Judges 21:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Israel instructed the men of Benjamin to set aside the fear instilled by the warriors and to take young, virtuous maidens as their brides. The men would not need to worry that their relatives would engage in battle on their behalf, nor would they doubt the love shown to them. For this reason, the maidens were spared the usual fate they would have faced. Consequently, four hundred young men entered into marriage. However, there remained two hundred young men who had no wives available to them.