The Levite’s Mistress is Avenged
The Israelites looked for the men who had raped the Levite’s mistress, but the people of Benjamin wouldn’t give them up, and made war until twenty two thousand Israelites were dead; and the Israelites wept, saying “Lord, in return must I kill my brothers the Benjamites?” And they killed twenty five thousand Benjamites and set fire to their cities, until only six hundred men survived who had run away to the wilderness.
Then the Israelites were sorry, and said “How can they find wives when we’ve killed all their virgins!” So they considered, “Is there any tribe which hasn’t come to the Lord’s house?” Now the tribe of Jabeshgilead wasn’t there, so they sent an army to completely wipe them out and managed to capture four hundred virgins, which they gave to the Benjamites to made peace.
Then the elders said to the Benjamites, “But you’re still two hundred virgins short! However, there’s a yearly feast near Bethel; hide in the vineyards, and catch the daughters of Shiloh when they come out to dance. And if their fathers complain, say ‘You’re the guilty ones; even though we didn’t reserve your virgins during the war, you should have given them to us anyway.’”
— Judges 20, 21