Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah. The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword. (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness happen?”
Parallel Translations
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Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, to Yahweh at Mizpah.
The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen who drew sword.
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) The children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness happen?”
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Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness?
Show all 3 translations
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Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD at Mizpah.
And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. —
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah. — And the children of Israel said: 'Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?'
Cross-references (39)
- Judges 8:10 (v2) Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the…
- Judges 11:11 (v1) Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them. Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh…
- Joshua 22:12 (v1) When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up…
- Judges 21:5 (v1) The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made…
- 1 Samuel 3:20 (v1) All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.
Show all 39 cross-references
- 1 Samuel 10:17 (v1) Samuel called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah;
- 2 Samuel 3:10 (v1) to transfer the kingdom from Saul’s house, and to set up David’s throne over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.”
- Judges 19:22-27 (v3) As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain wicked fellows, surrounded the house, beating at the door; and…
- Judges 20:15 (v2) The children of Benjamin were counted on that day out of the cities twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, in addition to the…
- Judges 20:17 (v2) The men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were counted four hundred thousand men who drew sword. All these were men of war.
- 1 Samuel 7:5-6 (v1) Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to Yahweh for you.” They gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured…
- 2 Samuel 24:2 (v1) The king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, “Now go back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to…
- 2 Kings 3:26 (v2) When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew a sword, to break through to…
- Nehemiah 8:1 (v1) All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the wide place that was in front of the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the…
- Luke 12:58-59 (v3) For when you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, try diligently on the way to be released from him, lest perhaps he drag…
- Numbers 32:1 (v1) Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock. They saw the land of Jazer, and the land of…
- Deuteronomy 13:12-18 (v1) If you hear about one of your cities, which Yahweh your God gives you to dwell there, that certain wicked fellows have gone out from among…
- Joshua 17:1 (v1) This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of…
- Judges 10:17 (v1) Then the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in Gilead. The children of Israel assembled themselves together and encamped…
- Judges 18:29 (v1) They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be…
- Judges 20:2 (v1) The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred…
- Judges 20:8 (v1) All the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, neither will any of us turn to his house.
- Judges 20:11 (v1) So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
- Judges 20:18 (v1) The children of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. They asked, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the…
- Judges 20:26 (v1) Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day…
- 1 Samuel 11:7-8 (v1) He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying,…
- 2 Samuel 2:9 (v1) and he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
- 2 Samuel 19:14 (v1) He bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as one man; so that they sent to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.”
- 2 Samuel 24:9 (v2) Joab gave up the sum of the counting of the people to the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the…
- 2 Kings 25:23 (v1) Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to…
- 1 Chronicles 21:2 (v1) David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go, count Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know how…
- 2 Chronicles 30:5 (v1) So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the…
- Ezra 3:1 (v1) When the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to…
- Proverbs 22:3 (v3) A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
- Matthew 5:25 (v3) Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge…
- Luke 14:31-32 (v3) Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to…
- Numbers 32:40 (v1) Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he lived therein.
- Joshua 15:38 (v1) Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel,
- Joshua 18:26 (v1) Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1–3 That is, all with one consent.
That is, all with one consent.
To ask counsel.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Jdg 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went…
Jdg 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.
Ver. 1. Unto the Lord in Mizpeh.] Where was, they say, an oratory or synagogue; { 1Ma 3:46} and that here was the first beginning of synagogues, which were as chapels of ease to the tabernacle or temple. That meet at Mizpeh, {1Sa 7:5} is very famous. Hither they resorted, as being in the heart of the country, when any great business concerning the public was to be transacted. See 1Sa 10:17 Jer 40:7-8.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–3 All the children of Israel, i.e. a great number,…
All the children of Israel, i.e. a great number, and especially the rulers of all the tribes, except Benjamin, Jdg 20:3,12.
Went out, from their several habitations.
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As one man, i.e. with one consent.
From Dan even to Beer-sheba; Dan was the northern border of the land, near Lebanon; and Beer-sheba the southern border, Gen 21:33. Compare 1Ki 4:25.
The land of Gilead, beyond Jordan, where Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were.
Unto the Lord; as to the Lord’s tribunal; for God was not only present in the place where the ark and tabernacle was, but also in the assemblies of the gods, or judges, Psa 82:1, and in all the places where God’s name is recorded, Exo 20:24, and where two or three are met together in his name, Mat 18:20, for his service, and to seek for counsel and mercy from him: compare Jdg 11:11.
In Mizpeh; a place in the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and therefore ascribed to both of them, Jos 15:38; 18:26. This they chose, as a place most fit and proper in many respects. First, As a place they used to meet in upon solemn occasions: see Jdg 10:17; 11:11; 1Sa 7:5,16; 10:17. Secondly, For its convenient situation for all the tribes within and without Jordan. Thirdly, As being near the place where the fact was done, that it might be more thoroughly examined; and not far from Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, whither they might go or send, if need were.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here is, I. A general meeting of all the…
Here is, I. A general meeting of all the congregation of Israel to examine the matter concerning the Levite's concubine, and to consider what was to be done upon it, Jdg 20:1, Jdg 20:2. It does not appear that they 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. 1. 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 represent 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 resident of the priests that attended the tabernacle. 2. The persons that met were all Israel, from Dan (the city very lately so called, Jdg 18:29) in the north to Beersheba in the south, with the land of Gilead (that is, the tribes on the other side Jordan), all as one man, so unanimous were they in their concern for the public good. Here was an assembly of the people of God, not a convocation of the Levites and priests, though a Levite was the person principally concerned in the cause, but an assembly of the people, to whom the Levite referred himself with an Appello populum - I appeal to the people. The people of God were 400,000 footmen that drew the sword, that is, were armed and disciplined, and fit for service, and some of them perhaps such as had known the wars of Canaan, Jdg 3:1. In this assembly of all Israel, the chief (or corners) of the people (for rulers are the corner-stones of the people, that keep all together) presented themselves as the representatives of the rest. They rendered themselves at their respective posts, at the head of the thousands and hundreds, the fifties and tens, over which they presided; for so much order and government, we may suppose, at least, they had among them, though they had no general or commander-in-chief. So that here was, (1.) A general congress of the states for counsel. The chief of the people presented themselves, to lead and direct in this affair. (2.) A general rendezvous of the militia for action, all that drew sword and were men of war (Jdg 20:17), not hirelings nor pressed men, but the best freeholders, that went at their own charge. Israel were above 600,000 when they came into Canaan, and we have reason to think they were at this time much increased, rather than diminished; but then all between twenty and sixty were military men, now we may suppose more than the one half exempted from bearing arms to cultivate the land; so that these were as the trained bands. The militia of the two tribes and a half were 40,000 (Jos 4:13), but the tribes were many more.
II. Notice given to the tribe of Benjamin of this meeting (Jdg 20:3): They heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpeh. Probably they had a legal summons sent them to appear with their brethren, that the cause might be fairly debated, before any resolutions were taken up upon it, and so the mischiefs that followed would have been happily prevented; but the notice they had of this meeting rather hardened and exasperated them than awakened them to think of the things that belonged to their peace and honour.
