Judges 20:36

36 Then the men of Benjamin saw that they had lost the battle. The men of Israel had moved away from their positions in front of Benjamin. They had depended on the men they had hidden near Gibeah.

Judges 20:36 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:36

So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten
Their forces broken and worsted, many being killed:

for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjaminites;
at first, and made as if they were afraid of them, and so fled before them, which was only to decoy them to a greater distance from the city Gibeah:

because they trusted unto the liers in wait, which they had set beside
Gibeah;
that these would not only enter the city, and burn it, but meet the Benjaminites fleeing back to it, when they should turn upon them and smite them, and so cut off all that remained of them.

Judges 20:36 In-Context

34 Then 10,000 of Israel's finest men attacked Gibeah. The men of Benjamin didn't realize they were about to be destroyed. The fighting was very heavy.

35 The LORD helped Israel win the battle over Benjamin. On that day the men of Israel struck down 25,100 men of Benjamin. All of the men who died had been carrying swords.

36 Then the men of Benjamin saw that they had lost the battle. The men of Israel had moved away from their positions in front of Benjamin. They had depended on the men they had hidden near Gibeah.

37 Suddenly the men who had been hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out. Then they killed everyone in the city with their swords.

38 The men of Israel had made a plan with those who had been hiding. They had told them to send up a large cloud of smoke from the city.