Judges 20:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 20:1-11

Here is, I. A general meeting of all the congregation of Israel to examine the matter concerning the Levite's concubine, and to consider what was to be done upon it, Jdg. 20:1, 2. It does not appear that they were summoned by the authority of any one common head, but they came together by the consent and agreement, as it were, of one common heart, fired with a holy zeal for the honour of God and Israel. 1. The place of their meeting was Mizpeh; they gathered together unto the Lord there, for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 20:1

Then all the children of Israel went out ,.... Of their tribes, cities, habitations, not every individual of them, but some of the chief of them, with a select company with them: and the congregation was gathered together as one man ; with as much unanimity and ease met together in one place, at the same time, as if only one man had been pitched upon and deputed for that purpose: from Dan even to Beersheba , from the city Dan, lately built, which was in the most northern parts of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 20:1

Unto the Lord in Mizpeh - This city was situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin, and is sometimes attributed to the one, sometimes to the other. It seems that there was a place here in which the Lord was consulted, as well as at Shiloh; in 1 Maccabees 3:46, we read, In Maspha was the place where they prayed aforetime in Israel. These two passages cast light on each other. Some think that Shiloh is meant, because the ark was there; but the phrase before the Lord may signify no... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 20:1

The “congregation” is the technical term for the whole community of the Israelite people. Its occurrence here is an indication of the early date of these transactions.From Dan to Beer-sheba - We cannot safely infer from this expression that the settlement of Dan, recorded in Judges 18:0 had taken place at this time. It only proves that in the writer’s time, from Dan to Beer-sheba was a proverbial expression for all Israel (compare the marginal reference).With the land of Gilead - Meaning all... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 20:1

Judges 20:1. All the children of Israel went out Namely, the principal persons out of their respective cities, who were appointed to represent the rest. As one man That is, with one consent. Dan, &c. Dan was the northern border of the land, near Lebanon; and Beer-sheba the southern border. Gilead Beyond Jordan, where Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were. To the Lord As to the Lord’s tribunal; for God was not only present in the place where the ark and tabernacle were, but also ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 20:1-48

The war with Benjamin (19:1-21:25)A Levite whose concubine had run away from him came to Judah looking for her. When they were reunited, her father was so pleased he did not want them to leave. They therefore stayed with him a few days, then set out to return to the Levite’s home in Ephraim (19:1-9).The route back to Ephraim took the couple through the tribal territory of Benjamin. Looking for somewhere to sleep the night, they preferred not to stay in Jerusalem, which was inhabited by... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Judges 20:1

Then. These chapters (20, 21), hy Figure of speech Hysterologia , describe events which took place soon after Joshua's death. See notes on Judges 18:1 with Judges 19:1 . children = sons. as one man. All this excitement, unanimity, and bloodshed about an injury done to a woman; no sense of the evil of idolatry and sin against God, recorded in Judges 19:0 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Judges 20:1

THE CIVIL WAR; THE DESTRUCTION OF GIBEAH AND THE NEAR-EXTERMINATION OF THE ENTIRE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN;THE GRAND ASSEMBLY OF ALL ISRAEL (Judges 20:1-3)"Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah. And the chiefs 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. Now the... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Judges 20:1

CHAP. XX. The eleven tribes demand from the Benjamites, that the authors of the cruelty against the Levite's concubine be delivered up: they are conquered in two battles, but in a third overcome the Benjamites, of whom five and twenty thousand fall that day: six hundred of them fly to the rock Rimmon, and abide there four months. Before Christ 1426. Judges 20:1. In Mizpeh— Mizpeh was very conveniently situated for a meeting of all the people, as it stood on the confines of Judah and Benjamin,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 20:1

1, 2. all . . . the congregation was gathered as one man—In consequence of the immense sensation the horrid tragedy of Gibeah had produced, a national assembly was convened, at which "the chief of all the people" from all parts of the land, including the eastern tribes, appeared as delegates. Mizpeh—the place of convention (for there were other Mizpehs), was in a town situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:38; Joshua 18:26). Assemblies were frequently held there afterwards (1... read more

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