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III. A solemn examination of the crime charged upon the men of Gibeah. A very horrid representation of it had been made by the report of the messengers that were sent to call them together, but it was fit it should be more closely enquired into, because such things are often made worse than really they were; a committee therefore was appointed to examine the witnesses (upon oath, no doubt) and to report the matter. It is only the testimony of the Levite himself that is here recorded, but it is probable his servant, and the old man, were examined, and gave in their testimony, for that more than one were examined appears by the original (Jdg 20:3), which is, Tell you us; and the law was that none should be put to death, much less so many, upon the testimony of one witness only. The Levite gives a particular account of the matter: that he came into Gibeah only as a traveller to lodge there, not giving the least shadow of suspicion that he designed them any ill turn (Jdg 20:4), and that the men of Gibeah, even those that were of substance among them, that should have been a protection to the stranger within their gates, riotously set upon the house where he lodged, and thought to slay him; he could not, for shame relate the demand which they, without shame, made, Jdg 19:22. They declared their sin as Sodom, even the sin of Sodom, but his modesty would not suffer him to repeat it; it was sufficient to say they would have slain him, for he would rather have been slain than have submitted to their villany; and, if they had got him into their hands, they would have abused him to death, witness what they had done to his concubine: They have forced her that she is dead, Jdg 20:5. And, to excite in his countrymen an indignation at this wickedness, he had sent pieces of the mangled body to all the tribes, which had fetched them together to bear their testimony against the lewdness and folly committed in Israel, Jdg 20:6. All lewdness is folly, but especially lewdness in Israel. For those to defile their own bodies who have the honourable seal of the covenant in their flesh, for those to defy the divine vengeance to whom it is so clearly revealed from heaven - Nabal is their name, and folly is with them. He concludes his declaration with an appeal to the judgment of the court (Jdg 20:7): You are all children of Israel, and therefore you know law and judgment, Est 1:13. "You are a holy people to God, and have a dread of every thing which will dishonour God and defile the land; you are of the same community, members of the same body, and therefore likely to feel from the distempers of it; you are children of Israel, that ought to take particular care of the Levites, God's tribe, among you, and therefore give your advice and counsel what is to be done."
IV. The resolution they came to hereupon, which was that, being now together, they would not disperse till they had seen vengeance taken upon this wicked city, which was the reproach and scandal of their nation. Observe, 1. Their zeal against the lewdness that was committed. They would not return to their houses, how much soever their families and their affairs at home wanted them, till they had vindicated the honour of God and Israel, and recovered with their swords, if it could not be had otherwise, that satisfaction for the crime which the justice of the nation called for, Jdg 20:8. By this they showed themselves children of Israel indeed, that they preferred the public interest before their private concerns. 2. Their prudence in sending out a considerable body of their forces to fetch provisions for the rest, Jdg 20:9, Jdg 20:10. One of ten, and he chosen by lot, 40,000 in all, must go to their respective countries, whence they came, to fetch bread and other necessaries for the subsistence of this great army; for when they came from home they took with them provisions only for a journey to Mizpeh, not for an encampment (which might prove long) before Gibeah. This was to prevent their scattering to forage for themselves, for, if they had done this, it would have been hard to get them all together again, especially all in so good a mind. Note, When there appears in people a pious zeal for any good work it is best to strike while the iron is hot, for such zeal is apt to cool quickly if the prosecution of the work be delayed. Let it never be said that we left that good work to be done tomorrow which we could as well have done today. 3. Their unanimity in these counsels, and the execution of them. The resolution was voted, Nemine contradicente - Without a dissenting voice (Jdg 20:8); it was one and all; and, when it was put in execution, they were knit together as one man, Jdg 20:11. This was their glory and strength, that the several tribes had no separate interests when the common good was concerned.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Then all the children of Israel went out,.... Of…
Then all the children of Israel went out,.... Of their tribes, cities, habitations, not every individual of them, but some of the chief of them, with a select company with them:
and the congregation was gathered together as one man; with as much unanimity and ease met together in one place, at the same time, as if only one man had been pitched upon and deputed for that purpose:
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from Dan even to Beersheba, from the city Dan, lately built, which was in the most northern parts of the land of Canaan, to Beersheba, a city in the most southern part, which included all the tribes in the land of Canaan, who all, excepting Benjamin, assembled:
with the land of Gilead; which lay on the other side Jordan, inhabited by the two tribes of Reuben and Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who also came on this occasion:
unto the Lord in Mizpeh; a city which lay upon the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and is therefore assigned to them both, Jos 15:38 for this was not Mizpeh in the land of Gilead, but a city near to Shiloh; and, according to Fuller (b), eight miles from Gibeah, and so was a convenient place to meet at: it is not to be thought the tribes met here, by a secret impulse upon their minds, but by a summons of some principal persons in one of the tribes, very probably in the tribe of Ephraim, where the Levite dwelt, and in which was the tabernacle of the Lord, and of which the last supreme magistrate was, namely, Joshua; and all having notice of the occasion of it, met very readily; and because they assembled in the name and fear of God, and it was in the cause of God, and as a solemn assembly, a judicial one, in which God was usually present, they are said to be gathered unto him, and the rather, as they sought for direction and counsel from him in the affair before them.
(b) Pisah-Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 259.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The Levite's case heard in a general convention of…
The Levite's case heard in a general convention of the tribes, ver. 1-7. They resolve to avenge his quarrel, ver. 8-11. The Benjamites assemble in defense of the criminals, ver. 12-17. The defeat of Israel in the two first battles, ver. 18-25. They humble themselves before God, ver. 26-28. The total rout of the Benjamites, ver. 29-48.
All - That is, a great number, and especially the rulers of all the tribes, except Benjamin, ver. 3, 12. One man - That is, with one consent. Daniel, &c. - Daniel was the northern border of the land, near Lebanon; and Beersheba the southern border. Gilead - Beyond Jordan, where Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were. To the Lord - As to the Lord's tribunal: for God was not only present in the place where the ark and tabernacle was, but also in the assemblies of the gods, or Judges, Psalm lxxxii, 1, and in all places where God's name is recorded, Exod. xx, 24, and where two or three are met together in his name. Mizpeh - A place on the borders of Judah and Benjamin. This they chose, as a place they used to meet in upon solemn occasions, for its convenient situation for all the tribes within and without Jordan; and the being near the place where the fact was done, that it might be more throughly examined; and not far from Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, whither they might go or send.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The heads of the eleven tribes come before the…
CHAPTER XX
The heads of the eleven tribes come before the Lord in Mizpeh,
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and examine the Levite relative to the murder of his wife, who
gives a simple narrative of the whole affair, 1-7.
They unanimously resolve to avenge the wrong, and make provision
for a campaign against the Benjamites, 8-11.
They desire the Benjamites to deliver up the murderers; they
refuse, and prepare for battle, having assembled an army of
twenty-six thousand seven hundred men, 12-16.
The rest of the Israelites amount to four hundred thousand, who,
taking counsel of God, agree to send the tribe of Judah against
the Benjamites, 17, 18.
They attack the Benjamites, and are routed with the loss of
twenty-two thousand men, 19-21.
They renew the battle next day, and are discomfited with the
loss of eighteen thousand men, 22-25.
They weep, fast, and pray, and offer sacrifices; and again
inquire of the Lord, who promises to deliver Benjamin into
their hands, 26-28.
