Judges 20 commentary

The Israelites' abhorrence of the crime committed at Gibeah, and their resolution to punish the criminals, were right; but they formed their resolves with too much haste and self-confidence. The eternal ruin of souls will be worse, and more fearful, than these desolations of a tribe.

CHAPTER 20

Jud 20:1-7. The Levite, in a General Assembly, Declares His Wrong.

1-2. all ... the congregation was gathered as one man--In consequence of the immense sensation the horrid tragedy of Gibeah had produced, a national assembly was convened, at which "the chief of all the people" from all parts of the land, including the eastern tribes, appeared as delegates.

Mizpeh--the place of convention (for there were other Mizpehs), was in a town situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15:38; 18:26). Assemblies were frequently held there afterwards (1Sa 7:11; 10:17); and it was but a short distance from Shiloh. The phrase, "unto the Lord," may be taken in its usual sense, as denoting consultation of the oracle. This circumstance, together with the convention being called "the assembly of the people of God," seems to indicate, that amid the excited passions of the nation, those present felt the profound gravity of the occasion and adopted the best means of maintaining a becoming deportment.

3. Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh--Some suppose that Benjamin had been passed over, the crime having been perpetrated within the territory of that tribe [Jud 19:16]; and that, as the concubine's corpse had been divided into twelve pieces [Jud 19:29]--two had been sent to Manasseh, one respectively to the western and eastern divisions. It is more probable that Benjamin had received a formal summons like the other tribes, but chose to treat it with indifference, or haughty disdain.

4-7. the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said--The injured husband gave a brief and unvarnished recital of the tragic outrage, from which it appears that force was used, which he could not resist. His testimony was doubtless corroborated by those of his servant and the old Ephraimite. There was no need of strong or highly colored description to work upon the feelings of the audience. The facts spoke for themselves and produced one common sentiment of detestation and vengeance.

Jud 20:8-17. Their Decree.

8-13. all the people arose as one man--The extraordinary unanimity that prevailed shows, that notwithstanding great disorders had broken out in many parts, the people were sound at the core; and remembering their national covenant with God, they now felt the necessity of wiping out so foul a stain on their character as a people. It was resolved that the inhabitants of Gibeah should be subjected to condign punishment. But the resolutions were conditional. For as the common law of nature and nations requires that an inquiry should be made and satisfaction demanded, before committing an act of hostility or vengeance, messengers were despatched through the whole territory of Benjamin, demanding the immediate surrender or execution of the delinquents. The request was just and reasonable; and by refusing it the Benjamites virtually made themselves a party in the quarrel. It must not be supposed that the people of this tribe were insensible or indifferent to the atrocious character of the crime that had been committed on their soil. But their patriotism or their pride was offended by the hostile demonstration of the other tribes. The passions were inflamed on both sides; but certainly the Benjamites incurred an awful responsibility by the attitude of resistance they assumed.

14-17. the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah--Allowing their valor to be ever so great, nothing but blind passion and unbending obstinacy could have impelled them to take the field against their brethren with such a disparity of numbers.

Jud 20:18-28. The Israelites Lose Forty Thousand.

18-28. the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God--This consultation at Shiloh was right. But they ought to have done it at the commencement of their proceedings. Instead of this, all their plans were formed, and never doubting, it would seem, that the war was just and inevitable, the only subject of their inquiry related to the precedency of the tribes--a point which it is likely was discussed in the assembly. Had they asked counsel of God sooner, their expedition would have been conducted on a different principle--most probably by reducing the number of fighting men, as in the case of Gideon's army. As it was, the vast number of volunteers formed an excessive and unwieldy force, unfit for strenuous and united action against a small, compact, and well-directed army. A panic ensued, and the confederate tribes, in two successive engagements, sustained great losses. These repeated disasters (notwithstanding their attack on Benjamin had been divinely authorized) overwhelmed them with shame and sorrow. Led to reflection, they became sensible of their guilt in not repressing their national idolatries, as well as in too proudly relying on their superior numbers and the precipitate rashness of this expedition. Having humbled themselves by prayer and fasting, as well as observed the appointed method of expiating their sins, they were assured of acceptance as well as of victory. The presence and services of Phinehas on this occasion help us to ascertain the chronology thus far, that the date of the occurrence must be fixed shortly after the death of Joshua.

Jud 20:29-48. They Destroy All the Benjamites, Except Six Hundred.

29-48. And Israel set liers-in-wait round about Gibeah--A plan was formed of taking that city by stratagem, similar to that employed in the capture of Ai [Jos 8:9].

Unto the Lord in Mizpeh - This city was situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin, and is sometimes attributed to the one, sometimes to the other. It seems that there was a place here in which the Lord was consulted, as well as at Shiloh; in 1 Maccabees 3:46, we read, In Maspha was the place where they prayed aforetime in Israel. These two passages cast light on each other. Some think that Shiloh is meant, because the ark was there; but the phrase before the Lord may signify no more than meeting in the name of God to consult him, and make prayer and supplication. Wherever God's people are, there is God himself; and it ever was true, that wherever two or three were assembled in his name, he was in the midst of them.

The chief of all the people - The corners פנות pinnoth; for as the corner-stones are the strength of the walls, so are the chiefs the strength of the people. Hence Christ is called the chief corner-stone.

In the assembly of the people of God - The Septuagint translate, And all the tribes of Israel stood up before the face of the Lord, εν εκκλησιᾳ του λαου του Θεου, in the Church of the people of God. Here was a Church, though there was no priest; for, as Tertullian says, Ubi tres, ecclesia est, licet laici; "Wheresoever three are gathered together in the name of the Lord, there is a Church, although there be none but the laity."

Tell us, how was this wickedness? - They had heard before, by the messengers he sent with the fragments of his wife's body; but they wish to hear it, in full council, from himself.

We will not any of us go to his tent - We will have satisfaction for this wickedness before we return home.

Ten men of a hundred - Expecting that they might have a long contest, they provide suttlers for the camp; and it is probable that they chose these tenths by lot.

Deliver us the men - Nothing could be fairer than this. They wish only to make the murderers answerable for their guilt.

Benjamin would not hearken - Thus making their whole tribe partakers of the guilt of the men of Gibeah. By not delivering up those bad men, they in effect said: "We will stand by them in what they have done, and would have acted the same part had we been present." This proves that the whole tribe was excessively depraved.

Twenty and six thousand - Some copies of the Septuagint have twenty-three thousand, others twenty-five thousand. The Vulgate has this latter number; the Complutensian Polyglot and Josephus have the same.

Left-handed - They were ambidexters - could use the right hand and the left with equal ease and effect. See the note on Jdg 3:15.

Could sling stones at a hair - and not miss - ולא יחטא velo yachati, and not sin: και ουκ εξαμαρτανοντες; Sept. Here we have the true import of the term sin; it signifies simply to miss the mark, and is well translated in the New Testament by ἁμαρτανω, from α, negative, and μαρπτω, to hit the mark. Men miss the mark of true happiness in aiming at sensual gratifications; which happiness is to be found only in the possession and enjoyment of the favor of God, from whom their passions continually lead them. He alone hits the mark, and ceases from sin, who attains to God through Christ Jesus.

It is worthy of remark that the Persian khuta kerden, which literally signifies to sin or mistake, is used by the Mohammedans to express to miss the mark.

The sling was a very ancient warlike instrument, and, in the hands of those who were skilled in the use of it, it produced astonishing effects. The inhabitants of the isles called Baleares, now Majorca and Minorca, were the most celebrated slingers of antiquity. They did not permit their children to break their fast till they had struck down the bread they were to eat from the top of a pole, or some distant eminence. They had their name Baleares from the Greek word βαλλειν to dart, cast, or throw.

Concerning the velocity of the ball out of the sling, there are strange and almost incredible things told by the ancients. The leaden ball, when thus projected, is said to have melted in its course. So Ovid, Met. lib. ii.. ver. 726.

Obstupuit forma Jove natus: et aethere pendens

Non secus exarsit, quam cum balearica plumbum

Funda jacit; volat illud, et incandescit eundo;

Et, quos non habuit, sub nubibus invenit ignes.

Hermes was fired as in the clouds he hung;

So the cold bullet that, with fury slung

From Balearic engines, mounts on high,

Glows in the whirl, and burns along the sky.

Dryden.

This is not a poetic fiction; Seneca, the philosopher, in lib. iii. Quaest. Natural., c. 57, says the same thing: Sic liquescit excussa glans funda, et adtritu aeris velut igne distillat; "Thus the ball projected from the sling melts, and is liquefied by the friction of the air, as if it were exposed to the action of fire." I have often, by the sudden and violent compression of the air, produced fire; and by this alone inflamed tinder, and lighted a match. Vegetius de Re Militari, lib. ii., cap. 23, tells us that slingers could in general hit the mark at six hundred feet distance. Funditores scopas-pro signo ponebant; ita ut Sexcentos Pedes removerentur a signo-signum saepius tangerent. These things render credible what is spoken here of the Benjamite slingers.

Went up to the house of God - Some think that a deputation was sent from Shiloh, where Phinehas the high priest was, to inquire, not concerning the expediency of the war, nor of its success, but which of the tribes should begin the attack. Having so much right on their side, they had no doubt of the justice of their cause. Having such a superiority of numbers, they had no doubt of success. See the note on Jdg 20:1.

And the Lord said, Judah - But he did not say that they should conquer.

