Judges 20:33

33 And all the men rose up out of their places, and engaged in Baal Thamar; and the liers in wait of Israel advanced from their place from Maraagabe.

Judges 20:33 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:33

And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place
The main body of the army, which fled before Benjamin, when they were come to a proper place, stopped, and rose up out of it, and stood in their own defence:

and put themselves in array at Baaltamar;
drew up in a line of battle at that place, facing their enemies, in order to engage with them: this place the Targum calls the plains of Jericho, that being the city of palm trees, which Tamar signifies; and so Jarchi interprets it; but these are too far off; it must be some place near Gibeah. Jerom F23 speaks of a little village in his time in those parts, called Bethamari, and may be thought to be this same place; perhaps in the times of the old Canaanites here was a grove of palm trees, in which Baal was worshipped, from whence it had its name:

and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even
out of the meadows of Gibeah;
or plain of Gibeah, as the Targum; for as the city was built on a hill, at the bottom of it were a plain and fine meadows of grass, and here an ambush was placed at some little distance from the city; and when the army of the Benjaminites were drawn off from it, in pursuit of Israel, these came forth and placed themselves between them and the city.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 De loc. Heb. fol. 89. I.

Judges 20:33 In-Context

31 And the children of Benjamin went out to meet the people, and were all drawn out of the city, and began to smite and slay the people as before in the roads, whereof one goes up to Baethel, and one to Gabaa in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They fall before us as at the first: but the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them out from the city into the roads; and they did so.
33 And all the men rose up out of their places, and engaged in Baal Thamar; and the liers in wait of Israel advanced from their place from Maraagabe.
34 And there came over against Gabaa ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel; and the fight severe; and they knew not that evil was coming upon them.
35 And the Lord smote Benjamin before the children of Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin in that day a hundred and twenty-five thousand men: all these drew sword.

Footnotes 1

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.