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Judges 20:46

in Judges 20

That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

KJV

So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.

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This verse in Judges 20

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
In Jdg 20:35 the number given is 25,100. Jdg 20:44-46 give the details of the loss on that day: 18,000, 5,000, and 2,000; in all 25,000. But as the Benjamites numbered 26,700 men Jdg 20:15, and 600 escaped to the rock of Rimmon, it is clear that 1,100 are unaccounted for, partly from no account being taken of those who fell in the battles of the two first days, partly from the use of round numbers, or from some other cause.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

LETTER 33 · Written before 397.

proposed

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.

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

LETTER 33 · Written before 397.

proposed

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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Twenty and five thousand - Besides the odd hundred expressed ver. 35, but here only the great number is mentioned, the less being omitted, as inconsiderable. Here are also a thousand more omitted, because he speaks only of them who fell in that third day of battle.

quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-35-anchored-46-46

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

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.
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and thousand men,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men--On comparing this with Jud 20:35, it will be seen that the loss is stated here in round numbers and is confined only to that of the third day.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְהִי֩and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • כָל־all

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַנֹּ֨פְלִ֜יםthose [who] fell

    hanofelimH5307 →435 times

  • מִבִּנְיָמִ֗ןof Benjamin

    mibinyaminH1144 →166 times

  • עֶשְׂרִים֩twenty

    ʾesrimH6242 →315 times

  • וַחֲמִשָּׁ֨הand five

    vachamishahH2568 →343 times

  • אֶ֥לֶףthousand

    ʾelefH505 →505 times

  • אִ֛ישׁman

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • שֹׁ֥לֵֽף[who] drew

    sholefH8025 →25 times

  • חֶ֖רֶבa sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day

    baiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הַה֑וּא<the> that

    hahu'H1931 →1879 times

  • אֶֽת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • אֵ֖לֶּהthese

    ʾelehH428 →746 times

  • אַנְשֵׁי־[were] men of

    ʾanshei-H582 →566 times

  • חָֽיִל׃strength

    chayilH2428 →246 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Judges 20:15

    On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 26:41

      These were the clans of Benjamin, and their registration numbered 45,600.

    • Numbers 1:37

      those registered to the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

    • Judges 20:25

      That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords.

    • Judges 20:35

      The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

    • Judges 20:46–47

      That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor.

  • Through

    Judges 20:35

    The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.

    it leads to

    • Job 20:5

      the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

    • Judges 20:15

      On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.

    • Judges 20:44–46

      And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor.

About Judges

Jael, Deborah and Barak, Salomon de Bray, 1635. Public domain.
Jael, Deborah and Barak, Salomon de Bray, 1635. Public domain.
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 20 →

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.

Read on in Judges 20 →