Destroyed down to the ground - twenty-two thousand men - That is, so many were left dead on the field of battle.

Go up against him - It appears most evident that the Israelites did not seek the protection of God. They trusted in the goodness of their cause and in the multitude of their army. God humbled them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and showed them that the race was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.

And wept - Had they humbled themselves, fasted, and prayed, and offered sacrifices at first, they had not been discomfited.

And fasted that day until even - This is the first place where fasting is mentioned as a religious ceremony, or as a means of obtaining help from God. And in this case, and many since, it has been powerfully effectual. At present it is but little used; a strong proof that self-denial is wearing out of fashion.

Phinehas, the son of Eleazar - This was the same Phinehas who is mentioned Num 25:7, and consequently these transactions must have taken place shortly after the death of Joshua.

Israel set liers in wait - Though God had promised them success, they knew they could expect it only in the use of the proper means. They used all prudent precaution, and employed all their military skill.

Let us - draw them from the city - They had two reasons for this:

1. They had placed an ambuscade behind Gibeah, which was to enter and burn the city as soon as the Benjamites had left it.

2. It would seem that the slingers, by being within the city and its fortifications, had great advantage against the Israelites by their slings, whom they could not annoy with their swords, unless they got them to the plain country.

Put themselves in array at Baal-tamar - The Israelites seem to have divided their army into three divisions; one was at Baal-tamar, a second behind the city in ambush, and the third skirmished with the Benjamites before Gibeah.

Twenty and five thousand and a hundred - As the Benjamites consisted only of twenty-six thousand and seven hundred slingers; or, as the Vulgate, Septuagint, and others read, twenty-five thousand, which is most probably the true reading; then the whole of the Benjamites were cut to pieces, except six hundred men, who we are informed fled to the rock Rimmon, where they fortified themselves.

Now there was an appointed sign - From this verse to the end of the chapter we have the details of the same operations which are mentioned, in a general way, in the preceding part of the chapter.

Unto the rock of Rimmon - This was some strong place, but where situated is not known. Here they maintained themselves four months, and it was by these alone that the tribe of Benjamin was preserved from utter extermination. See the following chapter, Judges 21 (note).

It is scarcely possible to imagine any thing more horrid than the indiscriminate and relentless slaughter of both innocent and guilty mentioned in this chapter. The crime of the men of Gibeah was great, but there was no adequate cause for this relentless extermination of a whole tribe. There was neither justice nor judgment in this case; they were on all sides brutal, cruel, and ferocious: and no wonder; there was no king in Israel - no effective civil government, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. There was no proper leader; no man that had authority and influence to repress the disorderly workings of the pell-mell mob.

THEN all the children of Israel went out , and the congregation was gathered together as one man , from Dan even to Beersheba , with the land of Gilead , unto the LORD in Mizpeh

i. e. A great number, and especially the Rulers of all the Tribes, except Benjamin, v. 3, 12.

From their several habitations.

i. e. With one consent.

Dan was the Northern border of the Land, near Lebanon; and Beersheba the Southern border, Gen. 21. 33. Compare 1 King. 4. 25.

Beyond Iordan, where Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were.

As to the Lords Tribunal: for God was not only present in the place where the Ark and Tabernacle was, but also in the Assemblies of the Gods, or Judges, Psal. 82. 1. and in all the places where Gods name is recorded, Exod. 20. 24. and where two or three are met together in his name, Matth. 18. 20. for his service, and to seek for Counsel and mercy from him: compare Iudg. 11. 11.

A place in the borders of Iudah and Benjamin, and therefore ascribed to both of them, Ios. 15. 38. and 18. 26. This they chose, as a place most fit and proper in many respects: First, as a place they used to meet in upon Solemn occasions, See Iudg. 10. 17. and 11. 11. 1 Sam. 7. 5, 16. and 10. 17. Secondly, For its convenient Scituation for all the [illegible: 1+ letters]ribes within and without Iordan. Thirdly, As being near the place where the Fact was done, that it might be more throughly examined: and not far from Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was, whither they might go or send, if need were.

2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand i foot-men , that drew sword.

Heb. the corners, i. e. the Nobles and Rulers, which are oft so called, because like corner-stones, they both unite, and support, and adorn the whole Building. Or, and four hundred thousand; It is an Ellipsis of the Particle, and of which Examples have been given before: for the chief of the People were not so many; but the common Soldiers, and these were all Foot-men; whereas many of the Rulers rid upon Horses, or Asses, Iudg. 5. 10. and 10. 4. and 12. 14. The number is here set down, to shew both their zeal and forwardness in punishing such a Villany; and the strange blindness of the Benjamites that durst oppose so great and united a Body; and that the success of Battel[illegible: 1+ letters] depends not upon great numbers, seeing this great Host was twice defeated by the Benjamites, but wholly upon Gods blessing.

For horse-men they had few or none in their Armies.

Marginal references: Hebr. the corners.

3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us , how was this wickedness?

Like Persons unconcerned and resolved, they neither went nor sent thither: partly from their own pride, and stubbornness, and self-confidence: partly because as they were loath to give up any of their Brethren to Justice, so they presumed the other Tribes would never proceed to a War against them: and partly, from a Divine infatuation hardening that wicked Tribe to their own Destruction.

The Verb is of the Plural Number, because they speak to the Levite, and his Servant, and his Host, who doubtless were present upon this occasion.

4 And the Levite , the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

To whose Relation the other two gave their consent.

Marginal references: Hebr. the man the L[illegible: 1+ letters] vite.

5 And the men of Gibeah rose up against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me : and my concubine have they forced that she is dead.

Except I would either submit to their unnatural Lust, which I was resolved to withstand even unto death: or deliver up my concubine to them, which I was forced to do.

Marginal references: Hebr. humbled.

6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.

i. e. A lewd folly, most ignominious and impudent Wickedness.

7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel , give here your advice and counsel.

The Sons of that Holy man, who for one filthy action left an Eternal brand upon one of his own Sons: a People in Covenant with the holy God, whose Honour you are obliged to vindicate, and who hath expresly commanded you to punish all such notorious Enormities.

8 ¶ And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent , neither▪ will we any of us turn into his house:

i. e. His habitation, to wit, until we have revenged this Injury.

10 And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to [illegible: 1+ letters]etch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, accord▪ ing to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel .

That we may punish them as such a wickedness deserves.

This is added as an aggravation, that they should do that in Israel, or among Gods peculiar People, which was esteemed abominable even among the Heathen.

12 ¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?

Heb. tribes: Either the Plural Number for the Singular: or rather tribe is put for family, as was noted before, as families are elsewhere put for tribes. They take a wise and a just course, in sending to all the parts and families of the tribe, to separate the Innocent from the Guilty, and to give them a fair opportunity of preventing their ruin, by doing nothing but what their Duty, Honour, and Interest obliged them to; even by delivering up those vile Malefactors, whom they could not keep without horrid guilt and shame; and bringing the Curse of God upon themselves.

13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel: but the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.

Both the Guilt and the Punishment, wherein all Israel will be Involved, if they do not Punish it.

Partly from the Pride of their Hearts, which made them scorn to submit to their Brethren, or to suffer them to meddle in their Territory; partly from a conceit of their own Valour and Military skill; and partly from Gods just judgment.

15 And the children of Benjamin were numbred at that time out of the city, twenty and six thousand men that drew sword; beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbred seven hundred chosen men .

Object. This agrees not with the following numbers: for all that were slain of Benjamin were 25100 men, v. 35. and there were only 600 that survived, v. 47. which make only 25700. Ans. The other thousand men were either left in some of their cities, where they were slain, v. 48. or were cut off in the two first Battels, wherein it is unreasonable to think they had an unbloody Victory: and as for these 25100 men, they were all slain in that day, i. e. the day of the third Battel, as is affirmed v. 35.

16 Among all this people, there were seven hundred chosen men left▪ handed , every one could sling stones at an hairs breadth, and not miss .

Heb. shut up on their right hand, i. e. using their left hand instead of their right.

An Hyperbolical expression, signifying, that they could do this with great exactness. There are many Parallel Instances in Historians of Persons that could throw Stones, or shoot Arrows with great certainty, so as seldom or never to miss. Of which see my Latin Synopsis. And this was very considerable, and one ground of the Benjamites confidence, because in those times they had no Guns.

Marginal references: Chap. 3. 15.

17 And the men of Israel , beside Benjamin, were numbred four hundred thousand men that drew sword, all these were men of war.

To wit, such as were here present, v. 2. for otherwise it is most probable they had a far greater number of men, being 600000 before their entrance into Canaan, Num. 1. 2.

18 ¶ And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God , and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battel against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

i. e. Some sent in the name of all.

To wit, to Shiloh, which was not far from Mizpeh, where they were.

This they ask to prevent Emulations and Contentions: but they do not ask whether they should go against them, o[illegible: 1+ letters] no, for that they knew they ought to do by the will of God already revealed: nor yet do they seek to God for his help by Prayer, and Fasting, [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word], [illegible: 1 word] in all reason they ought to have done; but were confident of Success, because of their great Numbers, and Righteous Cause.

Marginal references: Chap. 1. 1.

21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day, twenty and two thousand men .

