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Judges 20:13-23

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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.
17 Not counting Benjamin, the Israelites called up four hundred thousand men armed with swords, and every one of them was a trained warrior.
18 Then the Israelites marched up to Bethel to ask for direction from God. They inquired, "Who should go up first to fight against the Benjaminites for us?" And the LORD said, "Let the tribe of Judah be first."
19 So the next morning, the Israelites got up and camped near Gibeah.
20 They marched out to fight against the Benjaminites, lining up in battle formation against them at Gibeah.
21 But the Benjaminites marched out from Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelite men that day.
22 The Israelite troops regrouped and lined up in battle formation again in the same place they had lined up the first day.
23 So the Israelites went back up and wept before the LORD until evening. They asked the LORD, "Should we move in again to fight our relatives the Benjaminites?" And the LORD replied, "March out against them."
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Judges 20:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 20

This chapter relates, how that there was an assembly of the children of Israel at Mizpeh, upon what had happened to the concubine of the Levite, where he appeared and related the whole affair to them, Jud 20:1-7 upon which they unanimously agreed to chastise the inhabitants of Gibeah for what they had done, Jud 20:8-11, and in order to do that sent to the tribe of Benjamin to deliver the guilty, but instead of that they took to their arms, and prepared for battle in defence of them, Jud 20:12-17 and two battles ensued on this, in which the Israelites, who were on the right side of the question, were worsted, Jud 20:18-25 but upon their seeking the Lord again, and their humiliation before him, they engaged a third time in battle, and got an entire victory over the Benjaminites, and destroyed them all excepting six hundred men, Jud 20:26-48.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. LXX, Vulg, Syr; MT adds seven hundred specially chosen men were called up.
  • [b]. 20:22 and 20:23 are reversed.
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