Judges 20:45
in Judges 20Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.
KJV
And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd they turned and fled toward the wilderness, unto the rock of Rimmon,.... Which signifies pomegranate; perhaps it was in the form of one, and may be the same as in 1Sa 14:2 where Saul is said to be under a pomegranate tree, or under Rimmon, the rock Rimmon, for that is said to be near Gibeah, as this was.
This site's exposition
and they gleaned of them in the highways
on Judges 20:45-46
The verb used of the pursuit in the highways is the harvest word for gleaning, and Gideon uses the same figure of Ephraim at 8:2. The numbers of the chapter do not add straight. Verse 15 musters twenty and six thousand beside seven hundred of Gibeah, verse 35 counts twenty and five thousand and an hundred fallen, verse 46 gives the round twenty and five thousand, and verse 47 has six hundred escape. Keil and Clarke work the remainder differently, one by treating the hundred as falling outside the round figure and the other by taking the seven hundred of verse 16 as already counted at verse 15, and the difference is left open.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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.
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?
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.
It is to no purpose to think of out-running divine vengeance. Evil pursues sinners, and it will overtake them. Even those that tarried at home were involved in the ruin.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Rimmon - A village named “Rummon”, situated on the summit of a conical chalky hill, still exists, and forms a remarkable object in the landscape, visible in all directions. It lies 15 miles north of Jerusalem. It is a different place from Rimmon in the south of Judah Jos 15:32, and Remmon in Zebulon Jos 19:13. Gidom, mentioned nowhere else, was evidently close to Rimmon.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon--Many of the fugitives found refuge in the caves of this rocky mountain, which is situated to the northeast of Beth-el. Such places are still sought as secure retreats in times of danger; and until the method of blowing up rocks by gunpowder became known, a few men could in such caves sustain a siege for months.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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].
Unto the rock of Rimmon - This was some strong place, but where situated is not known. Here they maintained themselves four months, and it was by these alone that the tribe of Benjamin was preserved from utter extermination. See the following chapter, Judges 21 (note). It is scarcely possible to imagine any thing more horrid than the indiscriminate and relentless slaughter of both innocent and guilty mentioned in this chapter. The crime of the men of Gibeah was great, but there was no adequate cause for this relentless extermination of a whole tribe. There was neither justice nor judgment in this case; they were on all sides brutal, cruel, and ferocious: and no wonder; there was no king in Israel - no effective civil government, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. There was no proper leader; no man that had authority and influence to repress the disorderly workings of the pell-mell mob.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְנ֞וּ | vaiyifnu | and they turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| וַיָּנֻ֤סוּ | vaiyanusu | and they fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| הַמִּדְבָּ֙רָה֙ | hamidbarah | the wilderness towards | H4057 → | 270 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| סֶ֣לַע | sela' | [the] rock of | H5553 → | 58 times |
| הָֽרִמּ֔וֹן | harimon | <the> Rimmon | H7417 → | 16 times |
| וַיְעֹֽלְלֻ֙הוּ֙ | vayoleluhu | and they gleaned him | H5953 → | |
| בַּֽמְסִלּ֔וֹת | bamsilot | in the highways | H4546 → | 27 times |
| חֲמֵ֥שֶׁת | chameshet | five | H2568 → | 343 times |
| אֲלָפִ֖ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֑ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיַּדְבִּ֤יקוּ | vaiyadbiku | and they pursued closely | H1692 → | 54 times |
| אַחֲרָיו֙ | ʾacharav | after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| גִּדְעֹ֔ם | gidom | Gidom | H1440 → | |
| וַיַּכּ֥וּ | vaiyaku | and they struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נּוּ | mimenu | of him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אַלְפַּ֥יִם | ʾalpayim | two thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
וַיִּפְנ֞וּand they turned
vaiyifnuH6437 →135 times
וַיָּנֻ֤סוּand they fled
vaiyanusuH5127 →159 times
הַמִּדְבָּ֙רָה֙the wilderness towards
hamidbarahH4057 →270 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
סֶ֣לַע[the] rock of
sela'H5553 →58 times
הָֽרִמּ֔וֹן<the> Rimmon
harimonH7417 →16 times
וַיְעֹֽלְלֻ֙הוּ֙and they gleaned him
vayoleluhuH5953 →
בַּֽמְסִלּ֔וֹתin the highways
bamsilotH4546 →27 times
חֲמֵ֥שֶׁתfive
chameshetH2568 →343 times
אֲלָפִ֖יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
אִ֑ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיַּדְבִּ֤יקוּand they pursued closely
vaiyadbikuH1692 →54 times
אַחֲרָיו֙after him
ʾacharavH310 →715 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
גִּדְעֹ֔םGidom
gidomH1440 →
וַיַּכּ֥וּand they struck down
vaiyakuH5221 →499 times
מִמֶּ֖נּוּof him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
אַלְפַּ֥יִםtwo thousand
ʾalpayimH505 →505 times
אִֽישׁ׃man
ʾishH376 →1663 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
Zechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:32
Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 12:6
On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among the sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right…
- Jeremiah 37:13
But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
- 1 Kings 15:22
Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa…
- Jeremiah 30:18
This is what the LORD says: “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings. And the city will be rebuilt on her own ruins, and the palace will…
- Joshua 15:32
Through
Judges 21:13Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon.
it leads to
- Judges 20:47
But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.
- Deuteronomy 20:10
When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.
- Judges 20:47
Through
1 Chronicles 6:77The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands.
it leads to
- Joshua 21:34–35
This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given:
- Joshua 21:34–35
About Judges
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; 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.