Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 20:12
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among you?
12. the tribe of Benjamin ] So the Versions, reading the singular. The plural (see marg.) is probably due to a mistaken repetition of the plur. form of the word in the preceding sentence.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The tribe, Heb. tribes; either the plural number for the singular; or rather tribe is put for family, as was noted before, as families are elsewhere put for tribes. They take a wise and a just course, in sending to all the parts and families of the tribe, to separate the innocent from the guilty, and to give them a fair opportunity of preventing their ruin, by doing nothing but what their duty, honour, and interest obliged them to, even by delivering up those vile malefactors, whom they could not keep without horrid guilt and shame, and bringing the curse of God upon themselves.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of Benjamin,…. Meaning the families of Benjamin; for as sometimes a tribe is called a family, Jos 7:17 so a family is called a tribe; and there were ten families in the tribe of Benjamin, according to the number of his sons, the fathers of these families. Ge 46:21, which being numerous and powerful, and consisting of men of courage, and expert in war, thought themselves a match for the ten tribes of Israel now assembled, who sent one out of each tribe, very probably ten in all, upon this errand; for they judged it most advisable, before they went to war with them, to try to get the offenders, delivered up to justice, and so prevent the shedding of blood of either side; and the rather, as there were none of the tribe of Benjamin at this assembly, and which indeed might give them reason to suspect they meant not to join with them in an amicable manner in this affair: however, they were willing to try peaceable methods first:
saying, what wickedness is this that is done among you? not that they were sent to inquire what the crime was that was committed, that was fully known; but by putting the question in this manner, their design was to aggravate it, and to put the men of Benjamin on considering how great it was, what an enormous sin it was that was committed, and that among them; and therefore it lay upon them, either to punish the perpetrators of it themselves or deliver them up to them to be punished according to the common law of Israel.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Before the tribes of Israel entered upon the war, they sent men to all the tribes of Benjamin, who were to demand that the culprits in Gibeah should be given up to be punished, that the evil might thus be exterminated from Israel, according to the law in Deu 22:22 as compared with Jdg 13:6 and Jdg 17:12. “ The tribes of Benjamin ” are the same as “the families of Benjamin:” the historian pictured to himself the different divisions of the tribe of Benjamin as warlike powers about to carry on a war with the other tribes of Israel. The word shebet (tribe) is used in a different way in Num 4:18. But the Benjaminites would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the other tribes of Israel. The Keri (sons of Benjamin) is a needless alteration, since Benjamin may be construed with the plural as a collective term. By refusing this just demand on the part of the other tribes, the Benjaminites took the side of the culprits in Gibeah, and compelled the congregation to make war upon the whole tribe.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The War with the Benjamites. | B. C. 1410. |
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? 13 Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: 14 But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. 16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at a hair breadth, and not miss. 17 And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
Here is, I. The fair and just demand which the tribes of Israel, now encamped, sent to the tribe of Benjamin, to deliver up the malefactors of Gibeah to justice, Jdg 20:12; Jdg 20:13. If the tribe of Benjamin had come up, as they ought to have done, to the assembly, and agreed with them in their resolution, there would have been none to deal with but the men of Gibeah only, but they, by their absence, taking part with the criminals, application must be made to them all. The Israelites were zealous against the wickedness that was committed, yet they were discreet in their zeal, and did not think it would justify them in falling upon the whole tribe of Benjamin unless they, by refusing to give up the criminals, and protecting them against justice, should make themselves guilty, ex post facto—as accessaries after the fact. They desire them to consider how great the wickedness was that was committed (v. 12), and that it was done among them: and how necessary it was therefore that they should either punish the malefactors with death themselves, according to the law of Moses, or deliver them up to the general assembly, to be so much the more publicly and solemnly punished, that evil might be put away from Israel, the national guilt removed, the infection stopped by cutting off the gangrened part, and national judgments prevented; for the sin was so very like that of the Sodomites that they might justly fear, if they did not punish it, God would rain hail from heaven upon them, as he did, not only upon Sodom, but the neighbouring cities. If the Israelites had not made this reasonable demand, they would have had much more reason to lament the following desolations of Benjamin. All methods of accommodation must be used before we go to war or go to law. The demand was like that of Joab’s to Abel, 2Sa 20:20; 2Sa 20:21. “Only deliver up the traitor, and we will lay down our arms.” On these terms, and no other, God will be at peace with us, that we part with our sins, that we mortify and crucify our lusts, and then all shall be well; his anger will be turned away.
