Judges 20:28

Judges 20:28 a

‘(And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days).'

Assuming this to be the Phinehas, son of Eleazar mentioned in Numbers 25:7; Joshua 24:33, who was known as a young man to Moses, and whose father died not long after Joshua (Joshua 24:33) this incident took place within forty or fifty years of the death of Moses and therefore very early in the Judges period before most of the incidents in Judges. But it may have been a later Phinehas, ‘son of' meaning ‘descendant of'. It was clearly a priestly family name (compare 1 Samuel 2:34).

“Stood before it.” That is, before the Ark when ministering in the Holy Place. To ‘stand before the Ark' may well have been a technical phrase referring to the current Priest. But it may also refer to his posture when using the Urim and the Thummim.

Judges 20:28 b

‘Saying, shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?'

The question not only reflects their concern about their defeat, but also their concern about whether they should be fighting against this wayward member of the tribal confederacy. It was probably put in two parts. ‘Should we go up?' and ‘Will You deliver them into our hand.' It is possible that the Urim and Thummim could only give the answers ‘yes' (compare 1 Samuel 23:9) or ‘no reply' (1 Samuel 28:6). No example of a ‘no' reply is known. Alternatively it has been suggested that each had a yes side and a no side. When tossed down, two yeses meant yes, two noes meant no and a yes and a no meant no reply.

Judges 20:28 c

‘And Yahweh said, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.'

These were the answers of the Urim and the Thummim. God not only told them to go forward, but also promised victory on the morrow.