Judges 20:1
in Judges 20Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah.
KJV
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the Lord in Mizpeh.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 Judg. 18 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).
This site's exposition
the congregation assembled as one man
on Judges 20:1-2
The words “as one man” fall three times in this chapter, at verses 1, 8 and 11, and elsewhere in Judges only at 6:16, of Gideon against Midian. Deborah’s song had to name the tribes that stayed home at 5:16 and 5:17 and curse Meroz at 5:23. The one muster in this book that arrives whole is raised against a tribe of Israel, at Mizpah.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When this [what had happened to the concubine] became known, (to be brief) almost all the people of Israel broke out into war.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then all the children of Israel went out,....
The place of their meeting was Mizpeh; they gathered together unto the Lord there, for Mizpeh was so very near to Shiloh that their encampment might very well be supposed to reach from Mizpeh to Shiloh.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 more than meeting in the name of God to consult him, and make prayer and supplication. Wherever God’s people are, there is God himself; and it ever was true, that wherever two or three were assembled in his name, he was in the midst of them.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצְאוּ֮ | vaiyetzeu | and they went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַתִּקָּהֵ֨ל | vatikahel | and it was assembled | H6950 → | |
| הָעֵדָ֜ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| כְּאִ֣ישׁ | keish | like a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֗ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְמִדָּן֙ | lemidan | <to> from Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּאֵ֣ר | beer | Beer | H884 → | |
| שֶׁ֔בַע | sheva' | Sheba | H884 → | |
| וְאֶ֖רֶץ | veeretz | and [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַגִּלְעָ֑ד | hagilad | <the> Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַמִּצְפָּֽה׃ | hamitzpah | <the> Mizpah | H4709 → | 40 times |
וַיֵּצְאוּ֮and they went out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַתִּקָּהֵ֨לand it was assembled
vatikahelH6950 →
הָעֵדָ֜הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
כְּאִ֣ישׁlike a man
keishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֗דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְמִדָּן֙<to> from Dan
lemidanH1835 →70 times
וְעַד־and to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
בְּאֵ֣רBeer
beerH884 →
שֶׁ֔בַעSheba
sheva'H884 →
וְאֶ֖רֶץand [the] land of
veeretzH776 →2504 times
הַגִּלְעָ֑ד<the> Gilead
hagiladH1568 →134 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַמִּצְפָּֽה׃<the> Mizpah
hamitzpahH4709 →40 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 11:11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:17
After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Judges 10:17
Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
- 1 Samuel 11:15
So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- 1 Samuel 10:17
Through
Judges 21:5The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before…
it leads to
- Judges 5:23
‘Curse Meroz,’ says the angel of the LORD. ‘Bitterly curse her inhabitants; for they did not come to help the LORD, to help the LORD against the mighty.’
- Jeremiah 48:10
Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
- Judges 5:23
Through
2 Samuel 3:10to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:20
So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 3:20
About Judges
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceThe NegevBeershebaThe well of the oath at the south of the land, where Abraham made his covenant with Abimelech and planted a tamarisk, where Isaac…
- PlaceNorthern border, at the foot of HermonDanThe northern limit of the land, where the tribe of Dan settled after taking Laish and where Jeroboam set up one of his two golden…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.115-16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.