Quest. Why would God suffer them to have so great a loss in so Good a Cause? Ans. Because they had many and great Sins reigning amongst themselves, and they should not have come to so great a Work of God as this, with polluted hands, but should have pulled the Beam out of their own Eye, before they attempted to take that out of their Brother Benjamin's Eye: which because they did not, God doth it for them, making them by this loss more clearly to see their own Sins, and their need of Gods help, without which their great Numbers were insignificant; and bringing them through the Fire, that they might be purged from their Dross; it being probable that the great God who governs every stroke in Battels, did so order things, that their worst and rotten Members should be cut off, which was a great Blessing to the whole Common-wealth.

22 And the people, the men of Israel incouraged themselves , and set their battel again in aray, in the place where they put themselves in aray the first day .

Heb. strengthned themselves, partly by supporting themselves with the Conscience of the Justice of their Cause, and the hopes of success: and partly, by putting themselves in better order for defending themselves, and annoying their Enemies.

Hereby shewing their freedom from that Heathenish Superstition, whereby they might have been apt to have rejected that as an unlucky place. Compare 1 King. 20. 23, 28.

23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to battel against the children of Benjamin my brother ? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

Not so much for their Sins, as for their Defeat and Loss, as appears by the Sequel.

They impute their ill Success, not to their own Sins, as they had great reason to do, but to their taking up Arms against their Brethren, the Lawfulness whereof they now begin to doubt of. But still they persist in their former neglect of seeking Gods assistance in the way which he had appointed, as they themselves acknowledge presently, by doing those very things which now they Sinfully neglected, v. 26. and therefore are again justly punished.

God answers to their question; but as they did not desire his assistance and success, so he doth not promise it.

26 ¶ Then all the children of Israel, and all the people went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt-offerings , and peace-offerings before the LORD.

Being now sensible of their former slightness, and not being truly humbled for their Sins, which now they discover to be the true Cause of their ill success.

To make atonement to God for their own Sins.

Partly to bless God for sparing so many of them, whereas he might justly have cut off all of them when their Brethren were slain: and partly to Implore his assistance for the future, and to give him Thanks for the Victory, which now they were confident he would give them.

27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD , (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days.

To wit, by Urim and Thummim, Numb. 27. 21.

In Shiloh where they were now assembled.

28 And Phineas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron stood before it in those days) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battel against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease ? And the LORD said, Go up, for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand .

This is added to give us some light about the time of this History, and to shew it was not done in the order in which it is here placed, after Sampson's Death, but long before.

i. e. Ministred, as the word stand oft signifies, as Deut. 10. 8. and 18. 7. Prov. 22. 29. Ier. 52. 12. compare with 2 King. 25. 8. because standing is the usual posture of Servants.

i. e. Before the Ark: or, before his, i. e. the Lord's face, or presence: which shews that he was the highpriest, for none else might appear there

Which, if thou requirest, we are willing to do, notwithstanding the provocation they have given us, and our own Inclination to revenge.

Now when they had sought God after the due order, and truly humbled themselves for their Sins, he gives them a full and satisfactory Answer to their Desires.

29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah .

Though they were assured of the Success, by a particular and absolute promise, yet they do not neglect the use of means; as well knowing that the certainty of Gods purposes or promises doth not excuse, but rather require Mans diligent use of all fit means for the accomplishment of them.

i. e. On several sides of it, as may be gathered from the following Verses.

30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day , and put themselves in aray against Gibeah, as at other times.

i. e. A considerable part of them, who were ordered to give the first onset, and then to counterfeit flight, to draw the Benjamites forth of their strong hold. See v. 32.

To wit, after the second Battel; for the first day after it, they spent in perplexing thoughts, and going up to the House of the Lord: the second, in Fasting and Prayer there: and this third, in the Fight. Or, this is so called with respect unto the two several foregoing days of Battel, and so this was the third day of Battel.

31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city , and they began to smite of the people, and kill as at other times , in the high-ways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field , about thirty men of Israel.

By the dissembled Flight of the Israelites.

With the same kind, though not the same degree of Success.

So called, to difference it from this Gibeah, which was upon an Hill; wherefore they are constantly said, to ascend or go up against it, as v. 23, 30. See Ios. 18. 24, 28.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1 word]. to sinite of the people wounded as at▪ &c.; O[illegible: 1+ letters], Bethel.

33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place , and put themselves in aray at Baal-Tamar: and the lyers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places , even out of the meadows of Gibeah.

Where they had disposed themselves, that they might fall upon the Benjamites, when they were drawn forth to a sufficient distance from their City, and when they were pursuing that Party mentioned, v. 30.

To execute what was agreed upon, even to take Gibeah, and burn it, as they actually did, v. 37.

34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel , and the battel was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them

Selected out of the main Body, which was at Baal-Tamar; and these were to march directly to Gibeah on the one side, whilst the liers in wait stormed it on the other side, and whilst the great Body of the Army laboured to intercept these Benjamites, who having pursued the Israelites that pretended to flee, now endeavoured to retreat to Gibeah.

They were so puffed up with their former Successes, that they were insensible of their danger.

35 And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand, and an hundred men : all these drew the sword.

This is the Total Sum, whereof the particulars are related v. 44, 45. and for the odd hundred not there mentioned, they were killed in other places not their expressed.

37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah, and the liers in wait drew themselves along , and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

Or, extended themselves; i. e. whereas before they lay close and contracted into a narrow compass, now they spread themselves, and Marched in Rank and File, as Armies do. Or, marched, or went: Heb. drew their Feet. So this Verb is oft used, as Gen. 37. 28. Exod. 12. 21. Iudg. 4. 6. Iob 21. 33.

Marginal references: Or, made a long sound with the trumpet.

41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed ; for they saw that evil was come upon them.

Because of their great disappointment, and the present danger wherewith they were surrounded on every side.

Marginal references: Heb. touched them.

42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel, unto the way of the wilderness, but the battel overtook them: and them which came out of the cities, they destroyed in the midst of them .

i. e. The Men of Battel or War. The abstract for the concrete, as Poverty, 2 King. 24. 14. Pride, Psal. 36. 11. Deceit, Prov. 12. 25. Dreams, Ier. 25. 9. Election, Rom. 11. 7. are put for Persons that are Poor, Proud, Deceitful, Dreamers, Elect.

So the sence may seem to be this, That the Israelites did not only kill the Inhabitants of Gibeah, and all the Benjamites that came into the Field against them, 600 excepted; but in the midst of them, or together with them, they killed also the rest of the Benjamites, who, when they saw their Army was wholly Destroyed, made haste to flee out of their several Cities or Towns, that so they might escape the Sword, which was coming towards them. But the words may be rendred thus: And them who were of the other cities, to wit, of Benjamin, i. e. who abode in their own Cities, and did not go up to Gibeah, they Destroyed in the midst of them, i. e. in their several Cities, or, in the midst of it, i. e. of every City: for so it is said v. 48. where it is said, That they smote the men of every City. But this I submit to the Learned.

43 Thus they enclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease , over against Gibeah towards the sun-rising.

Without great difficulty. Now that God gave them his presence and assistance, they easily did that which before they found too hard for them. Or, unto Menuchah, or, as far as Ma[illegible: 1+ letters]uchah, a place so called. See 1 Chron. 2. 52. Ier. 51. 59.

Marginal references: Or, from Manuchah, &c.; Heb. unto over against.

44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men ; all these were men of valour.

To wit, in the Field, or Battel.

45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon▪ and they gleaned of them in the high-ways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and flew two thousand men of them.

i. e. They cut off the remainders in the pursuit, and spared none. A Metaphor from those who gather Grapes or Corn so clearly and fully, that they leave no relicks for those who come after them.

46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin, were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword: all these were men of valour.

Besides the odd hundred expressed ver. 35. but here only the great number is expressed, the less being omitted, as inconsiderable; which way of numbring is frequent in Scripture, as Iudg. 11. 26. 2 Sam. 5. 5. and in other Authors, and in vulgar use; as when they are called, the 70 Interpreters, who in truth and exactness were 72. Here are also a thousand more omitted, because here he speaks onely of them who fell in that third day of Battel. See on v. 15.

47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness, unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

In a Cave within that Rock, where they Fortified themselves, and fetched in Provision as they had opportunity; which they could easily do, when the heat of the Battel was over, and the Israelites were not solicitous to pursue them further.

Marginal references: Chap. 21. 13.

48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin , and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

Having destroyed those that came to Gibeah, and into the field, now they follow them home to their several habitations.

Comprehensively taken, so as to include women and children. If this seem harsh and bloody, either it may be ascribed to Military Fury; or rather, it may be justified; partly, from that high guilt brought upon the whole Tribe, in which it is no wonder if their Infants suffered, which was not unusual in such cases, as Numb. 31. 17. 1 Sam. 15. 3. I[illegible: 1+ letters]s. 7. 15. partly, from that Command of God in a Parallel case, Deut. 13. 15. and partly from that Solemn Oath by which they had Anathematised or devoted to Death all that came not up to Mizpeh, Iudg. 21. 5. which none of the Benjamites did; for which cause also they destroyed all the Men, Women, and Children of Iabesh-Gilead, Judg. 21. 10.

Marginal references: Heb. was found.; Heb. were found.

