Image

The Levite's Concubine

The Levite’s Concubine, The Morgan Library Picture Bible, circa 1250 C.E., The Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

The Morgan Library Picture Bible is also known by several other names based on the various owners over the centuries: The Crusader Bible, The Maciejowski Bible or the Shah ‘Abbas Bible. It consists of 43 sheets of vellum with very little text and large illustrations, often only two or three scenes per page. Notes and passages have been added to the margins over the years in Latin, Persian Arabic, Judeo-Persian and Hebrew.

This image illustrates one of the more gruesome stories of the Hebrew Bible from Judg 19:21-29. After a Levite’s concubine has been raped to death by Benjaminite tribesmen, the Levite takes her body home and chops her into twelve pieces which he sends as an announcement of the crime to the twelve tribes of Israel.

levites-concubine

A West Semitic language, in which most of the Hebrew Bible is written except for parts of Daniel and Ezra. Hebrew is regarded as the spoken language of ancient Israel but is largely replaced by Aramaic in the Persian period.

The set of Biblical books shared by Jews and Christians. A more neutral alternative to "Old Testament."

Judg 19:21-29

21So he brought him into his house, and fed the donkeys; they washed their feet, and ate and drank.Gibeah's Crime
22While they were enjoying themselves, the men ... View more

 NEH Logo
Bible Odyssey has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.