Judges 20:43
in Judges 20They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
KJV
Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The language and construction of this verse is poetical; it seems to be an extract from a song, and to describe, in the language of poetry, the same event which the preceding verse described in that of prose. With ease - Or “rest” Num 10:33; Psa 95:11. The expression is very obscure. The margin takes it as the name of a place.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After you found out what transpired in our court, you kept to yourself; therefore, I now summon, as it were, part of my own soul, for I have a friendly yet sorrowful complaint against you for the outrage done to chastity. Was it necessary for an unsurpassed, unheard-of case of virginity to be subjected to a sentence? Could it not have been dismissed?
Their spirits broken, they faced the enemy. The men of Benjamin who thought they were shut in and surrounded, even before they were invaded from the rear, began scattering and fleeing to the desert, while Israel pressed after with doubled force and pursued them as they wandered in rout. About twenty-five thousand were slain, therefore, that is, almost all the men of Benjamin except six hundred who seized a fortification on a rough cliff and by virtue of its situation and with the help of nature and partly through fear were a terror to their victors. Success advises caution; in adversity, revenge is esteemed rather than victory.
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.
Thus they enclosed the Benjaminites round about,.... Surrounded them on all sides, the army of Israel being posted in different places, and people coming out of all the cities to their assistance.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is an easy thing to trample upon those who have made God their enemy. How the victory was prosecuted and improved in a military execution done upon these sinners against their own souls. Gibeah itself, that nest of lewdness, was destroyed in the first place.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּתְּר֤וּ | kiteru | they surrounded | H3803 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּנְיָמִן֙ | binyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| הִרְדִיפֻ֔הוּ | hirdifuhu | they pursued him | H7291 → | 143 times |
| מְנוּחָ֖ה | menuchah | rest | H4496 → | |
| הִדְרִיכֻ֑הוּ | hidrikhuhu | they trod down him | H1869 → | 62 times |
| עַ֛ד | ʾad | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| נֹ֥כַח | nokhach | opposite | H5227 → | 25 times |
| הַגִּבְעָ֖ה | hagivah | <the> Gibeah | H1390 → | 45 times |
| מִמִּזְרַח־ | mimizrach- | from [the] rising of | H4217 → | 74 times |
| שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃ | shamesh | [the] sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
כִּתְּר֤וּthey surrounded
kiteruH3803 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּנְיָמִן֙Benjamin
binyaminH1144 →166 times
הִרְדִיפֻ֔הוּthey pursued him
hirdifuhuH7291 →143 times
מְנוּחָ֖הrest
menuchahH4496 →
הִדְרִיכֻ֑הוּthey trod down him
hidrikhuhuH1869 →62 times
עַ֛דto
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
נֹ֥כַחopposite
nokhachH5227 →25 times
הַגִּבְעָ֖ה<the> Gibeah
hagivahH1390 →45 times
מִמִּזְרַח־from [the] rising of
mimizrach-H4217 →74 times
שָֽׁמֶשׁ׃[the] sun
shameshH8121 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.