Judges 20:37
in Judges 20The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the liers-in-wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
KJV
And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
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This verse in Judges 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah
on Judges 20:37-38
The men in ambush take Gibeah while the field army is retreating. 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. Israel fights its own tribe by the method it was given for a Canaanite town.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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.
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 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.
And the liers in wait hasted,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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,
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָאֹרֵ֣ב | vehaorev | and the ambusher | H693 → | 41 times |
| הֵחִ֔ישׁוּ | hechishu | they made haste | H2363 → | |
| וַֽיִּפְשְׁט֖וּ | vaiyifshetu | and they made a raid | H6584 → | 43 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַגִּבְעָ֑ה | hagivah | <the> Gibeah | H1390 → | 45 times |
| וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙ | vaiyimshokh | and he marched | H4900 → | 36 times |
| הָאֹרֵ֔ב | haorev | the ambusher | H693 → | 41 times |
| וַיַּ֥ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְפִי־ | lefi- | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| חָֽרֶב׃ | charev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
וְהָאֹרֵ֣בand the ambusher
vehaorevH693 →41 times
הֵחִ֔ישׁוּthey made haste
hechishuH2363 →
וַֽיִּפְשְׁט֖וּand they made a raid
vaiyifshetuH6584 →43 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַגִּבְעָ֑ה<the> Gibeah
hagivahH1390 →45 times
וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙and he marched
vaiyimshokhH4900 →36 times
הָאֹרֵ֔בthe ambusher
haorevH693 →41 times
וַיַּ֥ךְand he struck
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
לְפִי־to [the] mouth of
lefi-H6310 →498 times
חָֽרֶב׃[the] sword
charevH2719 →413 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
Joshua 6:5And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
- Exodus 19:19
And as the sound of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him in the thunder.
- Joshua 6:16
After the seventh time around, the priests blew the horns, and Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!
- 1 Samuel 4:5
When the ark of the covenant of the LORD entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a great shout that it shook the ground.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
Through
Exodus 19:13No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:16
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
- Hebrews 12:20
For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to…
- Exodus 19:16
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.19.115-16; 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.