Judges 20:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the people of Benjamin said, "They are routed before us, as at the first." But the people of Israel said, "Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways."

NIV: While the Benjamites were saying, "We are defeating them as before," the Israelites were saying, "Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads."

NASB: And the sons of Benjamin said, 'They are defeated before us, like the first time.' But the sons of Israel said, 'Let’s flee, so that we may draw them away from the city to the roads.'

CSB: The Benjaminites said, "We are defeating them as before." But the Israelites said, "Let’s flee and draw them away from the city to the highways."

NLT: Then the warriors of Benjamin shouted, 'We’re defeating them as we did before!' But the Israelites had planned in advance to run away so that the men of Benjamin would chase them along the roads and be drawn away from the town.

KJV: And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.

NKJV: And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.”

Israel's new strategy is working perfectly. They begin this third battle (Judges 20:19–28) by attacking Gibeah in the same manner as before. The fierce warriors of Gibeah again come out from the city and seem to easily defeat the Israelites, also as before. This time, the Israelite soldiers begin to fall back, giving ground to the tribe of Benjamin. The fighters of Benjamin begin to chase them down, killing about thirty Israelite fighters as they are drawn farther from the safety of their city (Judges 20:29–31).

This verse reveals the perspectives of either side. Benjamin's army is convinced they are routing Israel's forces for a third time. Israel's leaders are directing their troops to run away, drawing them into a trap. The strategic retreat invites the bulk of Benjamin's soldiers to chase them up the road that leads to Bethel. Benjamin's army does exactly that, allowing Israel's plan to continue (Judges 20:33).

Judges 20:18–34 describes three battles between eleven tribes of Israel and the twelfth, Benjamin. Benjamin's forces are outnumbered about fifteen-to-one as they defend the city of Gibeah (Judges 19:14, 22; 20:13). The first two attacks fail, with almost a tenth of the Israelite fighters killed. After a day of fasting and sacrifices, God promises Israel victory. Israel's army uses a new strategy and succeeds. The following section begins with a summary of their eventual victory (Judges 20:35).

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).