“And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel’s father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.”
On the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to depart; but the girl's father said to his son-in-law: 'Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you may go' (וַיִּשְׁכְמוּ בַבֹּקֶר בַּיּוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וַיָּקׁם לָלֶכֶת וַיֹּאמֶר אָבִי־הַנַּעֲרָה אֶל־חָתָנוֹ קַח־לְבָבְךָ פַּת־לָחֶם וְאַחַר הֹלַךְ) — on the morning of departure, the father again delays the Levite with food and hospitality. His phrase ``strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread'' (קַח־לְבָבְךָ, literally ``take/seize your heart'') suggests an appeal to the Levite's will and desire to remain. The father's repeated efforts to delay departure might be motivated by genuine affection for his daughter, or by economic and social interest in retaining the alliance with the Levite.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!