They concert plans, attack the Benjamites, and rout them,
killing twenty-five thousand one hundred men, and destroy the
city of Gibeah, 29-37.
A recapitulation of the different actions in which they were
killed, 38-46.
Six hundred men escape to the rock Rimmon, 47.
The Israelites destroy all the cities of the Benjamites, 48.
NOTES ON CHAP. XX
Verse 1. Unto the Lord in Mizpeh.] This city was situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin, and is sometimes attributed to the one, sometimes to the other. It seems that there was a place here in which the Lord was consulted, as well as at Shiloh; in 1Mac 3:46, we read, In Maspha was the place where they prayed aforetime in Israel. These two passages cast light on each other.
Some think that Shiloh is meant, because the ark was there; but the phrase before the Lord may signify no more than meeting in the name of God to consult him, and make prayer and supplication. Wherever God's people are, there is God himself; and it ever was true, that wherever two or three were assembled in his name, he was in the midst of them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Jdg 20:1. All the children of Israel went out…
Jdg 20:1. All the children of Israel went out — Namely, the principal persons out of their respective cities, who were appointed to represent the rest. As one man — That is, with one consent. Dan, &c. — Dan was the northern border of the land, near Lebanon; and Beer-sheba the southern border. Gilead — Beyond Jordan, where Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were. To the Lord — As to the Lord’s tribunal; for God was not only present in the place where the ark and tabernacle were, but also in the assemblies of the gods, or judges, (Psa 82:1,) and in all places where God’s name is recorded, (Exo 20:24,) and where two or three are met together in his name. Mizpeh — A place on the borders of Judah and Benjamin. This they chose, as a place they used to meet in upon solemn occasions, for its convenient situation for all the tribes within and without Jordan; and as being near the place where the fact was done, that it might be more thoroughly examined; and not far from Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, whither they might go or send.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–2 The “congregation” is the technical term for the whole…
The “congregation” is the technical term for the whole community of the Israelite people. Its occurrence here is an indication of the early date of these transactions.
From Dan to Beer-sheba - We cannot safely infer from this expression that the settlement of Dan, recorded in Judg. 18 had taken place at this time. It only proves that in the writer’s time, from Dan to Beer-sheba was a proverbial expression for all Israel (compare the marginal reference).
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With the land of Gilead - Meaning all the trans-Jordanic tribes; mentioned particularly, both to show that the whole congregation of the children of Israel, in its widest meaning, took part in the council, and also because of Jabesh-Gilead Jdg 21:8, Jdg 21:10.
Unto the Lord in Mizpeh - The phrase “unto the Lord”, implies the presence of the tabernacle (Jdg 11:11 note). Mizpeh in Benjamin Jos 18:26, from its connection with Bethel and Ramah, is probably meant here. It is the same as that which appears as a place of national assembly in 1Sa 7:5; 1Sa 10:17; 2Ki 25:23-25. It must have been near Shiloh and Gibeah, and in the north of Benjamin. The Benjamites were duly summoned with the other tribes; so that their absence was contumacious Jdg 20:3.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Bersabee, from the northern to the southern extremity of…
Bersabee, from the northern to the southern extremity of the land, (Calmet) west of the Jordan, as Galaad denotes that on the east, belonging to Israel. Only the Benjamites and the town of Jabes declined attending. (Haydock) --- Maspha, on the confines of the tribes of Juda and Benjamin. Here the people frequently assembled; and it was a place of prayer, 1 Machabees iii. 46. It is thought that an altar of the Lord had been erected. (Calmet) --- Maspha denotes, "a height or watch-tower," (Haydock) in Silo. (Mas.[Massius?] in Josue xviii. 26.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 The tribes of Israel, convened at Mizpah, resolve to…
The tribes of Israel, convened at Mizpah, resolve to punish the outrage committed at Gibeah. They call on the tribe of Benjamin to deliver up the guilty, but are met with a refusal
Jdg_20:1-13
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1Then all the children [sons] of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with [and] the land of Gilead, unto the Lord [Jehovah] in Mizpeh [Mizpah]. 2And the chief [chiefs] of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, [which assembly numbered] four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.20 3(Now the children [sons] of Benjamin heard that the children [sons] of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh). Then said the children [sons] of Israel, 4Tell us, how was [happened] this wickedness? And [the man,] the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into [unto] Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. 5And the men [lords] of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced [humbled], that she is dead [that she died]. 6And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have 7committed lewdness and folly in Israel. Behold, ye are all children [sons] of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. 8And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house: 9But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it;21 10And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.22 11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. 12And the tribes of Israel sent men through [into] all the tribe [tribes] of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is [was] done among you? 13Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial [worthless fellows], which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children [sons] of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children [sons] of Israel.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[1 Jdg_20:2.—Dr. Cassel renders this verse as follows: “And the heads of the whole people, out of all the tribes of Israel, formed themselves into a Congregation of the People of God, which [sc. people] furnished four hundred thousand men (namely) footmen, practiced with the sword.” The E. V. is better; only, to make it unequivocally clear, it needs some such interpolation as we have suggested in the text.—Tr.]
[2 Jdg_20:9.—Dr. Cassel translates: “And now in the matter which we do against Gibeah, (proceed we) against it according to the lot.” This does not differ essentially from the E. V., but is noted here as explaining what the author means by saying that the words “which we do against Gibeah” are parenthetical (see below). Bertheau and Keil explain: “This is the thing we will do against Gibeah: against it with the lot!” “The words עָלֶיהָ בְּגוֹרָל,” says Keil, “contain the resolution taken with reference to the sinful city, and are characterized by the enigmatical brevity of judicial sentences, and are to be explained by the proceedings prescribed by the Mosaic law against the Canaanites. The Canaanites were to be destroyed, and their land was then to be divided among the Israelites by lot. Accordingly, to proceed with the lot against Gibeah, is to proceed with it as with the cities of the Canaanites, to conquer and burn it, and to divide its territory by lot.” One argument advanced in favor of this (the view of the Peshito: “we will cast the lot over it!”) and against the current view (that of the LXX.), that the latter leaves the judgment itself unexpressed, and passes at once to a subordinate point which has reference only to the execution of the judgment, has no great force. For is not the judgment sufficiently expressed in עָלֶיה, “against it!”? The other, however, that according to Jdg_20:10, as ordinarily understood, the lot decides, not who shall go against Gibeah, but who shall act as purveyors for the army, it is difficult to meet, except by rendering Jdg_20:10 as Dr. Cassel does. Compare the next note.—Tr.]
