Judges 20:36 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

NIV: Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.

NASB: So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah,

CSB: Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated. The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah.

NLT: Then the men of Benjamin saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had retreated from Benjamin’s warriors in order to give those hiding in ambush more room to maneuver against Gibeah.

KJV: So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.

NKJV: So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

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.

Judges 20:35–48 starts with a summary of the final conflict between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel. This is followed by details about how that result was obtained. The prior passage explained the other eleven tribes preparing for war, struggling, then eventually finding a winning strategy. Benjamin's armies are almost completely wiped out. Israel rages through the territory, destroying everything and everyone they encounter. Only 600 men remain alive out of the entire tribe.

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).