Judges 20:11
in Judges 20So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
KJV
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSo 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 (e), 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. (e) Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2.
This site's exposition
all the people stood as one man
on Judges 20:8-11
The assembly binds itself before it asks God anything, vowing “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house”. Verse 9 assigns the assault by lot, as Numbers 26:55 and Joshua 15:1 divided the land, and verse 10 sets aside ten men in a hundred for provisions, the only supply arrangement in Judges. A second oath sworn at Mizpah stands at 21:1.
This site's exposition
united against the city
Gill counts the men of Israel united against the city at three hundred sixty thousand, once the forty thousand sent for provisions are set aside. Henry calls the tribes' unity their strength.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This was their glory and strength, that the several tribes had no separate interests when the common good was concerned. The War with the Benjamites. 12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
all the people arose as one man--The extraordinary unanimity that prevailed shows, that notwithstanding great disorders had broken out in many parts, the people were sound at the core; and remembering their national covenant with God, they now felt the necessity of wiping out so foul a stain on their character as a people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
When taking action in their engagement in this engagement with Givas Binyomin, as befits their entirely loathsome, etc.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
To all the tribes of Binyomin. Their ten clans were considered ten families, so that twelve tribes would emanate from Rochel. 2 The ten clans and the tribes of Menashe and Efraim.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּֽאָסֵ֞ף | vaiyeasef | and it gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אִ֤ישׁ | ʾish | <the> man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעִ֔יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| כְּאִ֥ישׁ | keish | like a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| חֲבֵרִֽים׃ פ | chaverim | united | H2270 → |
וַיֵּֽאָסֵ֞ףand it gathered
vaiyeasefH622 →200 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אִ֤ישׁ<the> man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעִ֔ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
כְּאִ֥ישׁlike a man
keishH376 →1663 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
חֲבֵרִֽים׃ פunited
chaverimH2270 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.