Judges 20:32

32 And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'

Judges 20:32 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:32

And the children of Benjamin said, they are smitten down
before us, as at first
At the first battle, which gave them great spirit, and they concluded they should have victory, as before:

but the children of Israel said, let us flee, and draw them from the
city unto the highways;
pretending to be afraid of them, and not able to face them, and therefore made as if they fled through fear and cowardice, which inspired the Benjaminites with fresh ardour to pursue them closely, and so were drawn from the city to the highways, as expressed in the preceding verse.

Judges 20:32 In-Context

30 and the sons of Israel go up against the sons of Benjamin, on the third day, and arrange themselves against Gibeah, as time by time.

31 And the sons of Benjamin come out to meet the people; they have been drawn away out of the city, and begin to smite [some] of the people -- wounded as time by time, in the highways (of which one is going up to Beth-El, and the other to Gibeah in the field), [are] about thirty men of Israel.

32 And the sons of Benjamin say, `They are smitten before us as at the beginning;' but the sons of Israel said, `Let us flee, and draw them away out of the city, unto the highways.'

33 And all the men of Israel have risen from their place, and arrange themselves at Baal-Tamar, and the ambush of Israel is coming forth out of its place, out of the meadow of Gibeah.

34 And they come in over against Gibeah -- ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel -- and the battle [is] grievous, and they have not known that the evil is striking against them.