince her that he was willing to forgive her, so that she would return and be his wife. But the phrase strictly may only mean that he wanted to remind her that she was contracted to him.
“To bring her again.” To restore her to his own house and bed, as before.
“Having his servant with him, and a couple of asses.” One of the asses would be for her (or him) to ride on, and the other to carry provisions. He was clearly not a poor man. But it seems he was not fulfilling his Levitical responsibilities, or alternatively that the tithes were not being supplied as they should have been, leaving him and other Levites to have to find a living some other way.
‘And she brought him into her father's house, and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.'
She received him. It may be that she met him at the door, or that they providentially met while he was approaching the house. But at least she did not turn him away, although that may be because she knew her contractual obligations and was aware her father would wish to see him.
“And when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.” Whatever his inward feelings he put on a show of rejoicing. Perhaps he was pleased, hoping it would save his daughter from disgrace. He must have recognised that his daughter was at fault, and perhaps he hoped that the Levite would rescue his daughter from the consequences of her wild behaviour