The elders’ mention of the word inheritance
indicates what is really at stake. Inheritance is more important than mere survival. Notably, every previous reference to inheritance
(not always the same word in Hebrew) in Deuteronomy and Joshua concerns the land that the covenant Lord had given his people as their possession. The Israelites’ concern is indeed a legitimate one, for without its hold on its inheritance, that is, its tribal location, it won’t matter who of the tribe survives. Land and identity are intimately connected. With only four hundred wives found, Benjamin will have little to no chance of maintaining its inheritance. So it is vital to find the additional two hundred.1
17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.