Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Judges 20:46
ESV So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor.
NIV On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.
NASB So all those of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were valiant men.
CSB All the Benjaminites who died that day were twenty-five thousand armed men; all were warriors.
NLT So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost 25,000 strong warriors armed with swords,
KJV So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
NKJV So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

What does Judges 20:46 mean?

The Israelite army lost about ten percent of their forces in their first two attacks on the army of Benjamin in and around the city of Gibeah (Judges 20:17, 21, 25). That loss felt even more humiliating because the total number of Benjaminite troops was less than the number of Israeli men killed (Judges 20:15). On the third day, the situation reversed, and God gave Israel victory during a brutal, bloody day.

God intends to use the other eleven tribes—all except Benjamin—to judge sinful abominations against the innocent and against Him (Judges 19:22–28; 20:12–13). On the field of battle, all who are caught are killed. For Benjamin, the number of the dead includes most of the men of fighting age from their already-small tribe. This is a catastrophic disaster for them and their people.

This verse again refers to these fallen warriors as "men of valor." They were not directly associated with the crimes of the men of Gibeah. The valor referred to is about their fighting spirit, ferocity, bravery, and skill as warriors. Nobody is said to celebrate their deaths.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit