What does Judges 20:36 mean?
The first line of this verse concludes the previous thought (Judges 20:35). Because of Israel's strategic battle plan (Judges 20:29–32), the fierce warriors of the tribe of Benjamin did not realize they were about to be defeated until it was too late. By the time their city of Gibeah was lost, as described in the following verses, all they could do was run for their lives.The second half of this verse begins by describing the events of the battle, specifically from the perspective of Israel's army. The main force of the army appeared to retreat from the battle with Benjamin, giving ground to lure the bulk of Benjamin's army from Gibeah and surrounding cities. The Israelites trusted that the other two groups of their army would fulfill their missions once Benjamin's army was lured too far away to stop them. If each group of Israel's army did its part, Gibeah and the Benjaminite army would finally be defeated.