It was a rash oath, taken before the heat of battle (recalling the vow that Jephthah made). The women of Benjamin have all been slaughtered, and all that are left are six hundred men, who, because of the Israelites’ oath, are now doomed to a life of celibacy and childlessness, unless they marry outside Israel. Either way, Benjamin has no future. It will cease to exist. The fears of father Jacob for his youngest son have become true: in a bizarre way, Joseph’s brothers have taken Benjamin (Genesis 42:36).¹