Judges 20:1-23
Israelites <01121> [Then all.]
together <0259 0376> [as one man.]
Dan <01835> [from Dan.]
land <0776> [with the.]
Lord <03068> [unto the.]
Mizpah <04709> [in Mizpeh.]
It does not appear that the Israelites on this occasion, were summoned by the authority of any one common head, but they came together by the consent and agreement, as it were, of one common heart, fired with a holy zeal for the honour of God and Israel. The place of their meeting was Mizpeh; they gathered together unto the Lord there; for Mizpeh was so very near to Shiloh, that their encampment might very well be supposed to reach from Mizpeh to Shiloh. Shiloh was a small town, and therefore, when there was a general meeting of the people to present themselves before God, they chose Mizpeh for their head quarters, which was the next adjoining city of note; perhaps, because they were not willing to give that trouble to Shiloh, which so great an assembly would occasion; it being the residence of the priests that attended the tabernacle.
sword-wielding <02719 08025> [drew sword.]
Benjaminites ..... Israelites ......... Israelites <01144 01121> [the children of Benjamin.]
<01961> [how was.]
Levite <03881> [the Levite. Heb. the man the Levite. I came.]
leaders <01167> [And the men.]
surrounded <05437> [beset.]
concubine <06370> [and my concubine.]
badly <06031> [forced. Heb. humbled.]
carved <05408> [cut her.]
Israel ........ atrocity ... Israel <03478 05039> [folly in Israel.]
Israelites <01121> [ye are all.]
make .... here <03051 01988> [give here.]
unison ............ one <0259 0376> [as one man.]
one <0376> [We will not.]
lot <01486> [by lot against it.]
sent men <07971 0582> [sent men.]
hand over <05414> [deliver.]
good-for-nothings ...................... Israelite <01100 01121> [children of Belial.]
purge <01197> [put away.]
refused ... listen <014 08085> [would not.]
The conduct of the Israelites was very equitable in this demand; but perhaps the rulers or elders of Gibeah ought previously to have been applied to, to deliver up the criminals to justice. However, the refusal of the Benjamites, and their protection of those who had committed this horrible wickedness, because they were of their own tribe, prove them to have been deeply corrupted, and (all their advantages considered) as ripe for divine vengeance as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had been. Confiding in their own valour and military skill, they seen to have first prepared for battle in this unequal contest with such superior numbers.
twenty-six <06242> [twenty.]
left-handed <0334> [left-handed.]
{Itter yad yemeeno,} "obstructed in his right hand;" so the Chaldee Targum, {gemid beedaih deyammeena,} contracted or impeded in his right hand." Le Clerc observes, that the 700 men left-handed seem therefore to have been made slingers, because they could not use the right hand, which is employed in managing heavier arms; and they could discharge the stones from the sling in a direction against which their opponents were not upon their guard, and thus do the greater execution.
sling ... stone <068 07049> [sling stones.]
The sling was a very ancient warlike instrument; and, in the hands of those who were skilled in the use of it, produced astonishing effects. The inhabitants of the islands of Baleares, now Majorca and Minorca, were the most celebrated slingers of antiquity. They did not permit their children to break their fast, till they had struck down the bread they had to eat from the top of a pole, or some distant eminence. Vegetius tells us, that slingers could in general hit the mark at 600 feet distance.
four hundred <0702 03967> [four hundred.]
asked <07592> [asked.]
Judah <03063> [Judah.]
got <06965> [rose up.]
Benjaminites <01121> [the children.]
struck down <07843> [destroyed.]
heart <02388> [encouraged.]
wept <01058> [wept.]
Israelites ........ Lord ....... Lord .......... Benjaminites ..... Lord <01121 03068> [And the.]
It seems most evident that the Israelites did not seek the protection of God. When they "went to the house of God," (ver. 18,) it was not to enquire concerning the expediency of the war, nor of its success, but which of the tribes should begin the attack: and here the question is, "Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" Having so much right on their side, they had no doubt of the justice of their cause, and the propriety of their conduct; and having such a superiority of numbers, they had no doubt of success. But God humbled them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and shewed them that the race was not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.
