Judges 20 Summaries

Then we read: *“Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah.”* (v.1) This gathering occur...

*“And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.”* (v.2) This gather...

The tribe of Benjamin was surrounded by troubling news when they learned that the rest of Israel had gathered at a notable location: “*Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone u...

In Judges 20:4, we see the Levite’s testimony: *“So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, ‘I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Be...

When the Levite recounted the evil done to him, he said, *“And the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my...

Judges 20:6 describes the horrific aftermath of the crime against a Levite’s concubine in Gibeah, a Benjaminite town located just a few miles north of what is now Jerusalem. This event takes place som...

In this pivotal moment of Israel’s history, the tribes have gathered to address a grievous offense committed in Gibeah. The Scripture says, *“Now then, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and cou...

*“Then all the people arose as one man, saying, ‘Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house.’”* (v.8) In this verse, we see the entire assembly of Israel unite in respon...

When the united tribes of Israel outline their strategy, they declare, *“But this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot”* (v.9). The verse conveys their collective d...

The Israelites, preparing for battle against the tribe of Benjamin, organize their forces by setting aside people to handle supplies. They declare, *“And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the ...

In Judges 20:11, we read the words, *“Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.”* (v.11). This verse captures the moment when the Israelite tribes banded together w...

*Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you?”* (v.12). This verse takes place during the turbulent period ...

*“Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel. But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their b...

Then the text says, *“The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel”* (Judges 20:14). This verse shows us that the men of the tribe of Benjami...

*“The sons of Benjamin were numbered on that day from the cities 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered, 700 choice men”* (v.15). This verse underscores the...

In this passage, the Bible states, *“Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss”* (v.16). Set in the period between around 1370 BC and...

*Then the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered, four hundred thousand men who draw the sword; all these were men of war* (Judges 20:17). In the broader narrative of Judges 20, the people of ...

The text of this verse proclaims, *“Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, ‘Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?’ Then the LORD ...

*Then the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.* (v.19) This verse sets a tense scene in Israel’s history, where the united tribes prepare to confront the tribe of Benjamin fo...

*Then the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arrayed for battle against them at Gibeah* (v.20). This scene unfolds during a tragic civil war in ancient Israel, si...

In *Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and felled to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel* (v.21), the text depicts a shocking and sudden defeat. Gibeah, located in the tribal territo...

In the account of Judges 20:22, the Israelite army has just suffered a disheartening defeat in their conflict against the tribe of Benjamin. Yet this verse emphasizes their resilience: *“But the peopl...

When *“the sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening” (v.23, NASB-95)*, it reveals the raw emotion and remorse they felt in the midst of a tragic conflict. This scene takes place d...

*“Then the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day.”* (v.24) This verse unfolds the continued conflict between the majority of the Israelite tribes and the tribe of Benjamin in...

In the midst of the ongoing conflict between the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, the narrative states that *“Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the gro...

*Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and p...

*“And the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days),”* (Judges 20:27). In the midst of a tragic civil conflict against the tribe of Benjamin, we ...

In *“And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days, saying, ‘Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?’ An...

*So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah.* (v.29) In this verse, the Israelites devise a tactical maneuver to confront the tribe of Benjamin, specifically those dwelling in Gibeah, after a grievous ...

In this verse, the scripture states, “*So the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times.*” (Judges 20:30). This momen...

In this verse, we see *“Then the sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at the other times, on the high...

*“The sons of Benjamin said, ‘They are struck down before us, as previously.’ But the sons of Israel said, ‘Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways.’”* (v.32) The Benjamit...

Then we read, *“Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush broke out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.”* (Judges 20:...

*“Then ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah; the battle was fierce, but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them.”* (v.34) This event takes place during the time of...

*“Then the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword.”* (v.35) This verse describes the moment in which God deliv...

*“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,”* (v.36). This verse de...

The verse narrates that *“the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword”* (Judges 20:37). This scene unfolds d...

The events described in this passage take place during the brutal conflict between the Israelites (particularly those from the other tribes) and the tribe of Benjamin around the city of Gibeah, locate...

Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, *“Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle”* (Judges 20:...

As this passage unfolds in the conflict between the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, the verse states, *“But when the cloud began to ascend from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin look...

In the midst of a fierce civil conflict between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, we encounter the decisive moment in Scripture where *“Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terr...

*“Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, while those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst o...

In this passage, we read: *“They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest and trod them down opposite Gibeah toward the east.” (v.43)* This description depicts the men of Israel pressing the tri...

*“Then eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant warriors”* (v.44). This verse records the culminating moments of a brutal conflict between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tri...

In this verse, *“The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 of them dead.”* (v.45),...

*So all of Benjamin who fell that day were twenty-five thousand men who draw the sword; all of these were valiant warriors.* (v.46) This verse highlights the staggering conclusion of a civil conflict ...

*But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months.* (Judges 20:47) This verse marks the aftermath of a violent civil...

In describing the aftermath of an intense civil war among God’s people, the scripture declares, *“Then the men of Israel turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the s...