[3 Jdg_20:10.—Dr. Cassel’s rendering is as follows: (Jdg_20:9 b) “proceed we against it according to the lot; (Jdg_20:10 : and take ten men of a hundred out of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to take to themselves provisions for the host, and when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin to do according to all the abomination which it wrought in Israel (i.e., to inflict just retribution).” The only difficulty in this rendering is the expression “to take provisions for the host” (lit. people), which strikes one as an unnatural way of saying, “to take provisions for themselves.” But this difficulty is less serious than that which arises if we adopt the common rendering, and explain (as we must do in that case) Jdg_20:9 as Bertheau and Keil do (cf. preceding note). For the fact that before proceeding to extremities, demand is made for the surrender of the guilty, is incompatible with a prior determination to “cast the lot” over Gibeah, to say nothing of the fact that such a confiscation of territory belonging to Benjamin, as this is supposed to imply, would have been in glaring conflict with one of the most important laws of the nation, that which rendered land an inalienable possession, first in the family, then in the tribe. On the other hand, it certainly seems as if 40,000 men must have been deemed sufficient to meet the 26,700 of Benjamin (Jdg_20:15); and the statement of Jdg_20:17, where the 400,000 of Israel are set over against the 26,700 of Benjamin, may be explained by supposing that the narrator, being about to relate the terrible losses on the national side in the first two engagements, wishes to remind the reader of the reserved strength from which the beaten army could draw reinforcements.—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Jdg_20:1-2. And the chiefs of all the people formed themselves into a congregation of the People of God. The consciousness of an organic community is as yet fully alive in Israel. All the tribes were horrified at the crime in Benjamin. The necessity of conferring together is felt everywhere, from the north to the south. The natural representatives of the people (cf. on Jdg_1:1) hasten to Mizpah, “to Jehovah,” that is to say, at the invitation of the high-priest in the name of Jehovah, against whose holy law the crime was directed. For it may be assumed that whenever a popular movement, which has Jehovah for its centre, is spoken of, while no human personage as that of a Judge, is named, the priesthood was still the leading spiritual power. An עֵדָה, congregation, assembled itself, וַתִּקּהֵל; or rather, was convoked, for קָהַל is the Greek καλέω, old Latin calare (i.e. curia calabra). It was formed of the heads23 of the people who constituted themselves a “Congregation of the People of God.”24 (יִתְיַצּבוּ, from נָצַב = יָצַב, constituere). It is not by way of tautology that the narrator says: “the whole people, all the tribes;” for the fact is to be made prominent that, except Benjamin, not one tribe was wanting. The addition: “four hundred thousand men,” explains why only the “heads” constitute the “congregation,” namely, because the “People of God,” as a whole, was too numerous. The number is mentioned with reference to Jdg_20:10. Israel is still the warlike people which took possession of Canaan. The number of its sword-practiced warriors is the measure of its greatness. Those who assemble themselves here about “Jehovah,” are the heads of a community of warriors (ecclesia militans.)
Jdg_20:3. And the sons of Benjamin heard that an assembly of the tribes took place in Mizpah. This Mizpah is probably the same as that which in Samuel’s time also was the national gathering place (1Sa_7:5), and which is regarded as represented by the Neby Samwîl of the present day,25 in the western part of the Benjamite territory. The Levite, the narrator informed us, divided his unhappy concubine into twelve parts, and sent them throughout all Israel. We must agree, therefore, with the Jewish expositors, who maintain that he sent a part to Benjamin also. It must likewise be assumed that Benjamin was invited to the council at Mizpah, both on account of the sense of national community which characterized the period, and because the assembly was summoned at a place within the borders of Benjamin. The tribe already manifested its partisan feeling in favor of Gibeah, when it “heard,” indeed, of what was going on, but neither sent representatives to the assembly, nor gave any token whatever of indignation at the deed, or of desire to exculpate itself.
Jdg_20:4-7. And the man, the Levite, made answer. When the assembly proceeded to investigate the facts, the accuser only appeared; the accused were wanting. The speech of the Levite is remarkable in more respects than one. Of the aged Ephraimite who took him into his house, he makes no mention; for in order to a right judgment of the matter it is not necessary to consider whose guest he was, but that his right to hospitality has been violated. Hence he says, “they rose against me” (עָלי); and, “they surrounded the house, עָלי, on my account.” The men in Gibeah had no designs against his host: he alone was the object of their attack. Nor does he speak of individuals in Gibeah, but of the “lords of Gibeah,” as if the whole city were guilty; which inasmuch as it had not prevented the excess, was indeed true. His accusation, “they thought to murder me,” is not literally in accordance with their intentions, because he is ashamed to speak of the matter by its right name. Moreover, the crime intended was worse than death, and submission to it punishable with disgrace and death. But he does not say that he himself delivered his concubine up into their hands, that they might treat her according to their lusts, instead of himself. And finally, he does not represent the violent deed as directed against an individual, but tells the assembled tribes that he cut the woman in pieces, and sent her throughout the whole country, because, as we already remarked above, it was a crime against all Israel. “Behold, all of you are sons of Israel.” Without delay, he desires, that here and now, they consult, and that they separate not before they have formed a resolve. He fears lest otherwise the impression of the moment might wear off, and the crime be left unpunished.
Jdg_20:8 ff.. And all the people arose. The people comprehend this, and unanimously proceed to action. Not one tribe shall be entrusted with the execution of the common resolve, but all shall take part in it, in order that the labor and odium may not fall on any one exclusively. The words אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשֶׂה לַגִּבִעָה, Jdg_20:9, are to be regarded as parenthetical. The sense is that the executive army is to be selected out of the tribes, not by votes, but according to the lot. It is thought that the tenth part of Israel, or forty thousand men, will suffice; for these, who belong to all Israel, since they were raised out of the whole, provisions and equipments are to be supplied. This is looked to, in order that Israel may need no sustenance from Benjamin, while desolating its territory in war. The words לָקַחַת צֵדָה לָעם remind us of Jdg_7:8, where we have וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת־צדָה הָעָם, and make it probable that there also לָעָם should be read.
The expression, Jdg_20:11, “and all the men of Israel were gathered together as one man חֲבֵרִים,” is to be understood of the army, which, forty thousand men strong, was gathered from all Israel as if no tribe distinctions existed. It was precisely in this perfect national unity and unanimity, that Israel sought its right to take the step it had in view. From the consciousness of this national character of the army, proceeded the effort to induce Benjamin to surrender the guilty, before the final resort to extreme measures. In the statement that “they sent into all the tribes of Benjamin,” the expression, “tribes of Benjamin,” forming as it were an antithesis to the “tribes of Israel,” is peculiar. Properly speaking, there could not be “tribes” within a “tribe”; but since Benjamin formed an opposition camp, his “families” might be so named.
Footnotes:
[20][Jdg_20:2.—Dr. Cassel renders this verse as follows: “And the heads of the whole people, out of all the tribes of Israel, formed themselves into a Congregation of the People of God, which [sc. people] furnished four hundred thousand men (namely) footmen, practiced with the sword.” The E. V. is better; only, to make it unequivocally clear, it needs some such interpolation as we have suggested in the text.—Tr.]
[21][Jdg_20:9.—Dr. Cassel translates: “And now in the matter which we do against Gibeah, (proceed we) against it according to the lot.” This does not differ essentially from the E. V., but is noted here as explaining what the author means by saying that the words “which we do against Gibeah” are parenthetical (see below). Bertheau and Keil explain: “This is the thing we will do against Gibeah: against it with the lot!” “The words עָלֶיהָ בְּגוֹרָל,” says Keil, “contain the resolution taken with reference to the sinful city, and are characterized by the enigmatical brevity of judicial sentences, and are to be explained by the proceedings prescribed by the Mosaic law against the Canaanites. The Canaanites were to be destroyed, and their land was then to be divided among the Israelites by lot. Accordingly, to proceed with the lot against Gibeah, is to proceed with it as with the cities of the Canaanites, to conquer and burn it, and to divide its territory by lot.” One argument advanced in favor of this (the view of the Peshito: “we will cast the lot over it!”) and against the current view (that of the LXX.), that the latter leaves the judgment itself unexpressed, and passes at once to a subordinate point which has reference only to the execution of the judgment, has no great force. For is not the judgment sufficiently expressed in עָלֶיה, “against it!”? The other, however, that according to Jdg_20:10, as ordinarily understood, the lot decides, not who shall go against Gibeah, but who shall act as purveyors for the army, it is difficult to meet, except by rendering Jdg_20:10 as Dr. Cassel does. Compare the next note.—Tr.]