Jdg 20:1-2 Decree of the Congregation concerning Gibeah. - Jdg 20:1, Jdg 20:2. All the Israelites went out (rose up from their dwelling-places) to assemble together as a congregation like one man; all the tribes from Dan, the northern boundary of the land (i.e., Dan-laish, Jdg 18:29), to Beersheba, the most southerly town of Canaan (see at Gen 21:31), and the land of Gilead, i.e., the inhabitants of the land to the east of the Jordan, “to Jehovah at Mizpeh” in Benjamin, i.e., the present Nebi-samwil, in the neighbourhood of Kirjath-jearim, on the western border of the tribe of Benjamin (see at Jos 18:26). It by no means follows with certainty from the expression “to Jehovah,” that there was a sanctuary at Mizpeh, or that the ark of the covenant was taken thither, but simply that the meeting took place in the sight of Jehovah, or that the congregation assembled together to hold a judicial court, which they held in the name of Jehovah, analogous to the expression el-Elohim in Exo 21:6; Exo 22:7. It was not essential to a judicial proceeding that the ark should be present. At this assembly the pinnoth (the corner-pillars) of the whole nation presented themselves, i.e., the heads and fathers as the supports of the congregation or of the sate organism (vid., 1Sa 14:38; Isa 19:13), even of all the tribes of Israel four hundred thousand men on foot, drawing the sword, i.e., armed foot soldiers ready for battle.

Jdg 20:3

“The Benjaminites heard that the children of Israel (the rest of the Israelites, the eleven tribes) had come up to Mizpeh;” but they themselves were not found there. This follows from the fact that nothing is said about the Benjaminites coming, and still more clearly from Jdg 20:13, where it is stated that the assembled tribes sent men to the Benjaminites, after holding their deliberations and forming their resolutions, to call them to account for the crime that had been committed in the midst of them. Consequently the question with which the whole affair was opened, “Say, how did this wicked deed take place?” is not to be regarded as addressed to the two parties, the inhabitants of Gibeah of the Benjaminites and the Levite (Bertheau), but as a summons to all who were assembled to relate what any one knew respecting the occurrence.

Jdg 20:4-7

Then the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, described the whole affair. הגּבעה בּעלי, the owners or citizens of Gibeah (see at Jdg 9:2). “Me they intended to kill:” the Levite draws this conclusion from what had happened to his wife; the men of Gibeah had not expressed any such intention in Jdg 19:22. “All the country (lit. field) of the inheritance of Israel,” i.e., all the land of the Israelites. זמּה is applied to the vice of lewdness, as in Lev 18:17, which was to be punished with death. וגו לכם הבוּ, “give yourselves (לכם asdat. comm.) word and counsel here,” i.e., make up your minds and pass sentence (vid., 2Sa 16:20). הלם, here, where you are all assembled together.

Jdg 20:8-10

Then all the people rose up as one man, saying, “We will not any of us go into his tent, neither will we any of us return to his house,” sc., till this crime is punished. The sentence follows in Jdg 20:9 : “This is the thing that we will do,” i.e., this is the way in which we will treat Gibeah: “against it by lot” (sc., we will act). The Syriac gives the sense correctly - We will cast lots upon it; but the lxx quite erroneously supply ἀναβησόμεθα (we will go up); and in accordance with this, many expositors connect the words with Jdg 20:10 in the following sense: “We will choose one man out of every ten by lot, to supply the army with the necessary provision during the expedition.” This is quite a mistake, because in this way a subordinate point, which only comes into consideration in connection with the execution of the sentence, would be made the chief point, and the sentence itself would not be given at all. The words “against it by lot” contain the resolution that was formed concerning the sinful town, and have all the enigmatical brevity of judicial sentences, and are to be explained from the course laid down in the Mosaic law with regard to the Canaanites, who were to be exterminated, and their land divided by lot among the Israelites. Consequently the meaning is simply this: “Let us proceed with the lot against Gibeah,” i.e., let us deal with it as with the towns of the Canaanites, conquer it, lay it in ashes, and distribute its territory by lot. In Jdg 20:10 a subordinate circumstance is mentioned, which was necessary to enable them to carry out the resolution that had been made. As the assembled congregation had determined to keep together for the purpose of carrying on war (Jdg 20:8), it was absolutely necessary that resources should be provided for those who were actively engaged in the war. For this purpose they chose one man in every ten “to fetch provision for the people,” לבואם לעשׁות, “that they might do on their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin according to all the folly which had been done in Israel,” i.e., might punish the wickedness in Gibeah as it deserved.

Jdg 20:11

Thus the men of Israel assembled together against Gibeah, united as one man. חברים, lit. as comrades, simply serves to strengthen the expression “as one man.” With this remark, which indicates briefly the carrying out of the resolution that was adopted, the account of the meeting of the congregation is brought to a close; but the actual progress of the affair is really anticipated, inasmuch as what is related in Jdg 20:12-21 preceded the expedition in order of time.

Jdg 20:12-13

Before the tribes of Israel entered upon the war, they sent men to all the tribes of Benjamin, who were to demand that the culprits in Gibeah should be given up to be punished, that the evil might thus be exterminated from Israel, according to the law in Deu 22:22 as compared with Jdg 13:6 and Jdg 17:12. “The tribes of Benjamin” are the same as “the families of Benjamin:” the historian pictured to himself the different divisions of the tribe of Benjamin as warlike powers about to carry on a war with the other tribes of Israel. The word shebet (tribe) is used in a different way in Num 4:18. But the Benjaminites would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the other tribes of Israel. The Keri (sons of Benjamin) is a needless alteration, since Benjamin may be construed with the plural as a collective term. By refusing this just demand on the part of the other tribes, the Benjaminites took the side of the culprits in Gibeah, and compelled the congregation to make war upon the whole tribe.

Jdg 20:14-16

Both sides now made their preparations. The Benjaminites assembled together at Gibeah out of their different towns, and “were mustered 26,000 men drawing the sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah they were mustered, 700 picked men” (הגפּקדוּ, with the reduplication dropped, like the Hothpael in Num 1:47). “Out of all this people there were 700 picked men, lamed in the right hand, all these (were) slinging with a stone (hitting) at a hair’s breadth without fail.” These statement are not quite clear. Since, according to the distinct words of Jdg 20:16, the 700 slingers with their left hands were “out of the whole people,” i.e., out of the whole number of fighting men mentioned in Jdg 20:16, they cannot be the same as the 700 chosen men referred to in Jdg 20:15, notwithstanding the similarity in the numbers and the expression “chosen men.” The obscurity arises chiefly from the word התפּקדוּ in Jdg 20:15, which is separated by the Masoretic accents from שׁבע מ, and connected with the previous words: “Beside the inhabitants of Gibeah they (the men of the towns of Benjamin) were mustered.” On the other hand, the earlier translators took the clause as a relative one: “Beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were mustered 700 men.” And this seems absolutely necessary, because otherwise the following words, “700 picked men,” would stand without any connection; whilst we should certainly expect at least to find the cop. vav, if these 700 men were not inhabitants of Gibeah. But even if התפּקדוּ should be taken as a simple repetition of ויּתפּקדוּ, the statement which follows could not be understood in any other way than as referring to the number of the fighting men of Gibeah. There is something striking too in the fact that only Benjaminites “out of the cities” are mentioned, and that emphasis is laid upon this by the repetition of the expression “out of the cities” (Jdg 20:14, Jdg 20:15). Some have inferred from this, that the Benjaminites as the rulers had settled in the towns, whilst the Canaanites who had been subdued settled as dependants in the villages (Bertheau); or that the Benjaminites had formed military brotherhoods, the members of which lived unmarried in the towns, and that this may possibly account for the abominable crime to which the inhabitants of Gibeah were addicted, and in relation to which the whole tribe took their part (O. v. Gerlach). But such inferences as these are extremely uncertain, as the cities may be mentioned a potiori for all the places inhabited by this tribe. There is another difficulty in the numbers. According to Jdg 20:14, Jdg 20:15, the total number of the fighting men of Benjamin amounted to 26,000 and 700, without reckoning Gibeah. But, according to the account of the battle, 25,100 were slain (Jdg 20:35), viz., 18,000 in the principal engagement, 5000 as a gleaning, and 200 in the pursuit, i.e., 25,000 men in all (Jdg 20:44-46), and only 600 were left, who fled into the desert to the rock Rimmon (Jdg 20:47). According to these accounts, the whole tribe would have contained only 25,100 + 600 = 25,700 fighting men, or 25,000 + 600 = 25,600. Accordingly, in Jdg 20:15, the lxx (Cod. Al. etc.) and Vulgate give only 25,000 men; whilst the rest of the ancient versions have 26,000, in agreement with the Masoretic text. Josephus (Ant. v. 2, 10) also gives the number of fighting men in Benjamin as 25,600, of whom 600 were splendid slingers; but he has merely taken the numbers from Jdg 20:44-47. Now, although mistakes do frequently occur in the numbers given, it is a most improbable supposition that we have a mistake of this kind (26,000 for 25,000) in the instance before us, since even the latter number would not agree with Jdg 20:44.; and the assumption, that in Jdg 20:35 and Jdg 20:44. we have an account of all the Benjaminites who fell, finds no support whatever in the history itself. In the verses referred to we have simply a statement of the number of Benjaminites who fell in the defeat which they sustained on the third day, whereas the victories which they gained on the first and second days could hardly have been obtained without some loss on their part; on the contrary, we may confidently assume that they would not lose less than a thousand men, though these are not mentioned in the brief account before us. The other difference between Jdg 20:35 and Jdg 20:44-46, viz., that 25,100 are given in the one and 25,000 in the other, may be explained on the simple assumption that we have only the full thousands mentioned in the latter, whilst the exact number is given in the former. “Left-handed:” see at Jdg 3:15.

