1. Judges 19:20 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why would the old man discourage the party from spending the night in the square?

Judges 19:20 (ESV)

20 And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.”

The old man offers to put up the Levite and his family for the night, urging them not to spend the night in the town square. This suggests that the old man knew that things were not as they should be in Gibeah. It is a striking thing for him to say, since the town square, well inside the town walls, should have been a safe spot.