[22][Jdg_20:10.—Dr. Cassel’s rendering is as follows: (Jdg_20:9 b) “proceed we against it according to the lot; (Jdg_20:10 : and take ten men of a hundred out of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to take to themselves provisions for the host, and when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin to do according to all the abomination which it wrought in Israel (i.e., to inflict just retribution).” The only difficulty in this rendering is the expression “to take provisions for the host” (lit. people), which strikes one as an unnatural way of saying, “to take provisions for themselves.” But this difficulty is less serious than that which arises if we adopt the common rendering, and explain (as we must do in that case) Jdg_20:9 as Bertheau and Keil do (cf. preceding note). For the fact that before proceeding to extremities, demand is made for the surrender of the guilty, is incompatible with a prior determination to “cast the lot” over Gibeah, to say nothing of the fact that such a confiscation of territory belonging to Benjamin, as this is supposed to imply, would have been in glaring conflict with one of the most important laws of the nation, that which rendered land an inalienable possession, first in the family, then in the tribe. On the other hand, it certainly seems as if 40,000 men must have been deemed sufficient to meet the 26,700 of Benjamin (Jdg_20:15); and the statement of Jdg_20:17, where the 400,000 of Israel are set over against the 26,700 of Benjamin, may be explained by supposing that the narrator, being about to relate the terrible losses on the national side in the first two engagements, wishes to remind the reader of the reserved strength from which the beaten army could draw reinforcements.—Tr.]
[23] פִּנָּה, the pinnacle, or highest point of a building, and thence transferred to the heads of the people, summi. The word is philologically identical with the Latin pinna as saput propugnaculi.
[24]The regular designation, for which modern nations have substituted the less spiritual and noble terms “parliament,” “meeting,” “chamber,” “house.” [How could they otherwise, seeing they are not theocracies?—Tr.]
[25][So Dr. Robinson, B. R. i. 460. Dean Stanley (Sin. and Pal. p. 212), claims Nebi-Samuel for the “high place” of Gibeon, and transfers Mizpah to Scopus (p. 222). The difficulty arising from the fact that in either case the assembly was held within the territorial limits of Benjamin, who nevertheless only “heard” of it, is met by Mr. Grove (Smith’s Bible Dict., s. v. “Mizpah”) by the apparently no less difficult supposition that the Mizpah of the present passage is to be located beyond the Jordan.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v3 Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children…
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh--Some suppose that Benjamin had been passed over, the crime having been perpetrated within the territory of that tribe [Jdg 19:16]; and that, as the concubine's corpse had been divided into twelve pieces [Jdg 19:29] --two had been sent to Manasseh, one respectively to the western and eastern divisions. It is more probable that Benjamin had received a formal summons like the other tribes, but chose to treat it with indifference, or haughty disdain.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–3 THE COUNCIL AT MIZPEH, Jdg_20:1-11.
THE COUNCIL AT MIZPEH, Jdg_20:1-11.
1. From Dan even to Beer-sheba — The common formula to designate the entire country, from its northern to its southern boundary. Compare 1Sa_3:20; 2Sa_3:10; 2Sa_17:11; 2Sa_24:2; 2Sa_24:15; 1Ki_4:25. In the later books the formula is reversed: 1Ch_21:2; 2Ch_30:5. On Dan, see at Jdg_18:7; Jdg_18:29; on Beer-sheba, Gen_21:31.
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Land of Gilead — The country east of the Jordan. See on Jdg_10:8; Jdg_10:17.
Unto the Lord — The meaning is, that the assembly was held as in the sight of the Lord. The tribes came together in the name of the Lord, and bound themselves by solemn oaths and execrations to destroy Benjamin. Compare Jdg_21:15; see note on Jdg_11:11.
In Mizpeh — Not the Mizpeh in the land of Gilead, where the eastern tribes assembled in the time of Jephthah to prepare for war against Ammon, (Jdg_10:17,) but the Mizpeh of Benjamin, which is mentioned in Jos_18:25-26, in connexion with Gibeon and Ramah, and which was probably identical with the modern Neby Samwil, a little northwest of Jerusalem. See note on 1Sa_7:5. This was an appropriate place for the council. Commanding a wide prospect, it was a central place for all the tribes, and was in the territory of Benjamin, near the spot where the offence took place, so that all proper witnesses to the case might be near at hand.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1. the congregation was assembled] The two words at…
1. the congregation was assembled] The two words at once stamp the character of source B; cf. in the Priestly Code Lev_8:4, Num_16:42; Num_20:2, Jos_18:1; Jos_22:12. The congregation Jdg_21:10; Jdg_21:13; Jdg_21:16 (Hebr. ‘çdhah, LXX synagôgç) is regularly used by P, and by writers under the influence of P, to describe Israel as a religious community (e.g. Exo_12:3, Num_1:2, Jos_22:16 etc., 1Ki_8:5; 1Ki_12:20). Less characteristic, but frequently found in the Priestly narrative, is the assembly Jdg_20:2, Jdg_21:5; Jdg_21:8 (Hebr. ḳâhâl, LXX usually ecclesia, sometimes synagôgç), to denote the people as an organized whole (e.g. Deu_31:30, Lev_16:17, Num_16:3, Ezr_10:12; Ezr_10:14 etc.), or as assembled for some special purpose, an invasion, or instruction, or worship.
as one man] Cf. Jdg_20:8; Jdg_20:11; 1Sa_11:7, Ezr_3:1. The ancient stories in Judges give a different picture; a corporate national life was not attained till a later age.
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from Dan even to Beer-sheba] i.e. from North to South of Israel’s territory; cf. Jdg_18:7 n. and 2Sa_3:10; 2Sa_24:2, contrast 1Ch_21:2 etc. To include Israel on the E. of Jordan, with the land of Gilead is added (cf. Jdg_21:8).
Mizpah] may be identified with the hill Nebî Samwîl, 4½ m. N.W. of Jerusalem, 2935 ft. above the sea, and about 3 m. from Tell el-Fûl (Gibeah), in the centre of the Benjamite district. A holy place occupied the summit (1Sa_7:5 ff; 1Sa_10:17-24), probably from very early times. See further Jer_40:6 ff.; 1Ma_3:46. While the narrative A speaks of Mizpah as the meeting-place of the Israelites (Jdg_20:3, Jdg_21:1), B refers to Beth-el (Jdg_20:18; Jdg_20:26, Jdg_21:2).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 (1) The congregation was gathered together.—This phrase is one…
(1) The congregation was gathered together.—This phrase is one which was familiar to the Israelites in the desert. It disappears after the days of Solomon (1Ki_12:20).