Jdg 20:17

The forces of the other tribes amounted when numbered to 400,000 men. These numbers (26,000 Benjaminites and 400,000 Israelites) will not appear too great if we consider that the whole of the congregation of Israel took part in the war, with the simple exception of Jabesh in Gilead (Jdg 21:8), and that in the time of Moses the twelve tribes numbered more than 600,000 men of twenty years old and upwards (Num 26), so that not much more than two-thirds of the whole of the fighting men went out to the war.

Jdg 20:18

Before opening the campaign the Israelites went to Bethel, to inquire of God which tribe should commence the war, i.e., should fight at the head of the other tribes (on the fact itself, see Jdg 1:1); and God appointed the tribe of Judah, as in Jdg 1:2. They went to Bethel,Rendered “the house of God” in the English version. - Tr. not to Shiloh, where the tabernacle was standing, because that place was too far from the seat of war. The ark of the covenant was therefore brought to Bethel, and Phinehas the high priest inquired of the Lord before it through the Urim and Thummim (Jdg 20:27, Jdg 20:28). Bethel was on the northern boundary of the tribe of Benjamin, and was consecrated to this purpose before any other place by the revelations of God which had been made to the patriarch Jacob there (Gen 28 and 35).

Jdg 20:19

Thus equipped, the Israelites proceeded against Gibeah.

Jdg 20:20-21

As soon as the Israelites had posted themselves at Gibeah in battle array (מלחמה ערך, to put in a row, or arrange the war or conflict, i.e., to put themselves in battle array, 1Sa 4:2; 1Sa 17:2, etc.), the Benjaminites came out and destroyed 22,000 men of Israel upon that day. ארצה השׁחית, to destroy to the earth, i.e., to lay dead upon the ground.

Jdg 20:22

Notwithstanding this terrible overthrow, the people strengthened themselves, and prepared again for battle, “at the same place” where they had made ready on the first day, “seeking out of pure vainglory to wipe out the stains and the disgrace which their previous defeat had brought upon them” (Berleb. Bible).

Jdg 20:23

But before renewing the conflict they went up to Bethel, wept there before Jehovah, i.e., before the sanctuary of the ark, where Jehovah was present in the midst of His people, enthroned between the cherubim, until the evening, and then inquired of the Lord (again through the high priest) “Shall I again draw near to war with the children of Benjamin my brother” (i.e., renew the war with him)? The answer ran thus: “Advance against him.”

Jdg 20:24-25

But on the second day also the Benjaminites brought 18,000 of them to the ground. “The second day” is not the day following the first engagement, as if the battles had been fought upon two successive days, but the second day of actual fighting, which took place some days after the first, for the inquiry was made at Bethel as to the will of God between the two engagements.

Jdg 20:26

After this second terrible overthrow, “the children of Israel” (k.e. those who were engaged in the war), and “all the people,” i.e., the rest of the people, those members of the congregation who were not capable of bearing arms, old men and women, came to Bethel, to complain to the Lord of their misfortune, and secure His favour by fasting and sacrifices. The congregation now discovered, from this repeated defeat, that the Lord had withdrawn His grace, and was punishing them. Their sin, however, did not consist in the fact that they had begun the war itself-for the law in Deu 22:22, to which they themselves had referred in Jdg 20:13, really required this - but rather in the state of mind with which they had entered upon the war, their strong self-consciousness, and great confidence in their own might and power. They had indeed inquired of God (Elohim) who should open the conflict; but they had neglect to humble themselves before Jehovah the covenant God, in the consciousness not only of their own weakness and sinfulness, but also of grief at the moral corruption of their brother-tribe. It is certainly not without significance, that in Jdg 20:18 it is stated that “they asked God” (בּאלהים ישׁאלוּ), i.e., they simply desired a supreme or divine decision as to the question who should lead the van in the war; whereas, after the first defeat, they wept before Jehovah, and inquired of Jehovah (Jdg 20:23), the covenant God, for whose law and right they were about to contend. But even then there were still wanting the humility and penitence, without which the congregation of the Lord could not successfully carry on the conflict against the ungodly. The remark in Jdg 20:22, “The people felt (showed) themselves strong, and added (continued) to set in array the war,” is thoroughly expressive of the feeling of the congregation. They resolved upon the continuance of the war, in the full consciousness of their superior power and numerical strength; and it was not till afterwards that they complained to the Lord of their misfortune, and inquired whether they should renew the conflict. The question was followed by a corresponding answer on the part of God, “Go up against him,” which certainly sanctioned the continuance of the war, but gave no promise as to the result, because the people, thinking that they might be certain of success, had not inquired about that at all. It was not till after the second severe defeat, when 22,000 and 18,000, the tenth part of the whole army, had fallen, that they humbled themselves before the Lord. They not only wept because of the calamity which had befallen them, but fasted the same day before the Lord, - the fasting being the manifest expression of the bending of the heart before God, - and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. The shelamim here are not thank-offerings, but supplicatory offerings, presented to implore the gracious assistance of God, and to commemorate the enjoyment of fellowship with the Lord, through the sacrificial meal associated with this sacrifice (as in Jdg 21:4; 1Sa 13:9; 2Sa 24:25).

Jdg 20:27-28

Having made these preparations, they inquired of the Lord whether they should continue the war, and received this reply: “Go up (against Benjamin); for to-morrow I will give it unto thy hand” (ידך, the hand of the congregation carrying on the war). To this the supplementary remark is appended, that the ark of the covenant was at Bethel in those days, and the high priest served before it. The expression “in those days” implies that the ark of the covenant was only temporarily at Bethel, and therefore had been brought thither from the tabernacle at Shiloh during this war.The Victory on the Third Day’s Engagement. - Jdg 20:29. The account of this commences with the most important point, so far as their success was concerned: Israel set liers in wait (troops in ambush) round about Gibeah.

Jdg 20:30

They then advanced as on the former occasions.

Jdg 20:31-32

The Benjaminites came out again to meet the people (of Israel), and were drawn away from the town (the perfect הנתּקוּ without ו is subordinate to the preceding verb, and defines more precisely the advance itself, whilst the mode in which they were drawn away from the town is not described more fully till Jdg 20:32, Jdg 20:33), and began to smite the beaten of the people (who pretended to fly) as formerly upon the roads (where two roads part), of which one led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, into the field (Gibeah is the town at which the battle took place, that is to say, somewhere in the neighbourhood, so that a road might easily run from the field of battle towards the town into the field), “about (sc., putting to death) thirty men of Israel.” This statement introduces the more precise definition of the חללים.

Jdg 20:33

Carrying out this plan, “all the men of Israel rose up from their places,” i.e., left the place they had occupied, drew back, “and set themselves in battle array” in Baal-thamar, i.e., palm-place, which still existed, according to the Onom., in the time of Eusebius, as a small place in the neighbourhood of Gibeah, bearing the name of Bethamar. While this was going on, the ambush of Israel broke forth from its position “from the plains of Geba.” The ἁπ. λεγ. מערה, from ערה to strip, denotes a naked region destitute of wood. גּבע is the masculine form for גּבעה, and ממּערה־גבע a more precise definition of ממּקומו. This rendering, which is the one given in the Targum, certainly appears the simplest explanation of a word that has been rendered in very different ways, and which the lxx left untranslated as a proper name, Μαρααγαβέ. The objection raised to this, viz., that a naked level country was not a place for an ambush, has no force, as there is no necessity to understand the words as signifying that the treeless country formed the actual hiding-place of the ambush; but the simple meaning is, that when the men broke from their hiding-place, they came from the treeless land towards the town. The rendering given by Rashi, Trem., and others, “on account of the tripping of Gibeah,” is much less suitable, since, apart from the difficulty of taking מן in different senses so close together, we should at least expect to find העיר (the city) instead of גּבע.

Jdg 20:34

Through the advance of the ambush there came 10,000 picked men of all Israel “from opposite to Gibeah” (who now attacked in the rear the Benjaminites who were pursuing the flying army of Israel); “and the contest became severe, since they (the Benjaminites) did not know that the calamity was coming upon them.”

Jdg 20:35

And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel (according to His promise in Jdg 20:28), so that the Israelites destroyed of Benjamin on that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men (i.e., twenty-five thousand and upwards).

This was the result of the battle, which the historian gives at once, before entering more minutely into the actual account of the battle itself. He does this in Jdg 20:36-46 in a series of explanations, of which one is attached to the other, for the most part in the form of circumstantial clauses, so that it is not till Jdg 20:46 that he again comes to the result already announced in Jdg 20:35.The opinions expressed by De Wette, etc. that Jdg 20:35 is spurious, and by Bertheau, that Jdg 20:36-46 contain a different account of the battle, simply prove that they have overlooked this peculiarity in the Hebrew mode of writing history, viz., that the generally result of any occurrence is given as early as possible, and then the details follow afterwards; whilst these critics have not succeeded in adducing even apparent differences in support of their opinions.

