Judges 20:6-16

6 Then I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and villany in Israel.

7 Behold, all ye, children of Israel, deliberate and give here [your] counsel.

8 And all the people rose up as one man, saying, We will not any one go to his tent, neither will we any one turn into his house.

9 But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: [we go] by lot against it;

10 and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the villany that they have wrought in Israel.

11 And all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

12 And the tribes of Israel sent men to all the families of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has been done among you?

13 And now give up the men, the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But [the children of] Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.

14 And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities of Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.

15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities, twenty-six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; all these slang stones at a hair [breadth], and missed not.

Judges 20:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 20

This chapter relates, how that there was an assembly of the children of Israel at Mizpeh, upon what had happened to the concubine of the Levite, where he appeared and related the whole affair to them, Jud 20:1-7 upon which they unanimously agreed to chastise the inhabitants of Gibeah for what they had done, Jud 20:8-11, and in order to do that sent to the tribe of Benjamin to deliver the guilty, but instead of that they took to their arms, and prepared for battle in defence of them, Jud 20:12-17 and two battles ensued on this, in which the Israelites, who were on the right side of the question, were worsted, Jud 20:18-25 but upon their seeking the Lord again, and their humiliation before him, they engaged a third time in battle, and got an entire victory over the Benjaminites, and destroyed them all excepting six hundred men, Jud 20:26-48.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'we will deal with it according as the lot shall decide.'
• [b]. Heb. Geba, as it is in ver. 33; but in the second place probably a distinct city.
• [c]. Lit. 'tribes.'
• [d]. i.e. of iniquity.
• [e]. See. Note f, Deut. 13.5.
• [f]. See ch. 3.15.