Judges 20

This chapter belongs to the closing section of Judges (chapters 17–21). In Judges 19, the men of Gibeah abused a Levite's concubine until she died. This chapter describes how that crime led the tribes of Israel to make war on the tribe of Benjamin.

Outline

• Verses 1–7: All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, gathers at Mizpah, with 400,000 foot soldiers who draw the sword. The Levite testifies to what happened at Gibeah.
• Verses 8–11: The people resolve to go up against Gibeah by lot, appointing ten men out of every hundred to supply provisions.
• Verses 12–17: Israel demands that Benjamin hand over the wicked men of Gibeah (KJV "children of Belial"), but Benjamin refuses. Benjamin musters 26,000 men, along with 700 left-handed slingers from Gibeah.
• Verses 18–21: At Bethel, Israel inquires of God and receives the answer, "Judah shall go up first." Yet on the first day 22,000 Israelites are killed.
• Verses 22–25: Israel weeps, inquires again, and goes out, but on the second day 18,000 are killed.
• Verses 26–28: At Bethel the people fast and offer burnt offerings and peace offerings. Through Phinehas, who ministered before the ark of the covenant, they receive a promise of victory.
• Verses 29–41: On the third day Israel feigns a retreat and draws Benjamin away from the city. Meanwhile an ambush strikes Gibeah and sends up a column of smoke, and Israel turns back to fight. Verse 35 records 25,100 Benjamites killed.
• Verses 42–46: Israel pursues the Benjamites as they flee toward the wilderness, killing 18,000, then 5,000 more on the road to the rock of Rimmon and another 2,000 at Gidom. Verse 46 gives the total as 25,000.
• Verses 47–48: Only 600 Benjamites escape to the rock of Rimmon, where they remain for four months. Israel strikes the towns and livestock of Benjamin and sets them on fire.

Key Verses

• Judges 20:1: All Israel gathered at Mizpah "from Dan even to Beersheba." The phrase shows the whole nation acting as one body.
• Judges 20:16: The 700 were "chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss." This explains why Benjamin's army was formidable despite its smaller numbers.
• Judges 20:28: "For to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand." This is the turning point, the first promise of victory after two defeats.

People and Places

• The Levite: The husband of the murdered concubine. He testifies about the crime before the assembly of Israel.
• Phinehas: The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar. He ministers before the ark of the covenant.
• The tribe of Benjamin: Refuses to hand over the criminals of Gibeah, goes to war, and is nearly annihilated.
• The tribe of Judah: Goes up to battle first, as God directed.
• Mizpah: The place where the assembly of Israel gathers.
• Gibeah: A town in the territory of Benjamin, where the crime took place and the battles were fought.
• Bethel: The place where Israel inquired of God and offered sacrifices.
• Beersheba: In the phrase "from Dan even to Beersheba," it marks the southern limit of Israel.
• Baal-tamar, the rock of Rimmon, Gidom: Places associated with the third day's battle and the pursuit.

Points for Reflection

• The two defeats: The text does not explain why Israel was defeated twice even though God had said, "Go up." Interpretations differ. Some read the defeats as God dealing with Israel's own sin and pride; others see them as part of a process of repentance leading to fasting and sacrifice (v. 26); still others take them to show that victory does not depend on numbers.
• Dating: Because Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, is still alive, many scholars hold that these events took place early in the period of the judges. For this reason some interpreters read chapters 17–21 as an appendix rather than as part of a chronological sequence.
• Differing numbers: The figures of 25,100 in verse 35 and 25,000 in verse 46 are commonly explained as the use of a round number.
• Left-handedness: The name Benjamin means "son of the right hand." A left-handed warrior from this tribe also appears in the account of Ehud (Judges 3:15).
• Connections within Scripture: Hosea 9:9 and 10:9 use "the days of Gibeah" to refer to Israel's deep corruption. From the tribe of Benjamin, which was nearly wiped out, came Israel's first king, Saul, and in the New Testament Paul identifies himself as a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). The story of how the 600 survivors are restored continues in Judges 21.