From Dan even to Beer-sheba.—This expression would be like “from John o’ Groat’s house to Land’s End “for England and Scotland (1Sa_3:18; 1Sa_17:11, &c.). Unless it be added by an anachronism, because it had become familiar when the Book of Judges was written, we should certainly infer from it that, early as were these events, they were subsequent to the migratory raid of the tribe of Dan to Laish.
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With the land of Gilead.—The Trans-Jordanic tribes obeyed the summons, with the exception of the town of Jabesh-Gilead.
Unto the Lord.—See Note on Jdg_11:11. There is not, however, the same difficulty in supposing that the ark and Urim was taken to this Mizpeh, for we see in Jdg_20:27 that it was taken to Bethel.
In Mizpeh.—See Note on Jdg_11:11. This Mizpeh is not the same as the one there mentioned, but is probably the bold hill and watch-tower now known as Neby Samwil, and called Mountjoie by the Crusaders, from which the traveller gains his first glimpse of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew the name has the article, “the watch-tower.” It was the scene of great gatherings of the tribes in the days of Samuel (1Sa_7:2; 1Sa_10:17) and of Solomon (2Ch_1:3, probably), and even after the captivity (2Ki_25:23).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Went out, i.e. from their several homes to the…
Went out, i.e. from their several homes to the place of meeting. The congregation. The technical term (not, however, found in Samuel and Kings, except in 1Ki_12:20) for the whole Israelitish people. (Exo_12:3 Exo_16:1, Exo_16:2, 9 Lev_4:15 Jos_18:1, etc.) From Dan to Beersheba. Dan, or Laish, (Jud_1:18:29) being the northernmost point, and Beersheba (now Bir-es-saba, the springs so called) in the south of Judah the southernmost. It cannot be inferred with certainty from this expression that the Danite occupation of Laish had taken place at this time, though it may have done so, because we do not know when this narrative was written, and the phrase is only used as a proverbial expression familiar in the writer"s time. The land of Gilead. In its widest sense, meaning the whole of trans-Jordanic Israel. (see Jud_1:10:8 11:1, etc.) Mizpeh, or, as it is always written in Hebrew, ham-Mizpeh, with the article. (see Jud_1:21:1) The Mizpeh here mentioned is not the same as the Mizpeh of Jud_1:10:17 11:11, 29, 34, which was in Gilead, but was situated in the tribe of Benjamin. (Jos_18:26) That it was a national place of meeting in the time of Samuel is clear from 1Sa_7:5-12, and we learn from ver. 16 of that same chapter that it was one of the places to which Samuel went on circuit. We find it a place of national meeting also in 1Sa_10:17, and even so late as 2Ki_25:23, and in the time of the Maccabees. (RAPC 1Ma 3:46) Its vicinity to Shiloh, where the tabernacle was, was probably one reason why it was made a centre to the whole congregation. (see especially 1Sa_10:17, 1Sa_10:22, 1Sa_10:25) Its exact site is not known with certainty, but it is thought to be that of Nebi Samuil, from which Jerusalem is seen at about two hours" distance to the south-east. Unto the Lord, i.e. in the presence of the tabernacle, which was doubtless brought there, on so solemn an occasion, from Shiloh. (cf. Exo_34:34 Lev_1:3 Jud_1:11:11 21:2, and ver. 26 of this chapter)
Vers. 1-17. Temper.
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It is impossible to suppose that the whole tribe of Benjamin really sympathised with the foul deed of the men of Gibeah, or could have felt otherwise than that such a deed deserved the severest punishment that could be inflicted. We must seek the cause, therefore, of their desperate resistance to the just decree of the nation in some other motive than that of consent to their brethren"s "lewdness and folly." Nor is such motive far to seek. We find it in that unreasonable movement of human pride and selfishness which we commonly call temper; a movement which sets up a man"s own dignity, self-importance, self-will, self-esteem, above the laws of God, above righteousness, justice, truth, and the law of kindness, and yet so blinds him, that in vindication of his own dignity he does the most foolish and degrading actions, lowering himself where he sought to raise himself, making himself ridiculous where he thought to be an object of superior respect. Let us analyse the case of the Benjamites. Had the men of Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Ephraim or Judah, they would no doubt have been forward to join in their punishment. Their natural perceptions of right and wrong, their right feelings of the dishonour done to the whole congregation of Israel, the congregation of God, and of the profanation of the holy name of Jehovah, would have led them to wipe out the stain by the punishment of the offenders. But because the offenders were Benja-mites, immediately all these right feelings were stifled, and in their stead the one selfish feeling that Benjamin would be dishonoured among the tribes, and that they themselves would be degraded in their fellow-tribesmen"s shame, was allowed to prevail. Their pride was wounded and their temper was up. Possibly they had not been properly consulted in the first instance; possibly the message sent to them was too peremptory and haughty; possibly the other tribes, in their just indignation, had scarcely treated them with the deference due to brethren; and if so, this was fresh fuel added to the flame of temper. But the result was that they were incapable of right feeling or of right judgment; that they were blind to what duty and self-interest alike required of them; and that, under the guidance of temper and stubborn pride, they rushed on to their own destruction, braving the wrath of a body nearly sixteen times as powerful as themselves, and withal tarnishing their own reputation by identifying themselves with the basest villainy. We see exactly the same results of temper on a smaller scale every day around us. Men will not do the right thing, or the just thing, or the wise thing, not because they are wicked and unjust and destitute of good sense under ordinary circumstances, but because their tempers are up. Their false pride blinds and enslaves them. They see a personal humiliation in the way of acting rightly; their resentment against individuals for insult or wrong done to them stiffens their necks and hardens their will. If doing right will please them, or promote their interests, they had rather do wrong. They will not do anything they ask, or submit to any of their demands, however just they may be in themselves. And as for their own interests, and even their own good name, they are ready to sacrifice them at the imperious bidding of temper. Much of human unhappiness is caused by temper, which is as injurious to the peace of those who yield to its dictates as to those who are exposed to its outbreaks. It ought not to exist, certainly not to have dominion, in any Christian breast. Fellowship with the cross of Christ is the great help in subduing human pride. As real humility grows, as the mind which was in Christ Jesus is more perfectly formed within, as the old man is crucified with Christ, and the desire to do the perfect will of God displaces more and more the self-will, and the glory of God becomes more entirely the aim sought, in lieu of self-glorification, the dominion of temper becomes enfeebled, till, like a flickering flame, it goes out, and is still before the rising power of the Holy Spirit of God.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR. Ver. 1. National atonement.
There are times when a nation is stirred to its depths. Its consciousness is then a religious one. A solemn unity of sentiment pervades it, and prevails over all lesser differences. It is then ready and effective as the servant of the Lord. Observe
I THE UNIFYING INFLUENCES.
1. A common detestation of the crime.
2. A common danger.
3. The Spirit of Jehovah.
II THE MEASURE DETERMINED ON. By the council of the nation.
1. Immediate punishment of the criminals.
2. Failing their delivery, the punishment of those who protected them and condoned their wickedness. M.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v1 The men of Israel turned again upon the children…
Jdg_20:1-48
The men of Israel turned again upon the children of BenJamin.