Jdg 20:36-38

The Benjaminites, for instance, saw (this is the proper rendering of ויּראוּ with vav consec., which merely indicates the order of thought, not that of time) that they were beaten, and the man of Israel vacated the field before Benjamin (מקום נתן, to give place by falling back and flying), because they relied upon the ambush which they had placed against Gibeah. The Benjaminites did not perceive this till the ambush fell upon their rear. But the ambush itself, as is added in Jdg 20:37 by way of further explanation, hastened and fell (fell as quickly as possible) into Gibeah, and went thither and smote the whole town with the edge of the sword. To this there is added the further explanation in Jdg 20:38 : “And the arrangement of the Israelites with the ambush was this: multiply, to cause smoke-rising to ascend (i.e., cause a great cloud of smoke to ascend) out of the city.” The only objection that can be raised to this view of הרב, as the imperative Hiphil of רבה, is the suffix ם-attached to להעלותם, since this is unsuitable to a direct address. This suffix can only be explained by supposing that there is an admixture of two constructions, the direct appeal, and the indirect explanation, that they were to cause to ascend. If this be not admitted, however, we can only follow Studer, and erase the suffix as an error of the pen occasioned by the following word משׂאת; for the other course suggested by Bertheau, namely that הרב should be struck out as a gloss, is precluded by the circumstance that there is no possible way of explaining the interpolation of so apparently unsuitable a word into the text. It certainly stood in the text used by the lxx, though they have most foolishly confounded הרב with חרב, and rendered it μάχαιρα.

Jdg 20:39-41

“And the men of Israel turned in the battle:” that is to say, as is afterwards more fully explained in Jdg 20:39, Jdg 20:40, in the form of a long new circumstantial clause, whilst Benjamin had begun to smite, etc. (repeated from Jdg 20:31, Jdg 20:32), and the cloud (המּשׂאת = העשׁן משׂאת, Jdg 20:38) had begun to ascend out of the city as a pillar of smoke, and Benjamin turned back, and behold the whole city ascended towards heaven (in smoke), Israel turned (fighting) and Benjamin was terrified, for it saw that misfortune had come upon it (see Jdg 20:34). In Jdg 20:41, the thread of the narrative, which was interrupted by the long circumstantial clause, is again resumed by the repetition of “and the men of Israel turned.”

Jdg 20:42-43

The Benjaminites “now turned (flying) before the Israelites to the way of the desert,” i.e., no doubt the desert which rises from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel (Jos 16:1). They fled therefore towards the north-east; but the battle had overtaken (reached or seized) them, and those out of the towns (had perished). The difficult expression מהערים ואשׁר, of which very different, and for the most part arbitrary, explanations have been given, can only be in apposition to the suffix attached to the verb: “Benjamin, and in fact those who had come to the help of Gibeah out of the towns of Benjamin” (see Jdg 20:14, Jdg 20:15), i.e., all the Benjaminites. The following words, וגו משׁחיתים, are a circumstantial clause explanatory of the previous clause, הדב המּלחמה: “since they (the men of Israel) destroyed him (Benjamin) in the midst of it.” The singular suffix בּתוכו does not refer to Benjamin, as this would yield no sense at all, but to the preceding words, “the way of the desert” (see Jdg 20:45). - In Jdg 20:43 the account is continued by three perfects attached to one another without a copula: “they enclosed (hedged round) Benjamin, pursued him; at the place of rest they trod him down to before Gibeah eastwards.” מנוּחה is not used adverbially in the sense of “quietly,” which would not give any fitting meaning, but is an accus. loci, and signifies place of rest, as in Num 10:33. The notice “to before Gibeah” refers to all three verbs.

Jdg 20:44

In this battle there fell of Benjamin 18,000 men, all brave men. The את before כּל־אלּה is not a preposition, “with” (as the lxx, Cod. Al., and Bertheau render it), but a sign of the accusative. It serves to show that the thought which follows is governed by the principal clause, “so far as all these were concerned, they were brave men.”

Jdg 20:45

The remainder fled to the desert, to the rock (of the place) Rimmon, which is described in the Onom. (s. v. Remmon) as a vicus fifteen Roman miles to the north of Jerusalem. It has been preserved in the village of Rummôn, which stands upon and around the summit of a conical limestone mountain, and is visible in all directions (Rob. Pal. ii. p. 113). “And they (the Israelites) smote as a gleaning upon the roads 5000 men.” עולל, to have a gleaning of the battle, i.e., to smite or slay, as it were, as a gleaning of the principal battle (vid., Jer 6:9). Mesilloth are the high-roads mentioned in Jdg 20:31. “And pursued them to Gideom, and smote of them 2000 more.” The situation of Gideom, which is only met with here, is not precisely known; but it must have been somewhere between Gibeah and Rimmon, as the rock Rimmon, according to Jdg 20:47, afforded a safe place of refuge to the fugitives.

Jdg 20:46-47

On the total number of the slain, see the remarks on Jdg 20:15. - In Jdg 20:47 the statement already made in Jdg 20:45 with regard to the flight is resumed; and it is still further related, that 500 men reached the rock Rimmon, and dwelt there four months, i.e., till the occurrence described in Jdg 21:13.

Jdg 20:48

The Israelites turned (from any further pursuit of the fugitive warriors of Benjamin) to the children of Benjamin, i.e., to such of the people of the tribe of Benjamin as were unarmed and defenceless, and smote them with the edge of the sword, “from the town (or towns) onwards, men to cattle (i.e., men, women, children, and cattle), to every one who was found;” i.e., they cut down men and cattle without quarter, from the towns onwards even to those who were found elsewhere. כּל־הנּמצא עד (to all that was found) corresponds to מעיר (from the city), and עד־בּהמה מתם (men to beast) serves as a more precise definition of the עיר (city): everything that was in the city, man and beast. מתם is pointed wrongfully for מתם, men, the reading in several MSS and most of the early editions (see Deu 2:34; Deu 3:6). They also set fire to all the towns that were met with, i.e., all without exception. Thus they did the same to the Benjaminites as to the Canaanites who were put under the ban, carrying out the ban with the strictest severity.

The Combination Against Gibeah. (b. c. 1410.)

1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh. 2 And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness? 4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. 6 And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. 7 Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. 8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. 9 But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; 10 And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel. 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

Here is, I. A general meeting of all the congregation of Israel to examine the matter concerning the Levite's concubine, and to consider what was to be done upon it, v. 1, 2. It does not appear that they were summoned by the authority of any one common head, but they came together by the consent and agreement, as it were, of one common heart, fired with a holy zeal for the honour of God and Israel. 1. The place of their meeting was Mizpeh; they gathered together unto the Lord there, for Mizpeh was so very near to Shiloh that their encampment might very well be supposed to reach from Mizpeh to Shiloh. Shiloh was a small town, and therefore, when there was a general meeting of the people to represent themselves before God, they chose Mizpeh for their head-quarters, which was the next adjoining city of note, perhaps because they were not willing to give that trouble to Shiloh which so great an assembly would occasion, it being the resident of the priests that attended the tabernacle. 2. The persons that met were all Israel, from Dan (the city very lately so called, ch. xviii. 29) in the north to Beersheba in the south, with the land of Gilead (that is, the tribes on the other side Jordan), all as one man, so unanimous were they in their concern for the public good. Here was an assembly of the people of God, not a convocation of the Levites and priests, though a Levite was the person principally concerned in the cause, but an assembly of the people, to whom the Levite referred himself with an Appello populum—I appeal to the people. The people of God were 400,000 footmen that drew the sword, that is, were armed and disciplined, and fit for service, and some of them perhaps such as had known the wars of Canaan, ch. iii. 1. In this assembly of all Israel, the chief (or corners) of the people (for rulers are the corner-stones of the people, that keep all together) presented themselves as the representatives of the rest. They rendered themselves at their respective posts, at the head of the thousands and hundreds, the fifties and tens, over which they presided; for so much order and government, we may suppose, at least, they had among them, though they had no general or commander-in-chief. So that here was, (1.) A general congress of the states for counsel. The chief of the people presented themselves, to lead and direct in this affair. (2.) A general rendezvous of the militia for action, all that drew sword and were men of war (v. 17), not hirelings nor pressed men, but the best freeholders, that went at their own charge. Israel were above 600,000 when they came into Canaan, and we have reason to think they were at this time much increased, rather than diminished; but then all between twenty and sixty were military men, now we may suppose more than the one half exempted from bearing arms to cultivate the land; so that these were as the trained bands. The militia of the two tribes and a half were 40,000 (Josh. iv. 13), but the tribes were many more.

II. Notice given to the tribe of Benjamin of this meeting (v. 3): They heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. Probably they had a legal summons sent them to appear with their brethren, that the cause might be fairly debated, before any resolutions were taken up upon it, and so the mischiefs that followed would have been happily prevented; but the notice they had of this meeting rather hardened and exasperated them than awakened them to think of the things that belonged to their peace and honour.

