שופטים, פרק י״ט, פסוק כ״ג

A desperate host steps outside to face an angry mob, attempting to shield his guest from harm. He pleads with the crowd using a blend of personal appeals and moral reasoning, presenting two distinct arguments to stop their attack [חומת אנך].

First, he addresses the men as his brothers. Even though they belong to different tribes—he is from Ephraim and they are from Benjamin—he appeals to a shared sense of kinship, begging them to spare his dignity [אלשיך, חומת אנך]. He argues that because the visitor has sought shelter under his roof, any violence directed at the guest is a direct and severe insult to the host himself [מצודת דוד].

Second, the host condemns the fundamental evil of their intentions [אלשיך]. He warns them against committing such a disgraceful and immoral act [מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ]. While the intended abuse is inherently wicked under any circumstances, carrying it out against a vulnerable stranger who has just found refuge makes the crime exceptionally ugly [שטיינזלץ].

In his desperate plea, the host specifically begs them not to commit this particular disgrace. By singling out the attack on his guest as the ultimate evil, he subtly prepares the ground for a horrific compromise. He signals his willingness to offer them an alternative that he views as a lesser offense, setting the stage for his immediate offer to surrender his own daughter and the guest's concubine to the crowd [חומת אנך].