Judges 20:17
in Judges 20The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
KJV
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen
Israel apart from Benjamin mobilized “400,000 swordsmen”, against the 601,730 numbered at Numbers 26:51. The figures in these books are read in more than one way, some reading the word rendered thousand as a clan or a unit. Clarke and Keil weigh them without closing the question.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
And when at first the people of Israel were defeated, yet unmoved by fear at the reverses of the war, they disregarded the sorrow the avenging of chastity cost them. They rushed into the battle ready to wash out with their own blood the stains of the crime that had been committed.
In the first and second encounters, when many were harmed by a few, the Israelites considered yielding, since the battles were so unfavorable. There were four hundred thousand men warring against twenty-five thousand of the tribe of Benjamin, and they strove with seven hundred Gabanites [Gibeonites] experienced in war. When two battles were unfavorable, Israel with eager spirit did not lose hope of victory nor of vengeance for the hope they had fostered.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin,.... Who did not join them in this affair, but opposed them: were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: see Jdg 20:9. all these were men of war; inured to it, skilful and courageous.
Thus sinners are infatuated to their own ruin, and provoke him to jealousy who is infinitely stronger than they, 1 Cor. x. But it should seem they depended upon the skill of their men to make up what was wanting in numbers, especially a regiment of slingers, 700 men, who, though left-handed, were so dexterous at slinging stones that they would not be a hair's breadth beside their mark,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With shriveled right arms. Their right arms were shrunken. They could not utilize them, as if they were closed, as in "Let not the well close its mouth over me." 3 Tehilim,:16.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֨ישׁ | veish | and [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הִתְפָּֽקְד֗וּ | hitpakedu | they were mustered | H6485 → | 303 times |
| לְבַד֙ | levad | <to> apart | H905 → | 200 times |
| מִבִּנְיָמִ֔ן | mibinyamin | from Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| אַרְבַּ֨ע | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵא֥וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אֶ֛לֶף | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שֹׁ֣לֵֽף | sholef | [who] drew | H8025 → | 25 times |
| חָ֑רֶב | charev | a sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [was] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִלְחָמָֽה׃ | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
וְאִ֨ישׁand [the] man of
veishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הִתְפָּֽקְד֗וּthey were mustered
hitpakeduH6485 →303 times
לְבַד֙<to> apart
levadH905 →200 times
מִבִּנְיָמִ֔ןfrom Benjamin
mibinyaminH1144 →166 times
אַרְבַּ֨עfour
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
מֵא֥וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אֶ֛לֶףthousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אִ֖ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
שֹׁ֣לֵֽף[who] drew
sholefH8025 →25 times
חָ֑רֶבa sword
charevH2719 →413 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
זֶ֖הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
אִ֥ישׁ[was] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִלְחָמָֽה׃war
milchamahH4421 →320 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
1 Chronicles 21:5And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 24:9
And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 27:23
David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky.
- 2 Samuel 24:9
Through
Numbers 1:46And all those counted totaled 603,550.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:37
The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth with about 600,000 men on foot, besides women and children.
- Exodus 38:26
a beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone twenty years of age or older who had crossed over to be numbered, a total of 603,550 men.
- Numbers 26:51
These men of Israel numbered 601,730 in all.
- Numbers 2:32
These are the Israelites, numbered according to their families. The total of those counted in the camps, by their divisions, was 603,550.
- Exodus 12:37
Through
Judges 20:2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.
it leads to
- Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had…
- 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 8:10
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.115-16; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.