Judges 20:37

37 ¹the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

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 And the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword.

36 So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah,

37 the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword.

38 Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city.

39 Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, "Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle."

Cross References

• 1. Joshua 8:19