III. A solemn examination of the crime charged upon the men of Gibeah. A very horrid representation of it had been made by the report of the messengers that were sent to call them together, but it was fit it should be more closely enquired into, because such things are often made worse than really they were; a committee therefore was appointed to examine the witnesses (upon oath, no doubt) and to report the matter. It is only the testimony of the Levite himself that is here recorded, but it is probable his servant, and the old man, were examined, and gave in their testimony, for that more than one were examined appears by the original (v. 3), which is, Tell you us; and the law was that none should be put to death, much less so many, upon the testimony of one witness only. The Levite gives a particular account of the matter: that he came into Gibeah only as a traveller to lodge there, not giving the least shadow of suspicion that he designed them any ill turn (v. 4), and that the men of Gibeah, even those that were of substance among them, that should have been a protection to the stranger within their gates, riotously set upon the house where he lodged, and thought to slay him; he could not, for shame relate the demand which they, without shame, made, ch. xix. 22. They declared their sin as Sodom, even the sin of Sodom, but his modesty would not suffer him to repeat it; it was sufficient to say they would have slain him, for he would rather have been slain than have submitted to their villany; and, if they had got him into their hands, they would have abused him to death, witness what they had done to his concubine: They have forced her that she is dead, v. 5. And, to excite in his countrymen an indignation at this wickedness, he had sent pieces of the mangled body to all the tribes, which had fetched them together to bear their testimony against the lewdness and folly committed in Israel, v. 6. All lewdness is folly, but especially lewdness in Israel. For those to defile their own bodies who have the honourable seal of the covenant in their flesh, for those to defy the divine vengeance to whom it is so clearly revealed from heaven—Nabal is their name, and folly is with them. He concludes his declaration with an appeal to the judgment of the court (v. 7): You are all children of Israel, and therefore you know law and judgment, Esth. i. 13. "You are a holy people to God, and have a dread of every thing which will dishonour God and defile the land; you are of the same community, members of the same body, and therefore likely to feel from the distempers of it; you are children of Israel, that ought to take particular care of the Levites, God's tribe, among you, and therefore give your advice and counsel what is to be done."

IV. The resolution they came to hereupon, which was that, being now together, they would not disperse till they had seen vengeance taken upon this wicked city, which was the reproach and scandal of their nation. Observe, 1. Their zeal against the lewdness that was committed. They would not return to their houses, how much soever their families and their affairs at home wanted them, till they had vindicated the honour of God and Israel, and recovered with their swords, if it could not be had otherwise, that satisfaction for the crime which the justice of the nation called for, v. 8. By this they showed themselves children of Israel indeed, that they preferred the public interest before their private concerns. 2. Their prudence in sending out a considerable body of their forces to fetch provisions for the rest, v. 9, 10. One of ten, and he chosen by lot, 40,000 in all, must go to their respective countries, whence they came, to fetch bread and other necessaries for the subsistence of this great army; for when they came from home they took with them provisions only for a journey to Mizpeh, not for an encampment (which might prove long) before Gibeah. This was to prevent their scattering to forage for themselves, for, if they had done this, it would have been hard to get them all together again, especially all in so good a mind. Note, When there appears in people a pious zeal for any good work it is best to strike while the iron is hot, for such zeal is apt to cool quickly if the prosecution of the work be delayed. Let it never be said that we left that good work to be done to-morrow which we could as well have done to-day. 3. Their unanimity in these counsels, and the execution of them. The resolution was voted, Nemine contradicente—Without a dissenting voice (v. 8); it was one and all; and, when it was put in execution, they were knit together as one man, v. 11. This was their glory and strength, that the several tribes had no separate interests when the common good was concerned.

The War with the Benjamites. (b. c. 1410.)

12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? 13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: 14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss. 17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.

Here is, I. The fair and just demand which the tribes of Israel, now encamped, sent to the tribe of Benjamin, to deliver up the malefactors of Gibeah to justice, v. 12, 13. If the tribe of Benjamin had come up, as they ought to have done, to the assembly, and agreed with them in their resolution, there would have been none to deal with but the men of Gibeah only, but they, by their absence, taking part with the criminals, application must be made to them all. The Israelites were zealous against the wickedness that was committed, yet they were discreet in their zeal, and did not think it would justify them in falling upon the whole tribe of Benjamin unless they, by refusing to give up the criminals, and protecting them against justice, should make themselves guilty, ex post facto—as accessaries after the fact. They desire them to consider how great the wickedness was that was committed (v. 12), and that it was done among them: and how necessary it was therefore that they should either punish the malefactors with death themselves, according to the law of Moses, or deliver them up to the general assembly, to be so much the more publicly and solemnly punished, that evil might be put away from Israel, the national guilt removed, the infection stopped by cutting off the gangrened part, and national judgments prevented; for the sin was so very like that of the Sodomites that they might justly fear, if they did not punish it, God would rain hail from heaven upon them, as he did, not only upon Sodom, but the neighbouring cities. If the Israelites had not made this reasonable demand, they would have had much more reason to lament the following desolations of Benjamin. All methods of accommodation must be used before we go to war or go to law. The demand was like that of Joab's to Abel, 2 Sam. xx. 20, 21. "Only deliver up the traitor, and we will lay down our arms." On these terms, and no other, God will be at peace with us, that we part with our sins, that we mortify and crucify our lusts, and then all shall be well; his anger will be turned away.

II. The wretched obstinacy and perverseness of the men of Benjamin, who seem to have been as unanimous and zealous in their resolutions to stand by the criminals as the rest of the tribes were to punish them, so little sense had they of their honour, duty, and interest. 1. They were so prodigiously vile as to patronise the wickedness that was committed: They would not hearken to the voice of their brethren (v. 13), either because those of that tribe were generally more vicious and debauched at this time than the rest of the tribes, and therefore would not bear to have that punished in others of which they knew themselves guilty (some of the most fruitful and pleasant parts of Canaan fell to the lot of this tribe; their land, like that of Sodom, was as the garden of the Lord, which perhaps helped to make the inhabitants, like the men of Sodom, wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly, Gen. xiii. 10, 13), or because (as bishop Patrick suggests) they took it ill that the other tribes should meddle with their concerns; they would not do that which they knew was their duty because they were reminded of it by their brethren, by whom they scorned to be taught and controlled. If there were any wise men among them that would have complied with the demand made, yet they were overpowered by the majority, who thus made the crime of the men of Gibeah their own. Thus we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness if we say A confederacy with those that have, and make ourselves guilty of other men's sins by countenancing and defending them. It seems there is no cause so bad but it will find some patrons, some advocates, to appear for it; but woe be to those by whom such offences come. Those will have a great deal to answer for that obstruct the course of necessary justice, and strengthen the hands of the wicked, by saying, O wicked man! thou shalt not die.

2. They were so prodigiously vain and presumptuous as to make head against the united force of all Israel. Never, surely, were men so wretchedly infatuated as they were when they took up arms in opposition, (1.) To so good a cause as Israel had. How could they expect to prosper when they fought against justice, and consequently against the just God himself, against those that had the high priest and the divine oracle on their side, and so acted in downright rebellion against the sacred and supreme authority of the nation. (2.) To so great a force as Israel had. The disproportion of their numbers was much greater than that, Luke xiv. 31, 32, where he that had but 10,000 durst not meet him that came against him with 20,000, and therefore desired conditions of peace. There the enemy was but two to one, here above fifteen to one; yet they despised conditions of peace. All the forces they could bring into the field were but 26,000 men, besides 700 men of Gibeah (v. 15); yet with these they will dare to face 400,000 men of Israel, v. 17. Thus sinners are infatuated to their own ruin, and provoke him to jealousy who is infinitely stronger than they, 1 Cor. x. 22. But it should seem they depended upon the skill of their men to make up what was wanting in numbers, especially a regiment of slingers, 700 men, who, though left-handed, were so dexterous at slinging stones that they would not be a hair's breadth beside their mark, v. 16. But these good marksmen were very much out in their aim when they espoused this bad cause. Benjamin signifies the son of the right hand, yet we find his posterity left-handed.

18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first. 19 And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men. 22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.   23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until even, and asked counsel of the Lord , saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the Lord said, Go up against him.) 24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. 25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

We have here the defeat of the men of Israel in their first and second battle with the Benjamites.

I. Before their first engagement they asked counsel of God concerning the order of their battle and were directed, and yet they were sorely beaten. They did not think it was proper to ask of God whether they should go up at all against Benjamin (the case was plain enough, the men of Gibeah must be punished for their wickedness, and Israel must inflict the punishment or it will not be done), but "Who shall go first?" (v. 18), that is, "Who shall be general of our army?" for, which soever tribe was appointed to go first, the prince of that tribe must be looked upon as commander-in-chief of the whole body. For, if they had meant it of the order of their march only, it would have been proper to ask, "Who shall go next?" and then, "Who next?" But, if they know that Judah must go first, they know they must all observe the orders of the prince of that tribe. This honour was done to Judah because our Lord Jesus was to spring from that tribe, who was in all things to have the pre-eminence. The tribe that went up first had the most honourable post, but withal the most dangerous, and probably lost most in the engagement. Who would strive for precedency that sees the peril of it? Yet though Judah, that strong and valiant tribe, goes up first, and all the tribes of Israel attend them, little Benjamin (so he is called, Ps. lxviii. 27), is too hard for them all. The whole army lays siege to Gibeah, v. 19. The Benjamites advance to raise the siege, and the army prepares to give them a warm reception, v. 20. But between the Benjamites that attacked them in the front with incredible fury, and the men of Gibeah that sallied out upon their rear, they were put into confusion and lost 22,000 men, v. 21. Here were no prisoners taken, for there was no quarter given, but all put to the sword.

