Judges 20:37

37 Suddenly the men who had been hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out. Then they killed everyone in the city with their swords.

Judges 20:37 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:37

And the liers in wait hasted
When the time was come agreed upon for them to rise out of their ambush:

and rushed upon Gibeah;
at unawares, with great force and violence entered the city, and took possession of it; or "extended" ^F24, or spread themselves unto it; before they lay close in a narrow compass, but now they put themselves in a regular order, and marched rank and file, and reached from the meadows in which they were, ( Judges 20:33 ) , to the city:

and the liers in wait drew themselves along;
along the city, in every part of it, spread themselves all over it, and made themselves masters of every corner of it; or "made a long sound" ^F25 with a trumpet, protracted that to a great length, which was done to terrify the inhabitants, or to let the Israelites know they were possessed of the city:

and smote all the city with the edge of the sword;
old men, women, and children, who were not able to bear arms.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (wjvpy) "extenderunt se", Tigurine version.
F25 (Kvmy) "pertraxerunt buccinae sonitum", Paguninus; so Jarchi and Limchi.

Judges 20:37 In-Context

35 The LORD helped Israel win the battle over Benjamin. On that day the men of Israel struck down 25,100 men of Benjamin. All of the men who died had been carrying swords.

36 Then the men of Benjamin saw that they had lost the battle. The men of Israel had moved away from their positions in front of Benjamin. They had depended on the men they had hidden near Gibeah.

37 Suddenly the men who had been hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out. Then they killed everyone in the city with their swords.

38 The men of Israel had made a plan with those who had been hiding. They had told them to send up a large cloud of smoke from the city.

39 Then the men of Israel would turn around and attack. The men of Benjamin had begun to wound and kill the men of Israel. They had struck down about 30 of them. They had said, "We're winning the battle over them, just as we did the first time."