Judges 20:37

37 And the men in ambush made haste and rushed upon Gib'e-ah; the men in ambush moved out and smote 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 defeated Benjamin before Israel; and the men of Israel destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day; all these were men who drew the sword.

36 So the Benjaminites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted to the men in ambush whom they had set against Gib'e-ah.

37 And the men in ambush made haste and rushed upon Gib'e-ah; the men in ambush moved out and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.

38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city

39 the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to smite and kill about thirty men of Israel; they said, "Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle."