Deeper Commentary
Jdg 20:1 Then all the Israelites went out, and the congregation
assembled as one man-
Religious people love to experience the unity which comes from having
a common case of apostacy to fight against and judge. But this is not the
unity of the Spirit. Recall how the Lord's enemies
were united together by their common cause against Him. Such things
recorded in the Bible reflect the absolute psychological and sociological
credibility of the records. They assembled as one man [repeated in :11,
and implied in :8 where not one man was to return home until Benjamin were
punished], in apparent unity, in order to effectively dismember Israel by
cutting off one of their own tribes. Their unity actually led to the worst
civil war of their history so far. And thus is continued the theme of a
guise of spirituality resulting in deeply fleshly behaviour.
From Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead,
to Yahweh at Mizpah-
The very extreme north of Israel's northern borders, in Dan or the former Laish, was inhabited by the apostates whom we have seen described in detail in Jud. 17,18. For them to go charging off in judgment upon Gibeah was grossly hypocritical, when they had slain a whole community of unsuspecting people in a primitive land grab, and installed a terribly apostate religious system there.
As in previous incidents in Jud. 17-19, what appears to be spiritual behaviour is hollow inside. Dan was idolatrous (Jud. 18:30,31). And the appearance of righteous unity "before Yahweh" to uphold His Truth was in fact nothing more than civil war fuelled by jealousy and hatred.
"And from the land of Gilead" is mentioned because at the time
of Jephthah, Gilead had warred with Ephraim (Jud. 12:4,5). But as happened
at the Lord's crucifixion, formerly opposed parties come together when
they get caught up in a feeding frenzy to fight supposed apostacy and to
dish out harsh judgment. We see the same in church politics today.
Jdg 20:2 The leaders of the people from all the tribes of Israel took
their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand
armed soldiers-
"Thousand" especially when used in a military context often doesn't
mean a literal 1,000, but rather means a military subdivision. This
gathering is described from the point of view of the tribes generally, for
"all the tribes of Israel" presumably excluded Benjamin. The record
reminds us that for all the huge dysfunction at this time, they were
called still "the people of God". We need to remember this when we
understandably shake our heads at the dysfunction of our brethren.
We could argue that they had already prepared for war before the judicial enquiry was made. Justice wasn't done and there was clearly a bias towards a conclusion at the outset. Yet to judge unjustly was something God's law expresses His especial hatred of. Sending body parts to all Israel was used by Saul as a call to arms in 1 Sam. 11, and the Mari texts have examples of similar things being done with human bodies at the time- as a call to arms. The assumption was therefore being made that crime had been committed, the perpetrators were identified, and now needed judgment. The gathering of such a huge number of soldiers suggests they already had the end result in view- a campaign against Benjamin. They came out as one man (:1) to consider the case, and then after the investigation they were again as one man (:8). The hint is that they had already decided this incident was to be their alibi for attacking Benjamin, and what they did after the judicial enquiry was what they had already decided to before it. We suspect that Judah and possibly Ephraim were after Benjamin's land for themselves, and were therefore eager for an excuse to subjugate or wipe out the tribe of Benjamin. They hadn't taken the land from the Canaanites, and were living in the uplands. Benjamin had some good lowland territory, and they coveted it. Instead of driving out the Philistines and others, they considered it easier to slay their own brethren and steal their land inheritance. Benjamin was one of the smallest tribes and had a very small inheritance- perhaps they assumed that it was easy to destroy such a small tribe. In the end, after the destruction of the 10 tribe kingdom, Benjamin was indeed effectively subsumed into Judah, and the two and a half tribe kingdom was known simply as "Judah".
Jdg 20:3 Now the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to
Mizpah. The Israelites said, Tell us how this wicked thing happened-
The implication is that the Benjamites weren't represented at the Mizpah
conference. The whole decision and chain of events was based solely on the
word of the Levite, who we saw throughout Jud. 19 was hardly a man of
integrity. The basis upon which they judged the case was unwise in the
extreme. We learn from Jud. 21:5 that they had threatened death to anyone
who didn't come to this gathering. So the Benjamites stood condemned to
death just because they didn't attend a meeting. Just as some have been
disfellowshipped for "long continued absence" from a church. This is not at
all Biblical, and the attitude of the Israelites here was not at all in
accord with the Law of Moses. Nor did they take any advice from God about
this; they simply promised death to any who didn't attend their gathering.
Perhaps this was why they thought they were justified in slaying the
Benjamites- because they had broken the Israelites' self declared law and
commandment to come to Mizpah.
The "wicked thing" was presumably the death of the concubine.
It's unclear whether the question is asked of Benjamin or the Levite. They
ask this question of the accused before the accuser has even stated his
version of events. The Levite then gives his version, and Benjamin say
nothing. The question begs the assumption that a wicked thing has
happened. But the nature of the wicked thing has not been defined. They
are assuming and presuming the Levite's story as being true, even before
he formally states it.
Jdg 20:4 The Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered,
I came to Gibeah in Benjamin, I and my concubine, to stay the night-
See on :3. He begins absolutely factually, although not volunteering
that his woman had run away from him, had been unfaithful to him, and he
and her father had been drinking for five days solid before the incident.
We note the Levite is only called a Levite twice (Jud. 19:1; 20:4). He is repeatedly called "the man"; and we wonder whether he was a Levite. The "Levite" we met in Jud. 17,18 was in fact only a half Levite, being also from Judah. And he was descended from Moses, not Aaron, making him not a priestly Levite at all. We are surely invited to wonder whether this "Levite" was much of one at all.
"The woman who was murdered" is the Divine commentary. We are left to work out who murdered her, bearing in mind that the Hebrew for "murdered" usually refers to intentional, premeditated murder and not manslaughter (Ex. 20:13; Dt. 5:17). We noted on Jud. 19 how the same word is used for the Levite 'seizing' the concubine and forcing her out to the mob; and for how he 'seized' her and then used his knife to cut up her body. This is a strange word to use if in fact she was a dead body. In any case, he was surely her murdered as a sin of omission. For she came to the house he was staying at, knocking at the door, desperate for help. And he didn't open the door nor assist her.
Jdg 20:5 The men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house at
night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine and she is
dead-
Now he begins to twist his story. There is no record that the men of
Gibeah wanted to kill him. It was not all the men of Gibeah, but a group
of yobbos who were probably drunk, who had demanded gay sex with him. And
he doesn't volunteer the fact that he himself suggested they rape his
concubine, and he gave her to them with no attempt to defend her, but the
opposite. He carefully avoids saying that they murdered her, just that
"she is dead". For I suggested on Jud. 19:26,27 that she made her way back
to the door of the house, but he refused to open the door and help her. He
was in fact responsible for her death. Nor does he mention his crude
comment to her corpse in Jud. 19:28. He calls the mob
"the lords of Gibeah" (Heb.), when the record doesn't state this. He is
trying to elevate the incident to a higher level and thereby vilify the
whole town and its leaders. He leads the audience to believe that they
raped her unto death. He doesn't say "they killed her" but leaves that
implied. Notice all the personal pronouns in :4-6. It's all about him...
I, me, my. We note all Israel respond positively to the Levite's words,
and see nothing wrong in his dismembering his wife- they respond
positively to it. There is no outrage at his callousness, nor any probing
of his story. And that says a lot about them.
There was a requirement of two witnesses in the Mosaic law, especially for murder (Num. 35:30; Dt. 17:6, 19:15). This was because typically the accuser is a witness; but other witnesses are required rather than the word of one accuser. But the Levite alone testifies; the old host doesn't. The rape of his daughter isn't mentioned by the Levite, surely because he doesn't want to bring the old man as a witness. The law required that Israel's judges were to "make a thorough enquiry" (Dt. 17:4; 19:18) in such cases. They treat Gibeah as an idolatrous city (Dt. 13:13-18) but without the required careful investigation beforehand. And the rape of a woman by "some" of the men of the city isn't the same as a whole city turning to idolatry. There is no "thorough enquiry". The Levite's testimony is simply believed, even though we as readers know that he is being deceptive. Because what he says doesn't match fairly with what we know happened from Jud. 19. He speaks in the Hebrew of "the lords [Heb. baal] of Gibeah" when there is only mention of the "men" [Heb. ish] of Gibeah doing the crime in Jud. 19:5. He says that the men tried to kill him when in fact they wanted to rape him. He says they raped his concubine "and she is dead", using language in such a way as to lead the hearers to think they murdered her. But he is conflating murder with rape.
One simple take away from the Levite's recounting of events is that it's a human tendency to rewrite or re-state our narratives- to our own advantage. Omitting the real issues, focusing on a few facts, twisting and inventing a few things... until the narrative appears totally in our favour. And then to drag others into that narrative. Rather than humbly accepting that we are big time sinners who can be saved by grace. And another take away is to avoid the mentality of guilt by association. Most of Benjamin were destroyed because of the supposed sins of a minority. Saul of Gibeah of Benjamin later killed all the priests at Nob in a similar guilt by association killing (1 Sam. 22:19). We wonder whether he was subconsciously motivated in this by what Israel and the Levites had done to him and his town and tribe.
Jdg 20:6 I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout
all the country of the inheritance of Israel because they have committed
this disgraceful and abominable act in Israel-
"The inheritance of Israel" is a claim to great spiritual
discernment, claiming to rightly perceive that all the land was Israel's
inheritance, and implying a lament that they had not inherited all of
it.
"Disgraceful act" is AV "lewdness", and we note in Lev. 19:29 that one
cause of "lewdness" in the land would be prostituting a woman and causing
her to be a whore. But this is what the Levite had done by suggesting the
men sleep with her, and facilitating this. And finally all Judah were to
go into captivity for "lewdness" (s.w. Jer. 13:27; Ez. 16:27; 23:29,
especially the "lewdness" of the Levites, Hos 4:9). "Committed this...
abominable act in Israel" is a direct quotation from the sons of Jacob
wanting to destroy the entire town of Shechem for the apparent rape of
Dinah (Gen. 34:7). But Simeon and Levi, ancestor of this Levite, were
condemned for what they did to Shechem. Their response was considered by
God disproportionate. But the Levite quotes a Bible verse and precedent,
without attention to context- which would have revealed that in fact the
situation with the rape of Dinah was not a precedent for going in and
destroying the town where the rape had occurred. And finally all Israel
were to be condemned for having "Committed... abominable acts in
Israel" (s.w. Jer. 29:23). All the evidence therefore is that the course
of judgment and action they were to now undertake was wrong and
hypocritical.
Jdg 20:7 Now you Israelites, all of you, give your advice and counsel-
The fact they had gathered together in such numbers in response to
the body parts being sent is evidence that their presence itself showed
what they thought should be done. This request for advice was therefore a
mere formalism and not at all sincere.
Jdg 20:8 All the people arose as one man saying, None of us will go to his
tent, neither will any of us go home-
What we now read is a classic example of a groupthink overtaking an
assembly. They were themselves deeply apostate and astray from God, lost
in idolatry and apostacy. But the idea of punishing that which was
obviously wrong was very attractive to them, and they experienced great
unity amongst themselves in their desire to judge this matter harshly.
They entered into a feeding frenzy against Gibeah and the Benjamites.
The fact we are to leave judgment to God and believe that
"vengenace is [alone] Mine, I will repay", is in fact an intended brake
upon the human desire to judge and punish. But Israel ignore it here, as
God's people have done so often.
Jdg 20:9 This is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by
lot-
They seem confident they could destroy such a small town, which could
only muster seven hundred fighters [perhaps "hundred" is also a term for a
military subdivision]. Their over confidence was going to be judged by
God. For they are reasoning here like the Israelites did before they
attacked Ai and were defeated.
Jdg 20:10 and we will take ten men of every hundred throughout all the
tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand and a thousand out
of ten thousand, to get food for the army so that when they come to Gibeah
of Benjamin they can punish them for the disgusting thing they have done
in Israel-
They decide the judgment and even the exact method of it without any
request to God to guide them, and without hearing Gibeah's side. They
decided the testimony of the Levite was true, purely on his say so.
Jdg 20:11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united
as one man-
We think of the unity of Herod and Pilate when they had the common
cause of destroying the Lord Jesus, and the unity of otherwise disparate
forces and entities against the Lord Jesus in the latter day prophecies.
Jdg 20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin
saying, What is this disgusting crime that has been committed among you?-
They quote the words of the Levite in :6, calling it a
"disgusting crime". They don't enquire of God for wisdom as to how to
proceed, or how to establish the facts of the case. They uncritically
repeat his words and assume the crime has been committed, and judgment has been
passed and the men of Gibeah must be slain. They are not open to any
further discussion nor consideration of evidence. Not that any counter
evidence had even been presented. The alcoholic Levite had to be right,
because this was the path they wished to take.
Jdg 20:13 Now surrender the wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them
to death and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not listen
to
their brothers the Israelites-
The tragedy of this situation between "brothers" is emphasized by the
Divine record. The reasoning of the Israelites is that the men of Gibeah
were provenly wicked and must be put to death. A kidnapper also had to be
"put to death" (Ex. 21:16), and it could be argued that this is
effectively what the Levite had done to his concubine. Why Benjamin
refused to surrender the men of Gibeah is not recorded. But we imagine
they disagreed with the way the judgment had been arrived at, and more
than questioned the credibility of the sole witness, the Levite. That
mixed up man was to have a lot of blood on his hands as a result of his
hypocrisy, and desire to judge others for what in essence he himself was
guilty of. And we see such people in the body of believers today. The
punishment of being "put to death" was for murder (Lev. 24:17), and we see
from :4 that they were assuming that the men of Gibeah had murdered the
woman. But they hadn't. She walked back to the house, and died due to the
Levite's inattention; and quite possibly, the Levite murdered her. Homosexual sex was to result in being "put to death"
(Lev. 20:13). But whilst the men at Gibeah had wanted this, they didn't do
it.
The argument was that they had to put away evil from Israel. But Dt. 17:6,7 was clear that this should never be done on merely the testimony of one man. The Israelites were directly breaking this commandment, as the Levite was the only witness at Mizpah: "At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he who is to die be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he must not be put to death. The hand of the witnesses must be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from the midst of you". We can imagine Benjamin raising all these objections- and being ignored. They had surely heard from the authorities in Gibeah their side of the story, and yet saw that the other Israelites were not open to it at all. The Israelites however shrouded all this non-compliance with God's law beneath an appearance of doing what His law said. For "hand over..." is quoting from Dt. 19:12, where the murderer must be handed over to the elders for execution. The sad irony is that it can be argued that the men of Gibeah hadn't actually committed murder- that was done by the Levite, or so we are left to infer. But Dt. 19:12 speaks of the extradition of a murderer to the blood avenger by the elders. It's doubtful that any of those demanding the blood of the 'murderers' were 'avengers of blood'. And as discussed throughout Jud. 19, I suggest that it was the Levite not the rapists who committed the murder.
Jdg 20:14 The Benjamites gathered together out of their cities to Gibeah
to go out to fight against the Israelites-
Again we note that they "gathered together", matching the earlier
descriptions of them acting "as one man" in this matter. There was a
groupthink mentality, a feeding frenzy which led to an obsession to judge
and destroy, with no attention to facts nor to the Divine commands about
how decisions should be arrived at in such cases. And this kind of thing
goes on often enough within the body of believers today. Only
a deeply secure and personal relationship with God will save us from being
caught up in this kind of groupthink mentality.
Jdg 20:15 The Benjamites numbered twenty six thousand swordsmen out of the
cities, besides the seven hundred chosen men of Gibeah-
Gibeah must have been relatively small if they had only 700 fighters,
a small proportion of the Benjamites. Although we recall that terms like
"thousand" and "hundred" are often not literal, but refer to military
subdivisions. LXX gives 25,000, which would more or less fit with the
numbers in :44-46.
Jdg 20:16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who
were left-handed, each of whom could sling stones at a hair’s breadth and
not miss-
Left handed people were considered strange and often relegated to the periphery
of society in primitive societies; we see again how almost all the judges had
something which made them despised and rejected. And yet it was exactly that
group which God delighted to use to save His people (Jud. 3:15). We notice how
God used left handed people to give David victory (1 Chron. 12:2 "they
use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting
arrows from the bow. They were of Saul’s brothers of Benjamin"), and to
punish their hypocritical brethren (Jud. 20:16). He seems to rejoice in
using those whom man despises.
We can assume that Benjamin were noted by the other tribes for having this regiment of left handed men. We are here reading the perception of others; for it is somewhat hard to believe there was in fact a regiment of slingers who were all left handed. But Benjamin means 'son of the right hand', the firstborn- something Judah and the other tribes bitterly resented. It's as if they were known as 'left handers', famed for their left handed slinging regiment- as a dig against their role as being sons of the right hand. And this tension was behind the way the Israelites were eager for an excuse to wipe out the tribe of Benjamin. Left handedness is associated with sexual deviance, homosexuality and femininity in some African cultures, and it quite likely was in the time of Judges 20.
Jdg 20:17 The men of Israel apart from Benjamin were four hundred thousand
swordsmen, all warriors-
Again we note that terms like "thousand" and "hundred" are often not
literal, but refer to military subdivisions.
Jdg 20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked counsel of God. They
said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of
Benjamin? Yahweh said, Judah first-
This comes over as very hypocritical and inappropriate.
They had not
asked counsel of God about how to judge the matter. They had all eagerly
condemned Gibeah to destruction, without referring to God, and in studied
disobedience to His word (see on Jud. 20:13). Yet having made their own
judgment, they then made a great show of asking His advice as to which
tribe should lead the assault, or, should attack Gibeah first (Jud.
20:18). Yet God responded to their request. He said Judah should go first.
He wanted to use this incident to punish Israel, as well as Benjamin. And
as so often, His judgments are in terms of brethren destroying each other,
rather than Him doing it directly Himself. Jud. 21:15 notes that it was
Yahweh who made a breach in Israel over this matter. He worked through it
all. It was His way of judging His apostate, hypocritical people. Division
and conflict amongst God's children is therefore somehow of Him- but it is
His judgment upon the community.
We could possibly infer that "the Israelites" meant the entire army. Their army has mustered (:17), and all is ready for the advance against Gibeah. But apparently they all then march off to Beth-el, 10 miles away, to consult Yahweh. And yet they were at Mizpah where there was some presence of Yahweh (Jud. 20:1). Such a change of position at such a moment is almost incredible, until we realize the huge power of mere religion. People are desperate to do their religious thing and feel they have God's blessing, even when they are set on going against His will.
This verse forms an inclusio with the beginning of Judges in Jud. 1:1,2: "The children of Israel asked Yahweh, Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? Yahweh said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand". We observe from this connection how that instead of focusing upon their common enemies and striving together to inherit and possess the Kingdom of God, God's people were now focused upon in-fighting. And God confirms them in that. That is very much the story of His people in our times. And there are other connections between the beginning and end of Judges. Both mention how Jerusalem is still in the hands of the Jebusites (Jud. 1:21; 19:11,12). There has been no progress towards real possession of the Kingdom. Israel collectively weep (Jud. 2:1-5 cp. 20:23,26; 21:2-4). We also reflect how the Israelites' asking 'Who should go up first?' is an attempt to recall their earlier history. But it is just mechanical imitation with no spirit in it. God responds almost sarcastically by saying: 'Judah'. But Judah were thereby going to their destruction and not to victory.
God was clearly confirming Israel in their own self division. He says Judah should go first- into a battle that will decimate Judah. But why did God choose Judah to go first and suffer the most? I suggest there was always tension between Judah and Benjamin. Judah was the demoted firstborn, and "Benjamin" was the beloved son of Jacob, called "the son of my right hand" because firstborn blessings were given with the right hand [as when Jacob blesses the sons of Joseph]. Benjamin was the only son born after Jacob's name was changed to Israel, the only son not involved in the betrayal of Joseph and deception of Jacob. Jacob's life was bound up with the life of Benjamin. He was the favourite son after Joseph left home and disappeared at 17; he was the son of Rachel, the favourite wife, and she died to as it were bring him to birth. God was confirming them in their hatred of each other. For He confirms men in the bad path in which they want to go.
Jdg 20:19 The next morning the Israelites got up and encamped against
Gibeah-
Perhaps we are to understand that they ignored the command that Judah
should go up first (:18); for it seems they all went up.
The information we will now be given about the battle is one of the most
detailed battle reports in the Bible. Perhaps the idea is to highlight the
awful tragedy of brother fighting brother.
Jdg 20:20 The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took up
battle positions against them at Gibeah-
As in :19, it is stressed that the Israelites went to fight against
Benjamin, apparently ignoring the command that Judah should go up first
(:18); for it seems they all went up. And this is twice stressed (:19,20).
They were not really interested in following God's ways and word, as shown
by the way they had misjudged the entire situation; see on :13.
Jdg 20:21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and destroyed twenty-two
thousand Israelites on that day-
God had apparently sent the Israelites to their destruction by saying
that Judah should go up first (:18). He was confirming His people in their
misjudgments and lack of love toward each other; see on :18.
Jdg 20:22 The men of Israel encouraged one another and took up their
positions again in the place where they had stationed themselves on the
first day-
They make no new strategy. They encourage one another, as if they are
doing God's work, fighting for the right cause. It was all such a case of
misplaced ideals. They assumed their cause was just and
that they were doing the right thing. The only thing they asked God about
was which tribe should go up first. Assumptions that we are right are
especially common amongst those who claim to "have the truth".
Jdg 20:23 They went up and wept before Yahweh until evening, and they
asked Yahweh, Shall we go up to fight again against the Benjamites, our
brothers? Yahweh said, Go up against them-
The request was really its own answer. Should they fight against "our
brothers"? Obviously not. You do not fight and kill your brothers. The way
they express the request like this surely suggests they were nagged in
their conscience by the inappropriacy of fighting their brethren. See on
Jud. 21:3. Their weeping before Yahweh recalls Joshua's after the defeat
at Ai. They ought to have perceived the similarities; and realized that
the defeat was because Israel had sinned. They were at fault. But they
lacked the humility to realize this, and so Yahweh told them to go up
again- to their destruction. As explained on :18, this was all God's
judgment of His own people, but as often, He chose to work through people
destroying themselves, rather than His direct destruction of sinners.
We recall earlier in Judges how Israel had wept before Yahweh in
order that the Gentile tribes might be driven out of the land (Jud.
2:4,5). They are treating their Benjamite brethren like Gentiles. Yet they
weep before Yahweh to destroy them. Likewise it seems their total
destruction of Benjamin is done in order to fulfil the commands to totally
destroy the Gentile inhabitants of the land. This is what happens once we
fail to see our brethren as brethren- they then become as the Gentile
world to us. The definition of who is within the body of Christ therefore
becomes critical for us in our day. Again and again we see how mixed are
their motives, and how surface level was their devotion to Yahweh and true
spirituality.
Jdg 20:24 The Israelites went against the Benjamites the second day-
"Went against", AV "came near against", is not quite the phrase we
would expect to describe men going up against others in battle. It is the
term used about 'coming near' in [often illicit] sexual encounter (Gen.
20:4; Lev. 18:6,14,19; 20:16; Dt. 22:14; Prov. 5:8; Is. 8:3; Ez. 18:6).
The idea is that the Israelites were effectively raping the Benjamites,
doing to them what they had accused the Benjamites of doing to the
Levite's wife. See on :45.
Hosea twice claims that the "sin of Gibeah" was the sin of all Israel: "These men are steeped in corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins... Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel. There they stand. Shall not war overtake the guilty in Gibeah?" (Hos. 9:8,9; 10:9). Yet the sin of Gibeah historically was the sin of the men of Gibeah, defended from judgment by the tribe of Benjamin. But Hosea says that all Israel sinned as the men of Gibeah did. And that is what the Judges record brings out in Jud. 19-21. The tribes who judged Gibeah for their sin also suffered judgment- because in essence they were equally guilty.
Jdg 20:25 Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day, and
destroyed another eighteen thousand Israelite men, all armed with swords-
"The second day" doesn't have to mean the day after the battle on the
first day; for in the gap between, Israel had been to Bethel to get God's
advice. It is the second day of the battle recorded. The Israelites fought
so weakly because surely they had a deep sense that this was not a battle
they should be fighting- against their brethren. See on :23.
Jdg 20:26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel and wept
and sat there before Yahweh and fasted that day until evening. They
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Yahweh-
Peace offerings were offered in times of Israel's sadness and
defeat (Jud. 20:26; 21:4) as well as in times of exaltation of spirit and
joy. In our traumas of life, we need to remember
that the only thing that matters is our peace with God, the joyful fact
that we have nothing separating us. As Israel made their peace offerings
at those times, so we too should consider the possibility of breaking
bread, perhaps alone, as we meet the desperate traumas of our lives.
"A
Jdg 20:27 The Israelites asked Yahweh (for the ark of the covenant of
God was there in those days-
Again as in :26 it is stressed that they asked Yahweh for guidance-
when as a people they were generally very far from Him. Their desire for
guidance indicates the problem of bad conscience they had, as well as the
fact they had lost forty thousand in the previous two attempts to execute
the judgment they had decreed without asking His guidance. Clearly any
victory they may now win was going to pyrrhic [a victory at such cost it
is hardly a victory].
"Those days" could refer to the days of this conflict; the ark had been brought from Shiloh to Bethel in order to seek God's blessing upon their judgment of their brethren. This was proof enough that the mere external symbols of religion did not at all imply God's blessings upon them.
Jdg 20:28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron ministered
before it)-
Phinehas and the ark had come especially from Shiloh to Bethel for
this situation, and was then returned to Shiloh (Josh. 18:1; 22:12; Ps.
78:60). But the mere external symbols of religion did not at all
imply God's blessings upon them.
In this whole miserable episode of Jud. 19-21, Phinehas is the only person who is named. All other characters are anonymous. And we wonder whether that reflects how despite their surface level religiosity, they have no abiding place in God's purpose. Their religiosity left them as nobodies. Just as Benjamin very nearly lost his name.
Shall we yet again go out to fight against Benjamin our
brother, or not? Yahweh said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver him into
your hand-
See on Jud. 18:30. The sanctuary was presumably a day's journey away from
Gibeah. Israel become the more desperate for Yahweh's guidance as their
conscience niggled the more at them- for their request was really the
answer. Fighting against their brother was wrong. As discussed on :18,
this whole bloodbath was willed by God as a judgment upon all His people,
at their own hands.
Jdg 20:29 Israel set ambushes all around Gibeah-
The strategy for taking Gibeah is very similar to that for taking Ai,
and we wonder if the strategy was communicated to them by God in :28. They
were to perceive the similarities. They had likewise been over confident
of taking Gibeah, and they had so far failed because like Israel in the
first battle of Ai, they were being punished because of their sins.
This was mirroring how "some of the wicked men" of Gibeah had
surrounded the house of the old man in Jud. 19:22.
Jdg 20:30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and set
themselves in position against Gibeah as before-
"As before" invites us to imagine them clinging on in faith to God's
words of :28 that "tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand". Through
their unwisdom and wrong behaviour, they were being brought to faith in
God's word.
Jdg 20:31 The Benjamites went out against them and were drawn away from
the city. They began to fight the Israelites as before, on the highways on
the way to Bethel and Gibeah, and in the field, killing about thirty men
of Israel-
Josh. 8:13-16 describes the strategy to take Ai in just the same
terms. Clearly the same lesson was being taught- that victory was to only
be through turning their backs before their enemies, a sign they were
under Divine curse. Through realizing that, victory would be given.
There are so many deliberate connections with the battle against
Ai- which Israel had initially failed to take because one of them had
taken forbidden things from Jericho. There was an initial defeat; an
ambush set west of the city (:33,36, as "behind the city" of Ai,
Josh. 8:4). The attackers purposefully retreat so that the enemy think
that as previously, the attackers are fleeing (Josh. 8:6 "as before" cp.
Jud. 20:32,39). The men of Ai didn't realize an ambush had been set
(Josh. 8: 14) as with Gibeah (Jud. 20:35). The men waiting in ambush both
times rose up and charged quickly, setting the city on fire (Josh. 8:19
cp. Jud. 20:33,37). The soldiers of Ai and of Gibeah saw smoke rising from
their city (Josh. 8:20; Jud. 20:40). A surrounding "desert" is mentioned
both times (Josh. 8:24; Jud. 20:45). The men of Ai and
Gibeah were killed on the roads and in the desert (Josh. 8:24; Jud.
20:46-48). All in both cities were put to the sword (Josh. 8:26,27; Jud.
20:48). All these similarities are intentional. On a surface level, Israel
followed a Biblical precedent. But in fact they were treating their own
brethren as if they were Gentiles of Ai.
Jdg 20:32 The Benjamites said, We are defeating them as before. But the
Israelites said, Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the
highways-
Israel were punished for their over confidence, thinking it needed
only a part of their army to overcome Gibeah. And now the Benjamites are
punished for their self confidence. Reliance in the arm of flesh is so
displeasing to God.
Jdg 20:33 All the men of Israel arose up from their camp and set
themselves in position at Baal Tamar, and the ambush charged from Maareh
Geba-
We note the old paganic names were still used- another indication of
the overall apostacy of all Israel. The Israelite army was split into
three groups; the one at Baal-tamar, the one which formed the ambush
behind Gibeah, and then the third which first directly approached Gibeah.
This division into three companies echoes the strategy God used with
Gideon.
Jdg 20:34 Ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel attacked Gibeah and
the battle was severe, but the Benjamites didn’t know that disaster was
upon them-
The severity of the battle at this point implies that even more
Israelites died at this time. God was punishing His people, as He often
did the Gentiles, by turning their swords against themselves. And conflict
within the church is likewise His judgment.
Jdg 20:35 Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites
destroyed twenty five thousand one hundred armed Benjamites that day-
This describes the deaths on that day, not counting any previous
deaths in the other battles on the other days. We note that Yahweh gave
the victory; as discussed on :18 this was all of Him, He gave victories to
both sides, He was the one who made the gap in Israel (Jud. 21:15),
because this was His way of punishing His sinful people; see on :34.
Jdg 20:36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were defeated, for the men of
Israel had given way to Benjamin, trusting in the ambush which they had
set against Gibeah-
We would rather read that they had trusted in Yahweh, but it seems
they trusted more in their battle strategy.
Jdg 20:37 The men in the ambush rushed into Gibeah, spread out and put all
the city to the sword-
The battle strategy of Abimelech, setting an ambush (Jud. 9:32),
rising early and rushing upon the city of his one time brethren (Jud.
9:33), was replicated by the Israelites in Jud. 20:37. The same Hebrew
words are used. But it was a case of copying an example just because it
was recorded in Divine history, following precedents which were in fact
not at all good. Hollow imitation of the behaviour of others is an abiding
temptation for us today.
Jdg 20:38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the
ambush was that they should send up a great cloud of smoke out of the
city-
This matches the signal of the sun glinting from Joshua's spear in
the capture of Ai, and likewise the smoke signal from within the city. The
similarities are so exact, because the point was that like Israel in the
first battle of Ai, the 11 tribes had sinned and were being punished for
it.
Jdg 20:39 Then the men of Israel would turn in the battle. Benjamin began
to attack and killed about thirty of the men of Israel, for they said,
Surely they are being defeated as before-
The whole account of the taking of Gibeah is repeated twice over,
because we are really being urged to see the similarities with Ai; and
take the implication that the Israelites had sinned as Israel had at that
time and were being punished for it. It was they and not just the
Benjamites who needed to eradicate evil from amongst them.
Jdg 20:40 But when the smoke began to go up out of the city, the
Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke-
Exactly as in the capture of Ai (Josh. 8:20); see on :39.
"The whole of the city" [also :48] is their allusion to Dt. 13:16 "And you
shall burn the [whole] city with fire as a whole offering unto Yahweh".
See on :48. They were again doing the wrong thing but liking to cover it
with a veneer of spirituality. Anger, fear and partaking in a feeding
frenzy of hatred and judgment cannot be done sincerely in the name of some
vague Biblical allusion.
Jdg 20:41 Then the men of Israel turned on them and the men of Benjamin
were terrified, seeing that disaster had come on them-
This is the fear of men facing condemnation. Why were they condemned?
Not because of the reason that the other Israelites had given for their
condemnation. For this was in any case a too heavy judgment for refusing
to cooperate with the kangaroo court called by the Israelites. We recall
how the Levite perhaps rightly claimed that he was given no hospitality
because he was perceived as serving in the sanctuary at Bethel (Jud.
19:18). Maybe indeed the Benjamites despised the sanctuary of Yahweh, and
the Levites; and this was the real reason why Yahweh allowed their
destruction at the hands of the brethren.
"Disaster" is literally "evil"; the word used of the evil done
to the concubine at Gibeah (Jud. 19:23; 20:12,13). It seems obvious that
they realized evil was upon them in the sense of military defeat; and we
wonder why this is mentioned. Therefore it makes more sense to understand
this as meaning that they realized that the evil done to the concubine was
now coming upon them. This implies they had previously refused to repent
nor to recognize that "evil" had been done. They supported the xenophobic
rape of foreigners because they had some deep seated hatred of the other
tribes and perhaps Levi specifically.
Jdg 20:42 So they fled before the men of Israel towards the wilderness,
but they could not escape the battle, and the Israelites who came out of
the cities destroyed them there-
There was a widespread hatred of the Benjamites amongst the general
population.
Jdg 20:43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them and ran them down as
far as Gibeah toward the east-
This appears to be another Gibeah which was on the way towards the
rock of Rimmon where they were aiming for (:45).
Jdg 20:44 Eighteen thousand valiant men of Benjamin fell-
See on :46. Albert Barnes in his commentary discerns here and in the
surrounding verses a poetical form of language, as if this was a victory
song later sung. To gloat over such a massacre was wrong, and soon the
Israelites were going to be repenting for it. Such gloating at the time
reflects again an unspirituality in Israel; for God Himself doesn't
rejoice over the death of the wicked.
Jdg 20:45 They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of
Rimmon, and the Israelites killed five thousand of them along the way and
chased them to Gidom, killing two thousand more-
AV "they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men". But
"glean" is s.w. abused, mocked, defiled. We are again given the impression
that they treated Israel just as the men of Gibeah had treated the
Levite's concubine. They were no better. See on :24.
Jdg 20:46 So that day twenty-five thousand valiant fighters of Benjamin
were killed-
A "thousand" often refers to a military unit or subdivision, rather
than literal 1,000. See on :47. 18,000 fell in :44, and then another
7,000 in :45, and 600 escaped (:47). The LXX gives different figures, but
if we take those figures as they are, we conclude that the victories they
won on the first and second days were achieved without loss. This meant
that the men of Israel were slain very easily- they fought weakly because
their conscience told them they were fighting for a wrong cause. The
Benjamite victories were therefore clearly of God, as was their defeat in
the third battle (:35) - all part of His way of judging His totally sinful
people at the point of each others' swords.
Jdg 20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the
rock of Rimmon, and stayed there four months-
A group of "six hundred men" is found so often in the records that we
suspect that it may not be literal, but rather refer to a military unit or
subdivision (Jud. 3:31; 18:11; 20:47; 1 Sam. 13:15; 14:2; 23:13;
27:2;30:9; 2 Sam. 15:18).
Jdg 20:48 The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put to the sword
everything in the towns, including the livestock, and anything they found.
All the towns which they found they set on fire-
This is exactly the language used of the destruction of Canaanite cities
by Joshua. We note they didn't take the animals for themselves. All was as
it were sacrificed to Yahweh. They were treating their brethren like
Canaanites. And yet we note that the tribes of Israel had at this point
not to zealously driven out the Canaanites and possessed their land. Their
apparent zeal to obey Yahweh's commands about the Canaanites was
misplaced, a twisting of His word to justify their own bloodlust and self
justification. Truly we are to take the lesson that in conflict between
brethren, there are never victors, only losers. Hosea
twice (Hos. 9:9; 10:9) warns that all Israel will be punished "as in the
day of Gibeah". His point surely is that all Israel sinned in essence as
did Benjamin. They were no better. And continued to be no better. Even at
the time, the losses on both sides [Israel and Benjamin] were so great
that the lesson was even then taught- they were all as bad as each other.
The body of Israel was divided and thereby destroyed or seriously damaged,
just as was Benjamin.
"All the towns" and the language of complete destruction is
allusion to how they saw them as 'devoted' to Yahweh; see on :40. They
have in mind Dt. 2:34; 3:6, of devoting a city or people to destruction.
The Israelites were determined to make the tribe of Benjamin a herem
or total devotion to Yahweh, the equivalent of a whole burnt offering to
Yahweh. The Levite likewise cut his wife up into parts as if she was a
whole burnt offering. But they are confusing their own blood lust and
hatred of their brethren with zeal for God. As happens so often.
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