Judges 20:1-38
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.
struck down <07843> [destroyed.]
Israelites <01121> [all the children.]
wept <01058> [wept.]
asked <07592> [enquired.]
ark <0727> [the ark.]
The loss of two battles at length brought this stiff-necked people to enquire of the Lord; for all the company at this time met at Shiloh, and kept a day of fasting and prayer with great earnestness and solemnity. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." .# Isa 59:1
Phinehas <06372> [Phinehas.]
It is evident, from this mention of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, that these transactions must have taken place not long after the death of Joshua.
was serving <05975> [stood.]
more <03254> [Shall I yet.]
Attack <05927> [Go up.]
Israel <03478> [Israel.]
Though God had promised them success, they knew they could expect it only by the use of proper means. Hence they used all prudent precaution, and employed all their military skill.
ambush <0693> [liers.]
unguarded <05423> [drawn.]
army ......... strike down ... enemy <05971 02491 05221> [smite of the people, and kill, as at. Heb. smite of the people wounded as at, etc. the house of God. or, Beth-el.]
Gibeah.
thirty <07970> [thirty.]
retreat <05127> [Let us flee.]
This was done, not only because they had placed an ambuscade behind Gibeah, which was to enter and burn the city as soon as the Benjamites left it; but it would seem, that the slingers, by being within the city and its fortifications, had great advantage over the Israelites by their slings, when they could not come among them with their swords, unless they got them in the plain country.
got up <06965> [rose up.]
took their positions <06186> [put themselves.]
There appear to have been three divisions of the Israelitish army: one at Baal-tamar, (which was situated, says Eusebius, near Gibeah;) a second behind the city in ambush; and a third, who skirmished with the Benjamites before Gibeah.
Ten thousand <06235 0505> [ten thousand.]
realize ... disaster <03045 07451> [knew not.]
25,100 <06242> [twenty.]
Though the numbers of the Israelites were immensely superior to those of Benjamin, though the stratagem was well laid and ingeniously executed, and the battle bravely fought, yet the inspired historian ascribes the victory to the hand of the Lord, as entirely as if he had smitten the Benjamites by a miracle.
[for the man.]
hiding in ambush ..... dash .... They <02363 0693> [the liers in wait hasted.]
made a mad <04900> [drew themselves along. or, made a long sound with the trumpets.]
arranged ... signal <04150> [Now there.]
From this verse to the end of the chapter, we have the details of the same operations which are mentioned, in a general way, in the preceding verses of this chapter.
arranged ... signal <04150> [sign. or, time.]
<05973> [and. Heb. with. flame. Heb. elevation.]
