What does Judges 19:3 mean?

Four months have passed since a Levite's concubine left him in Ephraim and returned to her family in Bethlehem (Judges 19:1–2). She had been unfaithful to him, most likely in the sense of adultery, but perhaps simply in the sense of running away. Given the customary role of concubines in that era, she may have been much younger than him.

It's possible she made no announcement as to where she was going, so the Levite didn't immediately realize she had abandoned him. Perhaps he waited for her to return on her own. Perhaps he had other duties—even other wives and concubines—and was in no hurry to retrieve her. Whatever the reason, the Levite arrives at her father's home after a long delay. He comes with a servant and two donkeys. He intends to speak kindly to her, put the past behind them, and bring her back home.

The passage makes it appear the Levite's intentions are good; he seems loving and accepting of the concubine. The young woman seems glad to see her husband. She invites him into her father's house, and her father is clearly glad the Levite has come back. Both the concubine and her father may have worried that the Levite would not want her back after she had run away from him.