Judges 20:38

38 The main Israelite army and the men in hiding had arranged a signal. When they saw a big cloud of smoke going up from the town,

Judges 20:38 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:38

Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and
the liers in wait
Or an appointed time ^F26 as the Targum; so Kimchi and Abarbinel. There was a time fixed, at which the men of Israel proposed to be at Baaltamar, exactly when the Benjaminites would be drawn at a proper distance from the city, and then the liers in wait were to break forth, and rush upon it, and enter it:

and that they should make a great flame with smoke to rise up out of
the city;
set it on fire, and cause the fire to burn fiercely, that there might be a large ascent of flame and smoke to be seen afar off; which, when the men of Israel saw, they would know the city was taken.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 (dewmh) "tempus constitutum", Panginus, Montanus, Junius et Tremellius, Piscator.

Judges 20:38 In-Context

36 and the Benjaminites realized they were defeated. The main body of the Israelite army had retreated from the Benjaminites because they were relying on the men that they had put in hiding around Gibeah.

37 These men ran quickly toward Gibeah; they spread out in the city and killed everyone there.

38 The main Israelite army and the men in hiding had arranged a signal. When they saw a big cloud of smoke going up from the town,

39 the Israelites out on the battlefield were to turn around. By this time the Benjaminites had already killed the thirty Israelites. They told themselves, "Yes, we've beaten them just as before."

40 Then the signal appeared; a cloud of smoke began to go up from the town. The Benjaminites looked behind them and were amazed to see the whole city going up in flames.