Judges 20:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men.

NIV: At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah.

NASB: From the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were counted, twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were counted, seven hundred choice men.

CSB: On that day the Benjaminites mobilized twenty-six thousand armed men from their cities, besides seven hundred fit young men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah.

NLT: In all, 26,000 of their warriors armed with swords arrived in Gibeah to join the 700 elite troops who lived there.

KJV: And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

NKJV: And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men.

The people of the tribe of Benjamin are demonstrating a startling, likely misplaced unity with the rapists and murderers of the city of Gibeah (Judges 19:14). The other eleven tribes have responded to a heinous atrocity (Judges 19:22–27) by massing troops nearby. Before attacking, the tribes call on Benjamin to join with them in punishing the evildoers (Judges 20:12). Gibeah, it seems, has prepared their own militia to resist any raids. Those forces number a few hundred, which is nothing compared to the massive force waiting in Mizpah (Judges 20:1–2).

Rather than sending their soldiers into Gibeah, identifying those responsible for raping and murdering a concubine, and turning them over to be executed, the people of Benjamin bolster the militia and prepare for war. Even if the tribe of Benjamin agreed that the criminals needed to be held responsible, they seem completely opposed to the other tribes being involved.

The quantity of troops pulled together is 26 'eleph, a Hebrew term that can mean "thousand" or "clan" or "division" (Judges 6:15). The other eleven tribes have compiled 400 'eleph of men. Regardless of the exact number of people involved, the Benjaminites are drastically outnumbered.

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).