3. The third and last section of the book embraces chapters xvii.-xxi., and consists of two narratives independent of one another and of the main stock of the book, with which they are not brought into any chronological connexion. They appear to owe their position to the latest redactor (akin to the latest stratum in the Hexateuch) who has heavily worked over xix-xxi., and put the book into its present form by the addition of i.-ii. 5, ix. and possibly of v.[6] The first narrative, that of Micah and the Danites, is of the highest interest both as a record of the state of religion and for the picture it gives of the way in which one clan passed from the condition of an invading band into settled possession of land and city. Its interest (xvii. seq.) lies in the foundation of the Ephraimite sanctuary by Micah as also in that of Dan. There are some repetitions in the account, but there is not enough evidence to restore two complete stories. The history of the Levite and the Benjamites is of quite another character, and presupposes a degree of unity of feeling and action among the tribes of Israel which it is not easy to reconcile with the rest of the book. In its present form this episode appears to be not very ancient; it resembles Ruth in giving a good deal of curious archaeological detail (the feast at Shiloh) in a form which suggests that the usages referred to were already obsolete when the narrative was composed. It appears to consist of an old story which has been heavily revised to form an edifying piece of exposition. The older parts are preserved in xix.: the account of the Levite of Mt Ephraim whose concubine from Bethlehem in Judah was outraged, not by the non-Israelite Jebusites of Jerusalem, but by the Benjamites of Gibeah; there are traces of another source in vv. 6-8, 10, 13, 15. The older portions of xx. seq. include: the vengeance taken by Israel (e.g. xx. 3-8, 14, 19, 29, 36-41, 47), and the reconstruction of the tribe by intermarriage with the women of Shiloh (xxi. 1, 15, 17-19, 21-23). The post-exilic expansions (found chiefly in xx., xxi. 2-14, 16, 24 seq.) describe the punishment of Benjamin by the religious assembly and the massacre of Jabesh-Gilead for its refusal to join Israel, four hundred virgins of the Gileadites being saved for Benjamin. How much old tradition underlies these stories is questionable. It is very doubtful whether Hosea's allusion to the depravity of Gibeah (ix. 9; x. 9) is to be referred hither, but it is noteworthy that whilst Gibeah and Jabesh-Gilead, which appear here in a bad light, are known to be associated with Saul, the sufferer is a Levite of Bethlehem, the traditional home of David. The account of the great fight in xx. is reminiscent of Joshua's battle at Ai (Josh. vii.-viii.).