Judges 20:21
in Judges 20And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.
KJV
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Gibeah, being on a hill, was difficult of access to an attacking army, and gave great advantage to the defenders, who fought from higher ground, and probably defended a narrow pass, while their companions on the walls could gall the assailants with their slingstones.
This site's exposition
The next morning the Israelites set out
on Judges 20:19-21
Israel goes up with an answer from God, and the Benjamites “cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day”. The text gives no reason for the defeat, though Henry reads the 400,000 as trusting their own numbers and Keil notes that verse 18 asked only which tribe should lead. The chapter states the outcome and leaves the cause where it found it.
This site's exposition
cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield
Barnes explains why the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and won: the city stood on a hill, the men of Benjamin fought from above, and those on the walls could strike Israel with sling stones. Henry notes that no prisoners were taken.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
In the first and second encounters, when many were harmed by a few, the Israelites considered yielding, since the battles were so unfavorable. There were four hundred thousand men warring against twenty-five thousand of the tribe of Benjamin, and they strove with seven hundred Gabanites [Gibeonites] experienced in war. When two battles were unfavorable, Israel with eager spirit did not lose hope of victory nor of vengeance for the hope they had fostered.
And when at first the people of Israel were defeated, yet unmoved by fear at the reverses of the war, they disregarded the sorrow the avenging of chastity cost them. They rushed into the battle ready to wash out with their own blood the stains of the crime that had been committed.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Here were no prisoners taken, for there was no quarter given, but all put to the sword. Before their second engagement they again asked counsel of God, and more solemnly than before; for they wept before the Lord until evening (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah,.... Which was their place of rendezvous, and which they came to defend; and in and about which they had stationed their whole army of 26,000 men: and destroyed down to the ground: killed dead upon the spot: of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men; wanting but 4000 of their whole number, excepting the men of Gibeah, which was such a rebuff the Israelites did not expect, being engaged in so just a cause, and having such a numerous army.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But they ought to have done it at the commencement of their proceedings. Instead of this, all their plans were formed, and never doubting, it would seem, that the war was just and inevitable, the only subject of their inquiry related to the precedency of the tribes--a point which it is likely was discussed in the assembly.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Destroyed down to the ground - twenty-two thousand men - That is, so many were left dead on the field of battle.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצְא֥וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִנְיָמִ֖ן | vinyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַגִּבְעָ֑ה | hagivah | <the> Gibeah | H1390 → | 45 times |
| וַיַּשְׁחִ֨יתוּ | vaiyashchitu | and they destroyed | H7843 → | 146 times |
| בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | veyisrael | among Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שְׁנַ֨יִם | shenayim | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים | veesrim | and twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אֶ֛לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אָֽרְצָה׃ | ʾaretzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיֵּצְא֥וּand they went out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] descendants of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
בִנְיָמִ֖ןBenjamin
vinyaminH1144 →166 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַגִּבְעָ֑ה<the> Gibeah
hagivahH1390 →45 times
וַיַּשְׁחִ֨יתוּand they destroyed
vaiyashchituH7843 →146 times
בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֜לamong Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
שְׁנַ֨יִםtwo
shenayimH8147 →768 times
וְעֶשְׂרִ֥יםand twenty
veesrimH6242 →315 times
אֶ֛לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אִ֖ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אָֽרְצָה׃[the] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 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
Jeremiah 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:15
So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”
- Psalms 92:7
that though the wicked sprout like grass, and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.
- Psalms 37:1
Do not fret over those who do evil; do not envy those who do wrong.
- Psalms 37:35
I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Psalms 73:3–28
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Malachi 3:15
Through
Psalms 33:16No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
it leads to
- Psalms 44:3
For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because…
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Psalms 44:6–7
For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
- Psalms 44:3
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.115-16; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.