But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah ,.... Where the fact was done; what follows was proposed by some, and unanimously agreed to by all: we will go up by lot against it ; cast lots who shall go up to it and demand satisfaction for the offence committed; and if denied, to act in an hostile manner against it. read more
And we will take ten men of an hundred, throughout all the tribes of Israel ,.... Excepting that of Benjamin which was not with them, not any of them: and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand ; in all 40,000, out of the 400,000: to fetch victual for the people ; ten men were to provide food for ninety, and one hundred men for nine hundred, and 1000 men for 9000, in all 40,000, for 360,000; these were either to go to their own tribes and habitations, or to... read more
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city ,.... Of Gibeah, even 360,000 men: knit together as one man ; went heart and hand together, united in their sentiments and resolutions, determining to have justice done, or lose their lives in this cause: according to the Jews F5 Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2. , this was on the twenty third of Shebet, which answers to part of January and part of February, on which day a fast was kept on this account. read more
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of Benjamin ,.... Meaning the families of Benjamin; for as sometimes a tribe is called a family, Joshua 7:17 so a family is called a tribe; and there were ten families in the tribe of Benjamin, according to the number of his sons, the fathers of these families. Genesis 46:21 , which being numerous and powerful, and consisting of men of courage, and expert in war, thought themselves a match for the ten tribes of Israel now... read more
Now, therefore, deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah ,.... Those wicked men that were the authors of that abominable wickedness there committed: that we may put them to death ; as they deserved, since they were guilty both of adultery and murder; their meaning is, that they in conjunction with the tribe of Benjamin might condemn them to death and punish them with it, as their crime deserved: and put away evil from Israel ; prevent both the spread of such a... read more
But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah ,.... To protect and defend it against the other tribes, being a city of theirs and where the persons charged with the crime lived; these got together thither out of the several cities of the tribe of Benjamin, as many as could bear arms: to go out to battle against the children of Israel ; they neither denied the fact, nor attempted to palliate and excuse it, nor sought for peace but at once betook... read more
And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities ,.... All that they could muster up, and gather together out of their several cities, were no more man than twenty and six thousand men that drew the sword able bodied men fit for war, and expert in it: beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men young, stout, and strong, and in all but 26,700; and what are these to an army of 400,000 men, or however 360,000 that came up... read more
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded ,.... According to Ben Gersom, these were the seven hundred men of Gibeah; but this does not appear from the text, but, on the contrary, that these were among all the people; or there were so many to be selected out of them all, who were lefthanded men; nor is it likely that all the inhabitants of one place should be such. Benjamin signifies a son of the right hand, yet this tribe had a great number of lefthanded men in it,... read more
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin ,.... Who did not join them in this affair, but opposed them: were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword : see Judges 20:9 . all these were men of war ; inured to it, skilful and courageous. read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 20:8
And all the people arose as one man ,.... Either the heads of the people assembled in council, all agreed unanimously in one vote or resolution, or all the 400,000 men were of the same mind, when the case was reported to them: saying, we will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house ; that is, they would not return home, to take one nights rest in their houses, or attend to the business of their callings or to any affair of life, however urgent, till... read more