Judges 20:24-48

The Defeat of the Benjamites Judges 20:24-48

24 And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day,
25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
27 And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord said, Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
29 And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
31 And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32 And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.
33 And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.
35 And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword.
36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
37 And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
38 Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
39 And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
40 But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.
41 And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.
42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.
43 Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
44 And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor,
45 And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
46 So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.
47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.
48 And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

11.

Where was the house of God? Judges 20:26

The house of God was established in Shiloh. Joshua made arrangements for its being there. Repeated reference is made to Israel assembling at Shiloh to worship. It was to Shiloh that Elkanah went up to worship (1 Samuel 1:3). While worshiping there, Hannah, Samuel's mother, prayed; and Eli heard her petition (1 Samuel 1:9-18). The Tabernacle remained at Shiloh until the time of the Philistines-' capturing the Ark as recorded in I Samuel, chapter four. Shiloh lay several miles north of Gibeah and Mizpeh, and the assembling of the people at Shiloh indicates some must have left the battlefield at Gibeah.

12.

At what period of time did this civil war occur? Judges 20:28

Phinehas, son of Eleazar, was still alive. Eleazar, the son of Aaron, had succeeded Aaron as high priest when Aaron died in the fortieth year of the exodus (Numbers 20:24). Eleazar died soon after the death of Joshua as is recorded in Joshua, chapter twenty-four (Judges 20:33). Since the events described in this second appendix to the book of Judges occurred within the lifetime of Phinehas, they must have transpired long before the era of Samson recorded in Judges, Chapter s 13-16. One might readily expect them to have occurred during the time of Othniel or Ehud, the first two judges of Israel.

13.

Along what road did Israel flee? Judges 20:31

The battle was pitched before Gibeah and the main body of the soldiers of Israel came from Mizpeh to the west. The forces of Israel appear to have been divided and some fled to the right and others to the left along the road which led from Gibeah to Shiloh. The main road of travel in Israel from ancient times until the present runs northwest from Jerusalem past Gibeah, Ramah, Bethel to Shechem between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. All along this road Israel's soldiers fell in the battle.

14.

Where was Baal-Tamar? Judges 20:33

The name in the Hebrew language signifies a place where there was a palm tree. Such a place existed in the days of Eusebius. It was a small place in the neighborhood of Gibeah still carrying the name of Bethamar. Of course, the word Baal denotes the pagan god by that name. Some believe that the palm tree under which Deborah sat (Judges 4:5) came to be a place of false worship where people would honor Baal, hence the name was given Baal-Tamar. A site named Erhah some three miles northeast of Jerusalem is selected as a probable site.

15.

Who were the 10,000 chosen men of Israel? Judges 20:34

The ten thousand chosen men must have been the men lying in wait around Gibeah. As the battle transpired, the main body of Israel fled along the road; and then these men placed in ambush came out of hiding. By such a stratagem the children of Israel caught the men of Benjamin between two strong forces. The tide of battle turned, and Israel won in the final skirmish.

16.

Does Judges 20:35 describe a separate battle? Judges 20:35

The result of the battle is summarized immediately. The author gives the result at once before entering more minutely into the actual account of the battle itself. The details are given in Judges 20:36-46 in a series of explanations. Again in Judges 20:46 the results are mentioned. Radical critics try to delete Judges 20:35 and call it an interpolation. Some believe that it was written by a different author and inserted at this point; but such arguments overlook the normal Hebrew mode of writing history, which resulted in a summary being given as soon as possible with details following afterwards.

17.

Which way did the men of Benjamin flee? Judges 20:42

The men of Benjamin fled eastward toward the sun rising. This territory is described as wilderness (Judges 20:42). The territory is mountainous and barren at the present time. It would be very difficult for an army to pitch a battle, and this explains why 18,000 men fell at one point, 5,000 at another, and 2,000 at still a later point. In this rugged terrain Joshua hid two ambushes of soldiers when Israel fought and defeated the men of Bethel and Ai.

18.

How are the numbers in Judges 20:15; Judges 20:46 to be reconciled? Judges 20:15; Judges 20:46

In Judges 20:15 it is said that there were 26,000 men of Benjamin who drew sword. These were in addition to the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered at 700 chosen men. In addition there were 700 chosen men left-handed within this total who could sling a stone at an hair's breadth and never miss (Judges 20:16). When the final count of casualties was made, a total of 25,000 men had fallen in Benjamin. Still only 600 remained (Judges 20:47). Some Bible students seeing these numbers are puzzled to account for the additional men, since there were at least 26,700 to begin with and only 600 left when 25,000 causalties were mentioned. It is apparent, however, that some men from Benjamin must have fallen in the first two battles. It is hardly likely that 40,000 men is Israel would be killed without some casualties in Benjamin. These other men must have already fallen in battle.

19.

Where was Rimmon? Judges 20:47

The rock of Rimmon to which the Benjaminites fled was in the wilderness, the desert which rises from Jericho on the way to the mountains of Bethel (Joshua 16:1). An Arab village of Rammun still stands about fifteen miles north of Jerusalem. It is on a summit of conical limestone mountain and is visible in all directions. Such a high place would make it possible for a band of six hundred men to see the approach of an army from any direction. It was here that the few remaining soldiers of Benjamin fled for their last stand.