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From justice to wild revenge
It may be asked how, while polygamy was practised among the Israelites, the sin of Gibeah could rouse such indignation and awaken the signal vengeance of the united tribes. The answer is to be found partly in the singular and dreadful device which the indignant husband used in making the deed known. Womanhood must have been stirred to the fiercest indignation, and manhood was bound to follow. Further, there is the fact that the woman so foully murdered, though a concubine, was the concubine of a Levite. The measure of sacredness with which the Levites were invested gave to this crime, frightful enough in any view, the colour of sacrilege. There could be no blessing on the tribes if they allowed the doers or condoners of this thing to go unpunished. It is therefore not incredible, but appears simply in accordance with the instincts and customs proper to the Hebrew people, that the sin of Gibeah should provoke overwhelming indignation. There is no pretence of purity, no hypocritical anger. The feeling is sound and real. Perhaps in no other matter of a moral kind would there have been such intense and unanimous exasperation. A point of justice or of belief would not have so moved the tribes. The better self of Israel appears asserting its claim and power. And the miscreants of Gibeah representing the lower self, verily an unclean spirit, are detested and denounced on every hand. Now the people of Gibeah were not all vile. The wretches whose crime called for judgment were but the rabble of the town. And we can see that the tribes, when they gathered in indignation, were made serious by the thought that the righteous might be punished with the wicked. Not without the suffering of the entire community is a great evil to be purged from a land. It is easy to execute a murderer, to imprison a felon. But the spirit of the murderer, of the felon, is widely diffused, and that has to be cast out. In the great moral struggle the better have not only the openly vile, but all who are tainted, all who are weak in soul, loose in habit, secretly sympathetie with the vile, arrayed against them. When an assault is made on some vile custom the sardonic laugh is heard of those who find their profit and their pleasure in it. They feel their power. They know the wide sympathy with them spread secretly through the land. Once and again the feeble attempt of the good is repelled. The tide turned, and there came another danger, that which waits on ebullitions of popular feeling. A crowd roused to anger is hard to control, and the tribes having once tasted vengeance, did not cease till Benjamin was almost exterminated. Justice overshot its mark, and for one evil made another. Those who had most fiercely used the sword viewed the result with horror and amazement, for a tribe was lacking in Israel. Nor was this the end of slaughter. Next, for the sake of Benjamin the sword was drawn, and the men of Jabesh-gilead were butchered. The warning conveyed here is intensely keen. It is that men, made doubtful by the issue of their actions whether they have done wisely, may fly to the resolution to justify themselves, and may do so even at the expense of justice; that a nation may pass from the right way to the wrong, and then, having sunk to extraordinary baseness and malignity, may turn, writhing and self-condemned, to add cruelty to cruelty in the attempt to still the upbraidings of conscience. It is that men in the heat of passion which began with resentment against evil may strike at those who have not joined in their errors as well as those who truly deserve reprobation. We stand, nations and individuals, in constant danger of dreadful extremes, a kind of insanity hurrying us on when the blood is heated by strong emotion. Blindly attempting to do right, we do evil; and again, having done the evil, we blindly strive to remedy it by doing more. In times of moral darkness and chaotic social conditions, when men are guided by a few rude principles, things are done that afterwards appal themselves, and yet may become an example for future outbreaks. During the fury of their Revolution, the French people, with some watchwords of the true ring, as liberty, fraternity, turned hither and thither, now in terror, now panting after dimly-seen justice or hope, and it was always from blood to blood. We understand the juncture in ancient Israel, and realise the excitement and the rage of a self-jealous people when we read the modern tales of surging ferocity in which men appear now hounding the shouting crowd to vengeance, then shuddering on the scaffold. In private life the story has an application against wild and violent methods of self-vindication. Passing to the final expedient adopted by the chiefs of Israel to rectify their error--the rape of the women at Shiloh--we see only to how pitiful a pass moral blundering brings those who fall into it. (R. A. Watson, M. A.)
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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1
THE CRY FOR VENGEANCE
(Jdg_20:1-48.)
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HOMILETICS
1. This cry was universal (Jdg_20:1).
“From Dan to Beershebah, with Gilead.” There was not a dissentient voice.
2. They were in earnest (Jdg_20:2). Such numbers.
3. Their desire for accurate information (Jdg_20:3-7).
4. The vengeance must be summary (Jdg_20:8 etc.).
5. They were united in their purpose (Jdg_20:11).
6. A whole tribe takes part with the wicked city (Jdg_20:13-14).
7. The men of zeal act in a spirit of presumption and self confidence, and are defeated (Jdg_20:18-25).
The first step was wrong. They took the matter into their own hands, and decided for themselves to punish Benjamin. And then having settled that, they only asked God, “Who shall go up first?” Thus to put God out of His right place, and decide for themselves without Him was a very grave error. And He is jealous of the glory which is due to His great name. Even on the second day their first step was to set the battle on array against Benjamin, and then they come, as a second step, to ask the question: “Shall we go up at all?” Which means, shall we do that which already we have decided to do? God will not be mocked, so He again left them to themselves. But on the third day they were full of penitence, humiliation, and reverence, and left themselves entirely in His hands. At once they gained their point (Jdg_20:26-28.)
8. The temporary success of the wicked, no proof of the Divine favour. Jdg_20:34-35.
The Benjamites being twice successful in pitched battles, thought they were to be successful all through, and that God was not frowning on their conduct. So is it with many. “These things thou hast done, and I kept silence, etc.” (Ecc_8:11). Yet suddenly destruction cometh; “as fishes are caught in the net, or birds in the snare.”
9. When the hour of the wicked comes there is no helper. Jdg_20:40-45.
Here was more than a mere chastisement. It was almost an annihilation of a tribe in Israel. It was the “day of the Lord,” for men convicted of great crimes, and now their sins came into remembrance. The men of Gibeah were swept away with the besom of destruction, and all the wicked in that sinning land were “cut down as the grass, and withered as the green herbs.” The sword before, the fire behind, and the hosts of 11 tribes all around them, there was no escape. All perished, except a very small remant, who took refuge in one of Nature’s strong fastnesses. An awful beacon to warn generations to come!
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Slaughter of the Benjamites
The Slaughter of the Benjamites
The Levite recounts his wrongs to a full assemblage of the tribes, who decree punishment upon Benjamin. Their first two attacks are unsuccessful, but the third results in the almost total extermination of the Benjamites.
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1-11. The Israelites assemble at Gibeah.
1. Congregation] This word is only used in the later books of the OT. after Israel had ceased at the exile to be a nation: see intro. Judges 19). Dan] see on Jdg_18:29. Beer-sheba] the southernmost point of Palestine, 28 m. SW. of Hebron. See Genesis 21, 26; 1Sa_8:2; Amo_5:5.
2. Four hundred thousand] contrast Jdg_5:8.
3. Mizpeh] not the place in Gilead mentioned in Jdg_11:11, but on a hill about two hours' journey NW. from Jerusalem.
12-29. The defeats of the Israelites.
12. The responsibility for the outrage is regarded as resting on the whole tribe.
15. In Jdg_20:44-47 only 25,600 men are accounted for. LXX here reads 25,000, and neglects the 700 men of Jdg_20:16.
16. See on Jdg_3:16.
18. Cp. 12. Bethel (RV) would be some four hours' distance to the N. After this journey the whole army marches back to Gibeah.