II. The wretched obstinacy and perverseness of the men of Benjamin, who seem to have been as unanimous and zealous in their resolutions to stand by the criminals as the rest of the tribes were to punish them, so little sense had they of their honour, duty, and interest. 1. They were so prodigiously vile as to patronise the wickedness that was committed: They would not hearken to the voice of their brethren (v. 13), either because those of that tribe were generally more vicious and debauched at this time than the rest of the tribes, and therefore would not bear to have that punished in others of which they knew themselves guilty (some of the most fruitful and pleasant parts of Canaan fell to the lot of this tribe; their land, like that of Sodom, was as the garden of the Lord, which perhaps helped to make the inhabitants, like the men of Sodom, wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly,Gen 13:10; Gen 13:13), or because (as bishop Patrick suggests) they took it ill that the other tribes should meddle with their concerns; they would not do that which they knew was their duty because they were reminded of it by their brethren, by whom they scorned to be taught and controlled. If there were any wise men among them that would have complied with the demand made, yet they were overpowered by the majority, who thus made the crime of the men of Gibeah their own. Thus we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness if we say A confederacy with those that have, and make ourselves guilty of other men’s sins by countenancing and defending them. It seems there is no cause so bad but it will find some patrons, some advocates, to appear for it; but woe be to those by whom such offences come. Those will have a great deal to answer for that obstruct the course of necessary justice, and strengthen the hands of the wicked, by saying, O wicked man! thou shalt not die.
2. They were so prodigiously vain and presumptuous as to make head against the united force of all Israel. Never, surely, were men so wretchedly infatuated as they were when they took up arms in opposition, (1.) To so good a cause as Israel had. How could they expect to prosper when they fought against justice, and consequently against the just God himself, against those that had the high priest and the divine oracle on their side, and so acted in downright rebellion against the sacred and supreme authority of the nation. (2.) To so great a force as Israel had. The disproportion of their numbers was much greater than that, Luke xiv. 31, 32, where he that had but 10,000 durst not meet him that came against him with 20,000, and therefore desired conditions of peace. There the enemy was but two to one, here above fifteen to one; yet they despised conditions of peace. All the forces they could bring into the field were but 26,000 men, besides 700 men of Gibeah (v. 15); yet with these they will dare to face 400,000 men of Israel, v. 17. Thus sinners are infatuated to their own ruin, and provoke him to jealousy who is infinitely stronger than they, 1 Cor. x. 22. 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, v. 16. But these good marksmen were very much out in their aim when they espoused this bad cause. Benjamin signifies the son of the right hand, yet we find his posterity left-handed.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Benjamitea Beat Israel, vs. 12-28
As the war developed between Israel and the tribe of Benjamin it became very apparent how far the people of Israel were from the Lord. Many casualties were necessary before they came round to Him, even partially. As has been seen they began like many professed Christians today by thinking they could take matters into their own hands, make their own plans, then make a nominal pretense of seeking the Lord’s will, and that would be sufficient. So they first sent their message around to the towns of Benjamin demanding that the guilty men of Gibeah be given up that they might execute them. It seems foolish on the part of the Benjamites that they refused to give up a worthless gang like that which had raped the Levite’s concubine and killed her. Perhaps they knew more about the Levite and his sorry part in the affair than did those who had taken his part against Benjamin.
When war seemed to be last resort both sides got ready. Benjamin could muster only 26,000 men beside the seven hundred of Gibeah, but among these were another seven hundred very adept slingers who could hit a target with their stones and not miss by a hair breadth. These were faced with 400,000 men of Israel who had swords and were experienced with them.
Finally Israel went to the house of God and inquired who should take the lead in the war against Benjamin. So confident were they in their decisions to make war that no one thought of asking God for the best solution, only to settle the jealousy of who should take the leadership. The Lord appointed the tribe of Judah, again emphasizing his special place in God’s plans. Thus they went into battle and were resoundingly defeated by the Benjamites who slew 22,000 of the Israelites.
