Civil War Breaks Out
20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the Lord at Mizpah.
All of Israel, except for the Benjaminites, joined together to fight against the city of Gibeah. The Hebrew word for “together” is אֶחָ֗ד (echad), meaning a composite one. This is the same Hebrew word used in the Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4, where it states that Jehovah is an אֶחָ֗ד (echad) God, or one composite God. The rabbis teach that אֶחָ֗ד (echad) means one-and-only-one, so that they can eliminate the trinity in their Shema. This is rabbinic bias. Man and woman became אֶחָ֗ד (echad) flesh. The twelve spies found an אֶחָ֗ד (echad), or a cluster of grapes at Eschal. Jehovah is one אֶחָ֗ד (echad) God. The rabbis use dishonest exegesis in order to avoid the teaching of God existing as a tri-unity.
20:2 The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.
Chapters 18-21 are appendixes to the Book of Judges. This battle took place earlier in Israelite history. Notice that this nameless Levite was able to accomplish what Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah could never accomplish. This Levite brought eleven tribes of Israel to fight under one banner. Since this was the total army, it shows that the population of Israel had decreased by one-third. During the Exodus and the Joshua Conquest, the army census numbered at about 600,000.
20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!”
The other Benjaminite cities sided with Gibeah.
20:4 The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night.
The Levite told his side of the story. He and his concubine spent the night in Gibeah.
20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.
The Benjaminite citizens of Gibeah attempted to homosexual gang rape the Levite. Instead, they settled for gang rape and murder of he Levite’s concubine.
20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel.
The Levite carved her body parts and sent them to the twelve tribes of Israel.
20:7 All you Israelites, make a decision here!”
The nation as a whole needed to make a decision about Gibeah.
20:8 All Israel rose up in unison and said, “Not one of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!
Israel arose up in unity against Gibeah.
20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates.
The eleven tribes will attack the city of Gibeah.
20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.”
One tenth of the army will be chosen by lot so that they could supply food for the rest of the army.
20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies.
Israel gathered as one against Gibeah.
20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place?
Israel gave the Benjaminites the opportunity to avoid war.
20:13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers.
Adultery, homosexuality, and murder were capital offenses of the Mosaic Law. In order to avoid war, Israel asked the Benjaminites to turn the rape gang over for execution.
20:14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah to make war against the Israelites.
The Benjaminites refused this request. All of the Benjaminites assembled at Gibeah to defend the city.
20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah.
The Benjaminite army of 26,700 men was defending the city from 400,000 Israelites.
20:16 Among this army were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target.
The sling was a deadly weapon used by the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. Skilled soldiers could sling a stone at 90 mph with deadly accuracy.
20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.
The men of Israel possessed a 20:1 ratio soldier advantage.
20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God, “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” The Lord said, “Judah should lead.”
The Levites most likely asked this question at Bethel through the Urim and Thummin. Judah was commanded to take the lead.
20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved against Gibeah.
Verses 19-21 gave the details of the first battle. Israel began with a siege.
20:20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they arranged their battle lines against Gibeah.
The attack began.
20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day.
The Benjaminites routed the Israelites in the first battle, killing 22,000.
20:22 The Israelite army took heart and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.
The Israelite army was not ready to give up. They established their battle lines in the same location and in the same position.
20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we again march out to fight the Benjaminites, our brothers?” The Lord said, “Attack them!”
They went back to Bethel, wept before Jehovah, and asked him again if they should attack. Jehovah ordered the attack.
20:24 So the Israelites marched toward the Benjaminites the next day.
Israel began their second attack.
20:25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers.
The Benjaminites routed the Israelites once again, killing 18,000 of them. 40,000 Israelites were killed in two days.
20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord.
The Israelites changed their approach to God. The entire army went to Bethel, weeping and fasting before Jehovah. They offered up burnt sacrifices to Jehovah. They were no longer willing to trust in their numbers.
20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days;
Either the ark of the covenant was moved to Bethel, or this meeting took place at the Tabernacle in Shiloh.
20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord in those days), “Should we once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, or should we quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
Since Phinehas was still alive, this shows that this Civil War took place early in the chronology of Judges' history. It also took place chronologically earlier than the appendix event in chapter 18. Israel was promised victory during their third attack.
20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah.
Verses 29-36 recorded the general account of the battle. Verses 36-46 gave the details of the battle. Israel used the same military strategy that Joshua used at Ai. Soldiers hid outside of Gibeah.
20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.
Israel attacked the Benjaminites in the same manner as the last two days.
20:31 The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites.
The Benjaminites believed that they were about to win their third consecutive battle.
20:32 Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat and lure them away from the city into the main roads.”
Israel was leading the Benjaminite army into a trap away from the city and away from the main roads.
20:33 All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah.
There were no trees west of Gibeah.
20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep.
The Benjaminites did not realize that they were surrounded with no escape route. There were no trees to hide behind.
20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites.
All but 600 Benjaminite soldiers were killed. The Tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out in one day.
20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.
Verses 29-36 recorded the general account of the battle. Verses 36-46 gave the details of the battle. The Benjaminites realized that they were about to be exterminated.
20:37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city.
Verse 37 gave the details of the slaughter. Every man, woman, and child in the city of Gibeah was killed.
20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush sent up a smoke signal from the city,
A smoke signal was sent above the city.
20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”
The Benjaminites counter-attacked and killed 30 Israelites in the streets. They thought they were about to win the battle.
20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky.
The Benjaminites turned around and saw their city burning to the ground.
20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep.
The fleeing Israelites turned around to face the Benjaminites. The Benjaminites were trapped in the middle of two armies.
20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down.
The Benjaminites retreated down the road to the wilderness. However, the Israelite soldiers were waiting for them at the other cities. The Israelite soldiers overtook the Benjaminites and struck them down.
20:43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba.
The Benjaminites ran to another city called Geba, but they were exterminated.
20:44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead.
At this point, 18,000 Benjaminite soldiers were killed.
20:45 The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.
Seven thousand Benjaminites were killed in mop-up action.
20:46 That day twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors.
Skeptics like to count this verse as a bible error. Judges 20:15 recorded that there were 26,000 men of Benjamin that “drew the sword.” Since 25,000 fell dead on “that day,” evidently a thousand had already been slain during the previous days of fighting. The Bible does use round numbers and estimates, like other accounts of history and literature. The number 25,000 seems to be a round number of the more accurate count (25,100) that was mentioned in Judges 20:35.
20:47 Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months.
Six hundred Benjaminites escaped to the cliff of Rimmon. They were trapped in this area for four months.
20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path.
It is important to note that the חֵ֫רֶם (cherem) curse was supposed to be applied only to the Canaanites, but Israel enforced the חֵ֫רֶם (cherem) curse upon their own people. If God would not have intervened, then the tribe of Benjamin would have been exterminated.