After he left, Eglon's attendants came to look, but the doors to the cool chamber were locked! So they said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner part of the cool chamber."

Gaal spoke up again to say, "Look! People are coming down from the highest part of the land, and there's a company approaching from the diviner's oak tree."

Now it happened in those days, before there was a king in Israel, that a certain male descendant of Levi, who lived in a remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, took a mistress for himself from Bethlehem in the territory of Judah.

But his master replied, "We're not going to turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not part of the Israelis. Instead, we'll go on to Gibeah."

So they continued on their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah, which is part of Benjamin's territorial allotment.

He replied, "We're traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the mountainous region of Ephraim, because I'm from there, and I've been visiting Bethlehem in Judah. I'm going home now, but no one will take me into his home.

So the descendant of Levi, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up and replied, "I came to spend the night at Gibeah, which is part of Benjamin, along with my mistress.

But the army of Israel told themselves, "Let's draw them away by escaping to the highways from the city." So the entire army of Israel moved from their location and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamer while that part of their army moved from their ambush positions from Maareh-geba.