So Israel drew nearer to the Lord. Some of them wept and became concerned that perhaps the Lord might not want them to fight their brother tribe, Benjamin. But when they again asked Him the Lord instructed them go out and battle Benjamin again. So they set up their battle array again and were again soundly defeated, losing 18,000 of their swordsmen.
Clearly something was amiss; for some reason the Lord was. displeased with Israel. So the whole camp now journeyed up to the Lord’s house, to Phinehas, the high priest, and became earnest in seeking the Lord’s will. Not only did they weep and fast all day, but they remembered the sacrifices they should make to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to Him. (Since Phinehas was an adult young man when Israel conquered Canaan (see Num 25:6-18) this event must not have occurred over fifty years after the conquest at most.) This time the Lord assured them that when they went out again to fight Benjamin they would be successful.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(12) Through all the tribe of Benjamin.
It was equitable to send this embassy, although the Benjamites had not come to the sacred gathering at Mizpeh. The word for tribe is in the plural, so that it is, the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of Benjamin. Clearly, in the latter instance shebet means a family. (See Note on Jdg. 18:19, and Num. 4:18 : the tribe of the families of Kohath.) There were ten families in the tribe of Benjamin (Gen. 46:21).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, Jdg 20:12-19.
12. Sent men The Benjamites knew of Israel’s gathering at Mizpeh, (Jdg 20:3,) and they had themselves, probably, been notified to meet there, as had the other tribes; but no Benjamite seems to have appeared in that assembly.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 20:12 a
‘And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribes of Benjamin.’
The plural for tribes is used indicating sub-tribes (as in Num 4:18; 1Sa 9:21). The emphasis is on the fact that all heard.
Jdg 20:12-13 a (12b-13a)
‘Saying, “What wickedness is this that was done among you? Now, therefore, deliver up the men, the sons of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we might put them to death and put away evil from Israel.” ’
The first phrase was intended to make them consider the position and was presumably accompanied by the details of the case. The second was a demand that the guilty men be handed over to be put to death.
How insensitive people are. When outsiders seek to impose their will without proper consultation it can only cause resentment within. What they should have done was ensured that the children of Benjamin were included in the deliberations, then things might have turned out differently. But men are naturally arrogant, especially when they think they have the truth, and their anger was aroused. What they wanted was right. It was the way they went about it that was wrong. It is not wise to make important decisions in anger. Many a church has been divided by such heavy-handed tactics.
On the other hand Benjamin was part of the tribal confederation. They should have been present, and they had a responsibility to cooperate in the fulfilling of the covenant which the men of Gibeah had broken. And they knew the consequences of refusal.
“And put away evil from Israel.” Israel was made up of God’s people. It was therefore necessary to remove sin from among them, especially a gross sin like this one. It reflected on all. Both fornication and murder were capital offences under Mosaic law. And to misuse a Levite was sacrilege. Indeed if they did not deal with it rightly they knew that they themselves would come under the judgment of God.
Jdg 20:13 b
‘But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel.’
The use of the term ‘brothers’ signified their place as members of the tribal confederation. But the Benjaminites, and especially their leaders, were annoyed. This had been done over their heads and was being enforced from outside. Naturally they bridled at the idea. Thus, instead of giving the case a fair examination, they refused to give up the men of Gibeah, who had been guilty of such a great sin.
Both sides were in the wrong, the one for treating the sin lightly because of their pride, the other for their presumption because of their arrogance. But in the eyes of the law the latter were in the right, for God’s law was being ignored and they rightly saw it as a heinous thing. The action of the Levite had brought home to them just how heinous. They felt that if they did not eradicate the sin God might eradicate them. Thus their obstinacy.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
This fair appeal common justice required. The wicked only are to be punished in his iniquity. And this with a view also, to stop the execution of God’s wrath. How lost therefore was Benjamin to refuse. But is there not in all this, the picture of human nature, hardened to its own ruin by sin.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among you?
