Judges 20:1-11

Judges 20:1-11

[1] Then all the children  of Israel  went out,  and the congregation  was gathered together  as one  man,  from Dan  even to Beersheba,  with the land  of Gilead,  unto the LORD  in Mizpeh.  [2] And the chief  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.  [3] (Now the children  of Benjamin  heard  that the children  of Israel  were gone up  to Mizpeh.)  Then said  the children  of Israel,  Tell  us, how was  this wickedness?  [4] And the Levite,  the husband  of the woman  that was slain,  answered  and said,  I came  into Gibeah  that belongeth to Benjamin,  I and my concubine,  to lodge.  [5] And the men  of Gibeah  rose  the house  round about  upon me by night,  and thought  to have slain  me: and my concubine  have they forced,  that she is dead.  [6] And I took  my concubine,  and cut her in pieces,  and sent  her throughout all the country  of the inheritance  of Israel:  for they have committed  lewdness  and folly  in Israel.  [7] Behold, ye are all children  of Israel;  give  here  your advice  and counsel.  [8] And all the people  arose  as one  man,  saying,  We will not any  to his tent,  neither will we any  of us turn  into his house.  [9] But now this shall be the thing  which we will do  to Gibeah;  we will go up by lot  [10] And we will take  ten  of an hundred  throughout all the tribes  of Israel,  and an hundred  of a thousand,  out of ten thousand,  to fetch  victual  for the people,  that they may do,  when they come  to Gibeah  of Benjamin,  according to all the folly  that they have wrought  in Israel.  [11] So all the men  of Israel  were gathered  against the city,  knit together  as one  man. 

What does Judges 20:1-11 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The phrase "from Dan to Beersheba" ( Judges 20:1) became a common expression during Israel"s united monarchy and indicated the whole of Israel. Gilead refers to the part of Israel east of the Jordan River. The Mizpah referred to here ( Judges 20:1) was the one in Benjamin just five miles north of Gibeah, not Mizpah of Gilead. Three times in this pericope the writer used the phrase "as one man" ( Judges 20:1; Judges 20:8; Judges 20:11). This is one of the rare instances of Israelite solidarity during the Judges Period. Here they unanimously chose a plan that lacked divine initiative. At other times they did not cooperate to fulfill the revealed will of God (cf. Judges 5:15-17; Judges 8:1-3; Judges 12:1-6; Judges 15:11).
By casting lots to see how they should proceed against Benjamin ( Judges 20:9), the tribes were dealing with Benjamin as they had dealt with the Canaanite towns they had attacked. God did not tell them to deal with their fellow Israelites this way (cf. Deuteronomy 13:12-18). They were now battling their brethren as they had engaged their enemies ( Judges 20:18; cf. Leviticus 19:18).
"Some comment must be made regarding the large numbers in this chapter. The discussion centers around the translation of the Hebrew word eleph. This word often is translated thousand but can also mean a family, clan, or military unit of fighting men (such as a squad of ten to twenty soldiers). The twenty-six, twenty-two, eighteen, ten, should not be thought of as so many thousand men but as so many units of men, each unit consisting of somewhere in the neighborhood of ten to twenty fighting men each. (A unit of ten is mentioned specifically in Judges 20:10.) This interpretation does not detract from the authority of the Scriptures in any way. It simply attempts to understand what the Bible actually says. Certainly it places the other numbers in the chapter in a reasonable context." [1]
I see no reason to reject the traditional translation of eleph as "thousand" in this context (cf. Numbers 26:41). [1]9