II. Before their second engagement they again asked counsel of God, and more solemnly than before; for they wept before the Lord until evening (v. 23), lamenting the loss of so many brave men, especially as it was a token of God's displeasure and would give occasion to the Benjamites to triumph in the success of their wickedness. Also at this time they did not ask who should go up first, but whether they should go up at all. The intimate a reason why they should scruple to do it, especially now that Providence had frowned upon them, because Benjamin was their brother, and a readiness to lay down their arms if God should so order them. God bade them go up; he allowed the attempt, for, though Benjamin was their brother, he was a gangrened member of their body and must be cut off. Upon this they encouraged themselves, perhaps more in their own strength than in the divine commission, and made a second attempt upon the forces of the rebels, in the same place where the former battle was fought (v. 22), with the hope of retrieving their credit upon the same spot of ground where they had lost it, which they would not superstitiously change, as if there were any thing unlucky in the place. But they were this second time repulsed, with the loss of 18,000 men, v. 25. The former day's loss and this amounted to 40,000, which was just a tenth part of the whole army, and the same number that they had drawn out by lot to fetch victuals, v. 10. They decimated themselves for that service, and now God again decimated them for the slaughter. But what shall we say to these things, that so just and honourable a cause should thus be put to the worst once and again? Were they not fighting God's battle against sin? Had they not his commission? What, and yet miscarry thus! 1. God's judgments are a great deep, and his way is in the sea. Clouds and darkness are often round about him, but judgment and justice are always the habitation of his throne. We may be sure of the righteousness, when we cannot see the reasons, of God's proceedings. 2. God would hereby show them, and us in them, that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, that we are not to confide in numbers, which perhaps the Israelites did with too much assurance. We must never lay the weight on an arm of flesh, which only the Rock of ages will bear. 3. God designed hereby to correct Israel for their sins. They did well to show such a zeal against the wickedness of Gibeah: but were there not with them, even with them, sins against the Lord their God? Those must be made to know their own iniquity that are forward in condemning the iniquity of others. Some think it was a rebuke to them for not witnessing against the idolatry of Micah and the Danites, by which their religion was corrupted, as they now did against the lewdness of Gibeah and the Benjamites, by which the public peace was disturbed, though God had particularly ordered them to levy war upon idolaters, Deut. xiii. 12, &c. 4. God would hereby teach us not to think it strange if a good cause should suffer defeat for a while, nor to judge of the merits of it by the success of it. The interest of grace in the heart, and of religion in the world, may be foiled, and suffer great loss, and seem to be quite run down, but judgment will be brought forth to victory at last. Vincimur in prælio, sed non in bello—We are foiled in a battle, but not in the whole campaign. Right may fall, but it shall arise.

The Defeat of the Benjamites. (b. c. 1410.)

26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord , and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord . 27 And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord , (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand. 29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. 31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways. 33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. 34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them. 35 And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword. 36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah. 37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city. 39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle. 40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven. 41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them. 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. 43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising. 44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour. 45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. 46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour. 47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

We have here a full account of the complete victory which the Israelites obtained over the Benjamites in the third engagement: the righteous cause was victorious at last, when the managers of it amended what had been amiss; for, when a good cause suffers, it is for want of good management. Observe then how the victory was obtained, and how it was pursued.

I. How the victory was obtained. Two things they had trusted too much to in the former engagements—the goodness of their cause and the superiority of their numbers. It was true that they had both right and strength on their side, which were great advantages; but they depended too much upon them, to the neglect of those duties to which now, this third time, when they see their error, they apply themselves.

1. They were previously so confident of the goodness of their cause that they thought it needless to address themselves to God for his presence and blessing. They took it for granted that God would bless them, nay, perhaps they concluded that he owed them his favour, and could not in justice withhold it, since it was in defence of virtue that they appeared and took up arms. But God having shown them that he was under no obligation to prosper their enterprise, that he neither needed them nor was tied to them, that they were more indebted to him for the honour of being ministers of his justice than he to them for the service, now they became humble petitioners for success. Before they only consulted God's oracle, Who shall go up first? And, Shall we go up? But now they implored his favour, fasted and prayed, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings (v. 26), to make an atonement for sin and an acknowledgment of their dependence upon God, and as an expression of their desire towards him. We cannot expect the presence of God with us, unless we thus seek it in the way he has appointed. And when they were in this frame, and thus sought the Lord, then he not only ordered them to go up against the Benjamites the third time, but gave them a promise of victory: Tomorrow I will deliver them into thy hand, v. 28.

2. They were previously so confident of the greatness of their strength that they thought it needless to use any art, to lay any ambush, or form a stratagem, not doubting but to conquer purely by a strong hand; but now they saw it was requisite to use some policy, as if they had an enemy to deal with them that had been superior in number; accordingly, they set liers in wait (v. 29), and gained their point, as their fathers did before Ai (Josh. viii.), stratagems of that kind being most likely to take effect after a previous defeat, which has flushed the enemy, and made the pretended flight the less suspected. The management of this artifice is here very largely described. The assurance God had given them of success in this day's action, instead of making them remiss and presumptuous, set all heads and hands on work for the effecting of what God had promised.

(1.) Observe the method they took. The body of the army faced the city of Gibeah, as they had done before, advancing towards the gates, v. 30. The Benjamites, the body of whose army was now quartered at Gibeah, sallied out upon them, and charged them with great bravery. The besiegers gave back, retired with precipitation, as if their hearts failed them upon the sight of the Benjamites, which they were willing to believe, proudly imagining that by their former success they had made themselves very formidable. Some loss the Israelites sustained in this counterfeit flight, about thirty men being cut off in their rear, v. 31, 39. But, when the Benjamites were all drawn out of the city, the ambush seized the city (v. 37), gave a signal to the body of the army (v. 38, 40), which immediately turned upon them (v. 41), and, it should seem, another considerable party that was posted at Baal-tamar came upon them at the same time (v. 33); so that the Benjamites were quite surrounded, which put them into the greatest consternation that could be. A sense of guilt now disheartened them, and the higher their hopes had been raised the more grievous was this confusion. At first the battle was sore (v. 34), the Benjamites fought with fury; but, when they saw what a snare they were drawn into, they thought one pair of heels (as we say) was worth two pair of hands, and they made the best of their way towards the wilderness (v. 42); but in vain: the battle overtook them, and, to complete their distress, those who came out of the cities of Israel, that waited to see the event of the battle, joined with their pursuers, and helped to cut them off. Every man's hand was against them.

(2.) Observe in this story, [1.] That the Benjamites, in the beginning of the battle, were confident that the day was their own: They are smitten down before us, v. 32, 39. Sometimes God suffers wicked men to be lifted up in successes and hopes, that their fall may be the sorer. See how short their joy is, and their triumphing but for a moment. Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast, except he has reason to boast in God. [2.] Evil was near them and they did not know it, v. 34. But (v. 41) they saw, when it was too late to prevent it, that evil had come upon them. What evils may at any time be near us we cannot tell, but the less they are feared the heavier they fall. Sinners will not be persuaded to see evil near them, but how dreadful will it be when it comes and there is no escaping! 1 Thess. v. 3. [3.] Though the men of Israel played their parts so well in this engagement, yet the victory is ascribed to God (v. 35): The Lord smote Benjamin before Israel. The battle was his, and so was the success. [4.] They trode down the men of Benjamin with ease when God fought against them, v. 43. It is an easy thing to trample upon those who have made God their enemy. See Mal. iv. 3.

II. How the victory was prosecuted and improved in a military execution done upon these sinners against their own souls. 1. Gibeah itself, that nest of lewdness, was destroyed in the first place. The ambush that entered the city by surprise drew themselves along, that is, dispersed themselves into the several parts of it, which they might easily do, now that all the men of war had sallied out and very presumptuously left it defenceless; and they smote all they found, even women and children, with the sword (v. 37), and set fire to the city, v. 40. Sin brings ruin upon cities. 2. The army in the field was quite routed and cut off: 18,000 men of valour lay dead upon the spot, v. 44. 3. Those that escaped from the field were pursued, and cut off in their flight, to the number of 7000, v. 45. It is to no purpose to think of out-running divine vengeance. Evil pursues sinners, and it will overtake them. 4. Even those that tarried at home were involved in the ruin. They let their sword devour for ever, not considering that it would be bitterness in the latter end, as Abner pleads long after, when he was at the head of an army of Benjamites, probably with an eye to this very story, 2 Sam. ii. 25, 26. They put to the sword all that breathed, and set fire to all the cities, v. 48. So that of all the tribe of Benjamin, for aught that appears, there remained none alive but 600 men that took shelter in the rock Rimmon, and lay close there four months, v. 47. Now, (1.) It is difficult to justify this severity as it was Israel's act. The whole tribe of Benjamin was culpable; but must they therefore be treated as devoted Canaanites? That it was done in the heat of war, that this was the way of prosecuting victories which the sword of Israel had been accustomed to, that the Israelites were extremely exasperated against the Benjamites for the slaughter they had made among them in the two former engagements, will go but a little way to excuse the cruelty of this execution. It is true they had sworn that whosoever did not come up to Mizpeh should be put to death, ch. xxi. 5. But that, if it was a justifiable oath, yet extended only to the men of war; the rest were not expected to come. Yet, (2.) It is easy to justify the hand of God in it. Benjamin had sinned against him, and God had threatened that, if they forgot him, they should perish as the nations that were before them perished (Deut. viii. 20), who were all in this manner cut off. (3.) It is easy likewise to improve it for warning against the beginnings of sin: they are like the letting forth of water, therefore leave it off before it be meddled with, for we know not what will be in the end thereof. The eternal ruin of souls will be worse, and more fearful, than all these desolations of a tribe. This affair of Gibeah is twice spoken of by the prophet Hosea as the beginning of the corruption of Israel and a pattern to all that followed (Hos. ix. 9): They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah; and (Hos. x. 9), Thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah; and it is added that the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not (that is, did not at first) overtake them.