Judges 20:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword.

NIV: The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords.

NASB: And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

CSB: The leaders of all the people and of all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: four hundred thousand armed foot soldiers.

NLT: The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel — 400,000 warriors armed with swords — took their positions in the assembly of the people of God.

KJV: And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

NKJV: And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

Israel's response to the gruesome packages sent by the Levite (Judges 19:29–30) must have been greater than he imagined. The Levite cut the body of his murdered concubine into twelve pieces, sending them throughout Israel. This was almost certainly accompanied by an account of her rape and murder at the hands of the men of Gibeah (Judges 19:22–28).

Leaders of the other eleven tribes of Israel are shocked and outraged at the evil perpetrated by these men of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19:14). Clearly, events had been discussed enough that Israel's response was already decided. What's described here is not merely a meeting, it is a mustering of troops in massive numbers.

The total number of troops is subject to debate among scholars. The Hebrew term 'eleph can mean "thousands," but it is also used for "clans" and "divisions" (Judges 6:15). For context, a force of 400,000 would have exceeded the size of the greatest armies of ancient history. This figure does not include the 26 'eleph which Benjamin will rally as an opposing force. Scripture notes explicitly that Israel was never expected to take Canaan through overwhelming numbers (Deuteronomy 7:1). All the same, the exact number is not especially important to the story. What's clear is that every tribe—other than Benjamin (Judges 20:3)—is prepared for a fight.

The encouraging aspect of this passage is the rare moment of unity. At least for now, Israel sees themselves as a single nation belonging to the Lord and are willing to follow His direction.

Judges 20:1–17 depicts Israel's response to an atrocity in Gibeah, a town of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19:22, 25). The people agree to punish Gibeah, saying their intent is to purge evil from Israel. When the Benjaminites refuse to hand over the guilty men, the other eleven tribes prepare a large army to invade. Benjamin rallies their own troops and prepares to defend the city of Gibeah.

A massive army collected from eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel gather near the town of Gibeah. Their goal is to purge evil from the land (Judges 19:22–28). The tribe of Benjamin refuses to cooperate. Instead, they assemble an army about one-fifteenth the size of Israel's army. After two failed attempts and a promise of victory from the Lord, Israel uses a false retreat and ambush strategy to destroy Gibeah. This results in the loss of Benjamin's entire army. Israel's wrath spills over onto the territory, itself. All the people, animals, and towns in the tribe's territory are attacked, and it appears that only 600 Benjaminite men survive.

In the prior chapter, Benjaminite men of the town of Gibeah committed an act of heinous sin (Judges 19:22–25). In response, the murdered woman's husband rallies Israel with a gruesome message (Judges 19:29–30). Chapter 20 depicts how the tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over the guilty men. Civil war ensues, resulting in near-total annihilation of their tribe. This creates a new crisis in Israel, as described in chapter 21; Israel doesn't want Benjamin to become extinct.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).