Judges 20:38
in Judges 20The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.
KJV
Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseNow there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait,.... Or an appointed time (z) as the Targum; so Kimchi and Abarbinel.
This site's exposition
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah
on Judges 20:37-38
The men in ambush take Gibeah while the field army is still retreating, and the city is put to the edge of the sword. The appointed sign is a great flame with smoke rising out of the city, which is the arrangement of Joshua 8:19 and 8:20 down to the detail. Israel fights its own tribe by the method it was given for a Canaanite town.
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
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.
Sometimes God suffers wicked men to be lifted up in successes and hopes, that their fall may be the sorer. See how short their joy is, and their triumphing but for a moment. Let not him that girdeth on the harness boast, except he has reason to boast in God. [2.] Evil was near them and they did not know it,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Now there was an appointed sign - From this verse to the end of the chapter we have the details of the same operations which are mentioned, in a general way, in the preceding part of the chapter.
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].
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַמּוֹעֵ֗ד | vehamoed | and the appointed signal | H4150 → | |
| הָיָ֛ה | hayah | it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְאִ֥ישׁ | leish | to [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הָאֹרֵ֑ב | haorev | the ambusher | H693 → | 41 times |
| הֶ֕רֶב | herev | make great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| לְהַעֲלוֹתָ֛ם | lehaalotam | to cause to go up they | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מַשְׂאַ֥ת | masat | [the] rising of | H4864 → | |
| הֶעָשָׁ֖ן | heashan | the smoke | H6227 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעִֽיר׃ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וְהַמּוֹעֵ֗דand the appointed signal
vehamoedH4150 →
הָיָ֛הit belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
לְאִ֥ישׁto [the] man of
leishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
הָאֹרֵ֑בthe ambusher
haorevH693 →41 times
הֶ֕רֶבmake great
herevH7235 →227 times
לְהַעֲלוֹתָ֛םto cause to go up they
lehaalotamH5927 →890 times
מַשְׂאַ֥ת[the] rising of
masatH4864 →
הֶעָשָׁ֖ןthe smoke
heashanH6227 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעִֽיר׃the city
hairH5892 →1090 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 Kings 4:16And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
it leads to
- Genesis 18:10
Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- 2 Kings 4:28
Then she said, “Did I ask you for a son, my lord? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”
- Genesis 18:12–15
So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
- Genesis 17:21
But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
- Genesis 18:10
Through
Genesis 17:21But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
it leads to
- Genesis 21:2–3
So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised.
- Genesis 26:2–5
The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.
- Romans 9:9
For this is what the promise stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 21:2–3
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.