And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
It came to pass in those days. The painfully interesting episode that follows, together with the intestine commotion the report of it produced throughout the country, belongs to the same early period of anarchy and prevailing disorder.
A certain Levite ... took ... a concubine. The priests under the Mosaic law enjoyed the privilege of marrying, as well as other classes of the people. It was no disreputable connection this Levite had formed; because a nuptial engagement with a concubine-wife (though, as wanting in some outward ceremonies, it was reckoned a secondary or inferior relationship) possessed the true essence of marriage: it was not only lawful, but sanctioned by the example of many good men.