Judges 20:14

14 Instead, the Benjaminites from all the cities came together at Gibeah to march out for battle against the Israelites.

Judges 20:14 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:14

But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out
of the cities unto Gibeah
To protect and defend it against the other tribes, being a city of theirs and where the persons charged with the crime lived; these got together thither out of the several cities of the tribe of Benjamin, as many as could bear arms:

to go out to battle against the children of Israel;
they neither denied the fact, nor attempted to palliate and excuse it, nor sought for peace but at once betook themselves to arms; which showed not only want of prudence but pride, passion and self-confidence, and that they were sadly depraved in their morals to rise up in defence of such wicked men; and a strange infatuation to expect success against such vastly superior numbers, and in so bad a cause.

Judges 20:14 In-Context

12 The Israelite tribes sent men throughout the whole tribe of Benjamin with this message: "What about this evil act that happened among you?

13 Now hand over those perverse men in Gibeah so that we can execute them and remove the evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites refused to comply with the demand of their own relatives the Israelites.

14 Instead, the Benjaminites from all the cities came together at Gibeah to march out for battle against the Israelites.

15 On that day, the Benjaminites called up from their cities twenty-six thousand men armed with swords, not counting those living in Gibeah.

16 Out of this entire army, seven hundred specially chosen men were left-handed, and every one of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.