Judges 20:29
in Judges 20So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about.
KJV
And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah. For though they were assured of success and victory, yet they thought proper to make use of means: and though their numbers were very great, they had recourse to art and stratagem, and set an ambush in divers places, much in like manner as Israel did for the men of Ai; the two cases being pretty much similar; this ambush was set in the night, as Josephus says (s), (s) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2.) sect. 11.
This site's exposition
And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah
on Judges 20:29-31
The third day is fought by the plan that took Ai. Joshua 8 set an ambush behind the city, drew the defenders out by a feigned retreat, fired the town and used the smoke as the signal, and every one of those parts stands in verses 29 to 40. Verse 31 shows the bait taking hold, since Benjamin came out as at other times and killed about thirty men in the highways.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Begging the Lord's peace, they returned more boldly to war, and they to whom prayer had given courage and who had entertained much hope were now able to do what they planned. On a pretext of withdrawing their front lines, setting ambushes at night in the rear of the city, where a segment of the enemy was located, they followed as some retired and thus were provided with an opportunity for invading the unprotected city. Fires were quickly set and flared up while raging flames and waves of heat revealed the sight of the taken city.
The war remained doubtful with an uncertain issue, but in the third engagement the people of Benjamin were delivered to the people of Israel, and being condemned by the divine judgment [they] paid the penalty for their widely immoral behavior.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Liers in wait - Though they were assured of the success, by a particular promise, yet they do not neglect the use of means; as well knowing that the certainty of God's promises doth not excuse, but rather require man's diligent use of all fit means for the accomplishment of them.
Folly - That is, a lewd folly; most ignominious and impudent wickedness. Ye are - The sons of that holy man, who for one filthy action left an eternal brand upon one of his own sons: a people in covenant with the holy God, whose honour you are obliged to vindicate, and who hath expressly commanded you to punish all such notorious enormities.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The management of this artifice is here very largely described. The assurance God had given them of success in this day's action, instead of making them remiss and presumptuous, set all heads and hands on work for the effecting of what God had promised.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And Israel set liers-in-wait round about Gibeah--A plan was formed of taking that city by stratagem, similar to that employed in the capture of Ai [Jos 8:9].
Israel set liers in wait - Though God had promised them success, they knew they could expect it only in the use of the proper means. They used all prudent precaution, and employed all their military skill.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The stratagem described is exactly that by which Joshua took Ai (marginal reference).
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֤שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and it set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֹֽרְבִ֔ים | ʾorevim | ambushers | H693 → | 41 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַגִּבְעָ֖ה | hagivah | <the> Gibeah | H1390 → | 45 times |
| סָבִֽיב׃ פ | saviv | round about | H5439 → | 336 times |
וַיָּ֤שֶׂםand it set
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֹֽרְבִ֔יםambushers
ʾorevimH693 →41 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַגִּבְעָ֖ה<the> Gibeah
hagivahH1390 →45 times
סָבִֽיב׃ פround about
savivH5439 →336 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
2 Samuel 5:23So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
it leads to
- Matthew 8:23–25
When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
- 1 Chronicles 14:14
So David again inquired of God, who answered him, “Do not march up after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
- John 9:6–7
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
- Matthew 9:29–30
Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.”
- Matthew 8:23–25
Through
Judges 20:34Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.
it leads to
- Isaiah 47:11
But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly…
- Joshua 8:14
When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, he hurried out early in the morning with the men of the city to engage them in battle at an appointed place overlooking the Arabah. But…
- Job 21:13
They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.
- Luke 21:34
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Isaiah 47:11
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); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.