Judges 20:2

2 The leaders of all of the tribes of Israel came. They took their places among the people of God who were gathered together. There were 400,000 fighting men who were carrying swords.

Judges 20:2 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:2

And the chief of all the people
The princes of the tribes and heads of families, rulers of thousands, and hundreds, and fifties, and tens; or the "corners" ^F3, who were like the corner stones in a building, which are not only the most valuable and ornamental, but the strength of the building, which cement it, and support it, and hold it together; though Abarbinel thinks this intends the division and separation of each tribe, which encamped in a separate corner and side by itself: but the former sense seems best, and the meaning is, that the principal men of them,

even of all the tribes of Israel;
excepting the tribe of Benjamin:

presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God;
now gathered together: which assembly consisted, besides the heads of them, of

four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword;
or were armed men; there were 600,000 or more in Israel able to bear arms; but as now the wars in Canaan were pretty much at an end, the militia of the nation was not so regularly kept up, and many were employed in tilling the ground, and dressing the vines, and the like; and besides, as there were none of the tribe of Benjamin present, it need not be wondered at there should be no more, but rather that so many should be gathered together on such an occasion.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (twnp) "anguli", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Drusius, Tigurine version.

Judges 20:2 In-Context

1 Then all of the people of Israel came out. They came from the whole land between Dan and Beersheba. They also came from the land of Gilead. All of them gathered together in the sight of the LORD at Mizpah.

2 The leaders of all of the tribes of Israel came. They took their places among the people of God who were gathered together. There were 400,000 fighting men who were carrying swords.

3 The tribe of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The people of Israel said, "Tell us how that awful thing happened."

4 So the Levite spoke. He was the husband of the woman who had been murdered. He said, "I and my concubine went to Gibeah in Benjamin. We spent the night there.

5 During the night the men of Gibeah came after me. They surrounded the house. They were planning to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.