“ And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.”
He then explained his unusual action in cutting up her body and sending it round to the tribes. But what he had done emphasises that he was asking for the death penalty. That was the significance of the cutting up and sending round of the dead body.
“Of the inheritance of Israel.” This was his description of the country that Israel had inherited from God. This reminded them that the country was God's, and that they were responsible to Him for maintaining justice in His name. They had inherited it from the God of the covenant, and therefore must fulfil the covenant requirements. In this case the land was stained with blood.
“Lewdness and folly in Israel.” ‘Folly in Israel' was a technical term for the most obscene of behaviour (Genesis 34:7; Deuteronomy 22:21; Joshua 7:15). It signified that the culprit had broken the covenant in a way that deserved the ultimate penalty. ‘Lewdness' defined the particular type of folly that had been committed. They were guilty of attempted sodomy, multiple rape, lack of hospitality to a stranger, intended desecration of a Levite, and murder. Details of this may well have been privately passed to the main judges. It could not be mentioned in public.