23. This v., placed in brackets, should really precede Jdg_20:22, on which Jdg_20:24 properly follows.
25. In these two battles the Israelites thus lose a tenth of their whole number.
26. House of God] RV 'Bethel.' Burnt offerings.. peace offerings] Sacrifices in which the whole was consumed on the altar, and sacrifices in which part was eaten by the worshippers at a common meal.
27, 28. This parenthesis is added to explain why Bethel was visited, and not Shiloh, as might have been expected from the statements made in Jos_18:10 and 1Sa_4:3. If the note about Phinehas is correct, these events must have taken place in the first generation after Joshua.
30-48. The destruction of Benjamin.
31. The same stratagem as that which had proved successful at Ai (Jos_8:16). House of God] RV 'Bethel,' as in Jdg_20:26.
33. Baaltamar] unknown.
35. The Lord] Israel's success is really Jehovah's. This v. anticipates the end of the story. In the whole narrative there is a good deal of misplacement (e.g. Jdg_20:37, Jdg_20:39) and redundancy (e.g. Jdg_20:31-32). Jdg_20:36 commences what is really a second account of the battle, with a very much fuller conclusion.
37. Drew themselves along] 'moved forward.'
42. The wilderness] i.e. to the more desolate region lying to the E.
43. With ease] RV 'at their resting place,' or, as RM, 'at Menuhah.' The sunrising] i.e. the E.
45. Rimmon] 3 m. E. of Bethel. Gidom is unknown.
48. The men of every city] RV 'the entire city,' or, as RM, 'the inhabited city.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 CHAPTER 20 The Horrible War
CHAPTER 20 The Horrible War
1. The Levite’s story (Jdg 20:1-7)
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2. The uprising (Jdg 20:8-11)
3. The slaying of the Israelites (Jdg 20:12-25)
4. Benjamin exterminated except six hundred men (Jdg 20:26-48)
This and the concluding chapter bring before us the awful harvest of what had been sown. “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal 6:7). They had sown the wind and now reaped the whirlwind. Violence and lawlessness result in the slaying of 40,000 Israelites and 23,000 of the tribe of Benjamin. Nearly the entire tribe was wiped out. From Dan to Beersheba into the land of Gilead they gathered at Mizpeh to hear the story of the Levite. Benjamin refused to give up the wicked men and instead of humbling themselves, acknowledging the dreadful guilt and bringing the guilty ones to judgment, they gathered themselves together to fight their own brethren. Their company was small in comparison with the mighty host of Israel. The divine counsel was that Judah should go up first to battle with Benjamin. What a contrast with the beginning of the book! There they were to fight against the common foe; here against their own brethren.
“But to be fit to be used of God to deal with evil involves much more than readiness to be His instrument. They are too ready, as we see in the result. Their wrath is too prompt, too implacable, too unsparing. Theirs is the reckless haste of vengeance, and not the solemn discrimination of divine judgment. They remember not their own sins, bring no sin offering to God, no tears of penitence. They build on their numbers; no doubt on the justice of their cause, also, but in self-righteousness and without self-suspicion. Thus they go up to smite, and they are smitten heavily, disastrously. Benjamin, the wrong-doer, is wholly victorious.”
Here too are the lessons for God’s people in judging what is evil amongst them. Then the children of Israel went to Bethel (House of God) and with prayer and fasting waited on the Lord and brought the offerings. Then the Lord gave them the assurance of victory. Benjamin is smitten, their women and children are wiped out. Only six hundred men escaped to the rock of Rimmon. All their cities were burned.
To even greater scenes of violence, bloodshed and desolution this poor world, which has rejected God and His beloved Son, is hastening on.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Benjamites Refuse to Deliver up the Guilty
The Benjamites Refuse to Deliver up the Guilty
v. 1. Then all the children of Israel went out, all housefathers or able-bodied men leaving their homes, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, they assembled as a congregation, with the full consciousness of organic union, from Dan, the most northern town, even to Beersheba, the most southern city, the expression thus denoting a most general participation of the men of Israel, with the land of Gilead, the country east of Jordan, unto the Lord, with the Lord’s approval, knowing that their assembly was well-pleasing to Him, in Mizpeh, near the western boundary of Benjamin.
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v. 2. And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, all the officers of the civic organization, of the government, heads of a community of warriors, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. That was the strength of the army of Israel at that time.
v. 3. (Now, the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh. ) They knew of the meeting, had probably been invited to attend, but neither sent representatives, nor did they give any token of horror or indignation over the infamous deed committed in their midst. Then said the children of Israel, in an effort to determine the facts of the case, Tell us, how was this wickedness? The question was directed to the entire assembly, everyone who knew anything of the matter being requested to give the information which he possessed.
v. 4. And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, at whose instigation the assembly had convened, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
v. 5. And the men of Gibeah, the lords of the city, for they were guilty with their whole city, since they had not prevented the excess, rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me. The crime which the men of Gibeah had intended was really worse than murder, and it would probably have resulted in the Levite’s death; he may have been ashamed to speak of the crime by its right name. And my concubine have they forced that she is dead, a victim of their bestial lusts.
v. 6. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness, a most unnatural immoral deed, and folly in Israel, a most revolting wickedness, a crime against the entire people.
v. 7. Behold, ye are all children of Israel, familiar with the Lord’s condemnation of such wickedness; give here your advice and counsel, they should decide upon a course of action after having passed sentence upon the guilty.
v. 8. And all the people arose as one man, with energetic unanimity, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, return home, neither will we any of us turn into his house, for even a short stay, until this crime had been avenged.
v. 9. But now, this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it, in such a manner that the lot should decide which warriors should be actively engaged in the expedition;
v. 10. and we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel and an hundred of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand, ten per cent. of the entire army, to fetch victual for the people, to provide food and equipment for the expedition, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel, punishing them in the measure which they deserved for their crime.
v. 11. So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together, a unit in fellowship, as one man, firmly resolved to see this thing through to an end which would please Jehovah and remove the stain from Israel.
v. 12. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe, the families of the tribe, of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
v. 13. Now, therefore, deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. By the punishment of the criminals, delivered up to justice by the Benjamites, the requirements of the Law would have been satisfied, and Benjamin itself would have been vindicated. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel, thus becoming partakers in the sin of the citizens of Gibeah. Israel here proved itself to be a congregation of the Lord, in letting itself be ruled and directed by the Lord’s Word and will. A true congregation will be zealous for the name and honor of God, also by fighting against all sinful acts and by removing the leaven of wickedness and uncleanness from its midst.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 as one man
as one man
This simile speaks of the group as acting as a single person. It refers to a group of who people do everything together in the same way. AT: "as if they were a single man" (See: Simile)
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from Dan to Beersheba
This refers to the land as a whole. AT: "from all the eleven tribes" (See: Merism)
God—400,000 men on foot
"God and also 400,000 regular soldiers came"
ready to fight
"capable of going to war." They were not going to fight each other.
translationWords
Israel
Dan
Beersheba
Gilead
Yahweh
Mizpah
tribe
assembly
people of God
sword
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.