Judges 20:14

14 The Benjaminites left their own cities and met at Gibeah to fight 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 tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin demanding, "What is this evil thing some of your men have done?

13 Hand over the wicked men in Gibeah so that we can put them to death. We must remove this evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

14 The Benjaminites left their own cities and met at Gibeah to fight the Israelites.

15 In only one day the Benjaminites got 26,000 soldiers together who were trained with swords. They also had 700 chosen men from Gibeah.

16 Seven hundred of these trained soldiers were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss!