Judges
Chapter 20
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Leningrad Codex, through the Open Scriptures Westminster Leningrad Codex. The written consonants are printed. A Masoretic reading is footnoted when it differs. No Dead Sea reading was substituted unless it was read from a fragment. The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions are witnesses, not the default.
A dotted word is a harder one. Point at it, or tap it, for a short definition.
1All the sons of Israel went out, and the assembly gathered as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and the land of Gilead, to God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. at Mizpah.
2The corners of all the people took their stand, all the tribes of Israel, in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men on foot who drew a sword.
3The sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The sons of Israel said, Tell how this evil happened.
4The Levite man, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, I came to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, I and my A woman who lives with a man as a wife but does not have a wife’s full place., to spend the night.
5The lords of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me at night. Me they planned to kill, and my A woman who lives with a man as a wife but does not have a wife’s full place. they abused, and she died.
6I seized my A woman who lives with a man as a wife but does not have a wife’s full place. and cut her up and sent her through all the field of Israel’s inheritance, because they had done a scheme and a disgrace in Israel.
7Look, all of you are sons of Israel. Give your word and counsel here.
8All the people rose as one man, saying, Not one of us will go to his tent, and not one of us will turn aside to his house.
9Now this is the thing we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot.
10We will take ten men of a hundred, from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to take provision for the people, so that they may do, when they come to Geba of Benjamin, according to all the disgrace that he did in Israel.
11All the men of Israel gathered against the city, joined as one man.
12The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of Benjamin, saying, What is this evil that has happened among you?
13Now give us the men, the sons of worthlessness, who are in Gibeah, and we will put them to death, and we will burn the evil out of Israel. Benjamin was not willing to listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel.
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- Text
The written text has no “sons of” before Benjamin. The Masoretic reading adds bene, “sons of.” The written line is printed without that word.
14The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to war with the sons of Israel.
15The sons of Benjamin were mustered on that day from the cities, twenty-six thousand men who drew a sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were mustered, seven hundred chosen men.
16Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men, restricted in the right hand. Every one of these could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
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- Translation
Itter yad yemino is restricted in the right hand, as with Ehud. They use the left.
17The men of Israel were mustered, apart from Benjamin, four hundred thousand men who drew a sword. Every one of these was a man of war.
18They rose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God. The sons of Israel said, Who shall go up for us first to the war with the sons of Benjamin? God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. said, Judah first.
19The sons of Israel rose in the morning and camped against Gibeah.
20The men of Israel went out to war with Benjamin, and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them, toward Gibeah.
21The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and ruined twenty-two thousand men of Israel on that day, to the ground.
22The people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and again set the battle in array in the place where they had set it on the first day.
23The sons of Israel went up and wept before God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. until evening. They inquired of God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary., saying, Shall I again draw near to the war with the sons of Benjamin my brother? God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. said, Go up against him.
24The sons of Israel came near the sons of Benjamin on the second day.
25Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah on the second day and ruined eighteen thousand more men of Israel, to the ground. All of these drew a sword.
26All the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. and fasted that day until evening, and they offered whole offerings and sacrifices of well-being before God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary..
27The sons of Israel inquired of God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary.. The chest of the A solemn agreement that binds God and people. of God was there in those days.
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- Translation
Aron berit ha-Elohim is the chest of the covenant of God. God here is Elohim.
28Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron was standing before it in those days, saying, Shall I again go out to the war with the sons of Benjamin my brother, or shall I stop? God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. said, Go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.
29Israel set an ambush against Gibeah all around.
30The sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and set the array against Gibeah as time after time.
31The sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people. They were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike down some of the people, slain, as time after time, on the roads, of which one goes up to Bethel and one to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
32The sons of Benjamin said, They are struck down before us as at the first. The sons of Israel said, Let us flee and draw him away from the city to the roads.
33All the men of Israel rose from their place and set the array at Baal-tamar, and the ambush of Israel burst out from its place, from the meadow of Geba.
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- Translation
Ma’areh geva is the meadow of Geba, the place named in the line.
34Ten thousand chosen men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was heavy. They did not know that disaster was touching them.
35God’s own name. The Hebrew writes YHWH. See the glossary. struck Benjamin before Israel, and the sons of Israel ruined twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin that day. All of these drew a sword.
36The sons of Benjamin saw that they were struck down. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the ambush that they had set against Gibeah.
37The ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah. The ambush drew out and struck the whole city by the mouth of the sword.
38The signal between the men of Israel and the ambush was that they would send up a great rising of smoke from the city.
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- Translation
Herev leha’alotam mas’at he-ashan is a great lifting of the smoke signal.
39The men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike down slain among the men of Israel, about thirty men, for they said, Surely he is struck down, struck down before us, as in the first battle.
40The signal began to go up from the city, a column of smoke, and Benjamin turned behind him, and look, the whole of the city had gone up to the sky.
41The men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had touched them.
42They turned before the men of Israel toward the way of the wilderness, and the battle caught up with them. Those who came from the cities were ruining them in their midst.
43They surrounded Benjamin, chased him, trod him down at the resting place, as far as opposite Gibeah toward the sunrise.
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- Translation
Menuchah is the resting place named in the line. The verbs are they surrounded him, chased him, and trod him down.
44Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of these men of worth.
45They turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon. They gleaned five thousand men of them on the roads, and they caught up with them as far as Gidom and struck two thousand men of them.
46All who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew a sword, all of these men of worth.
47They turned and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of Rimmon, six hundred men, and they lived at the rock of Rimmon for four months.
48The men of Israel turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them by the mouth of the sword, from the city, men to beast, to everything that was found. Also all the cities that were found they sent into the fire.
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- Translation
Me’ir metom is from the city of entirety, the whole city, people and animals.