Ver. 12. And the tribes of Israel sent men. ] They would treat before they would fight, and hear both parties ere they would determine for either, though it were a clear case, according to the old rule –
“ M .”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sent men: Deu 13:14, Deu 20:10, Jos 22:13-16, Mat 18:15-18, Rom 12:18
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The other tribes called upon Benjamin to release to them the wicked men that they might be put to death in accord with the law ( Deu 22:22 ). By refusing to release them, the rest of the tribe of Benjamin upheld the sinful act of the men of Gibeah and became their partners in sin. Twenty-six thousand from Benjamin plus 700 chosen men from Gibeah prepared for battle. The 400,000 men of Israel first went to Bethel, where Jacob had heard from God ( Gen 28:1-22 ; Gen 35:1-29 ), to ask God through the high priest, Phinehas, who should lead them in battle.
The Benjaminites killed 22,000 the first day. They went weeping to the Lord to inquire whether they should go up again. At his direction, they went up a second day and lost another 18,000. They went to the house of God, wept, fasted until evening and offered sacrifices. When they inquired again of the Lord through Phinehas, he said for them to go up and he would give them into their hand. On the third day, they set an ambush and slew 25,100 and struck the city of Gibeah with the sword. Six hundred fled to the rock of Rimmon for safety. Then, the rest of Israel struck down every man and beast they found in Benjamin ( Jdg 20:12-48 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Jdg 20:12. The tribes of Israel sent men, &c. Before they marched forward they sent an embassy to the Benjamites, to complain of the wickedness that had been committed, and the injury that had been done by some of their tribe, and to demand that the offenders might be delivered up to justice. This was a wise and just course, that the innocent might be separated from the guilty, and a fair opportunity given them of preventing their own ruin by doing what their duty, honour, and interest laid them under an indispensable obligation to do; by delivering up those vile malefactors, whom they could not keep without bringing the curse of God upon themselves. But why did not these tribes of Israel show equal zeal against the conduct of the idolatrous Danites, which, as the last-mentioned author observes, though less destructive to the peace of society, more immediately struck at the honour of God and the interests of religion? Could this be owing to any thing else than the very low state of religion among them, and their indifference and unconcern about the honour of God? And yet idolatry was the only crime on account of which they were commanded to levy war against their brethren.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
20:12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the {h} tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness [is] this that is done among you?
(h) That is, every family of the tribe.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Attempt at a peaceful settlement 20:12-19
The 11 tribes wisely tried to settle this problem with the Benjamites peacefully (Jdg 20:12; cf. Jos 22:13-20). Unfortunately the Benjamites decided to support the residents of Gibeah who were their kinsmen. They should have sided with "their brothers" (Jdg 20:13; Jdg 20:23; Jdg 20:28) who were the other Israelites. The Benjamites decided to support their kinsmen because they were their relatives, rather than standing with God for what was right. The other tribes gathered to "remove this wickedness from Israel" (Jdg 20:13), but ironically their gathering resulted in removing their fellow Israelites from wickedness by killing them.
"Though the sin of the guilty impairs the whole community, here of Benjamin, the assembly would have been content with the capital punishment of only the guilty individuals. It was only after identifying themselves with the guilty persons by their refusal to give them up that Benjamin came collectively under the ban. This is a case of corporate responsibility rather than ’corporate personality’." [Note: J. Gray, p. 355.]
"The extent to which people will stand up to defend evil and evildoers is a measure of how deeply rooted is the Canaanizing rot in a culture." [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 568.]
The Benjamites were outstanding warriors in Israel. Ehud and Saul, as well as other champions, came from the tribe of Benjamin (cf. Gen 49:27; 1Ch 8:40; 1Ch 12:2). The 700 left-handed soldiers (Jdg 20:16) were evidently an elite force, all of whom were expert in the use of the sling.
"Alone a left-handed person was considered handicapped [e.g., Ehud] and in a contingent of right-handed troops an actual liability, but if enough left-handed men could be assembled to make up an entire contingent, a disadvantage could be transformed into a distinct advantage, physically and psychologically." [Note: Ibid., p. 557.]
"The sling, which was employed with a left-handed motion, must not be confused with the modern schoolboy’s catapult [slingshot]; it was a formidable weapon of war used in the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian armies as well as in Israel. David’s encounter with the Philistine, Goliath, is a telling example of the power and accuracy of this weapon (1Sa 17:49). It has been estimated that stones weighing up to one pound could be projected with uncanny accuracy at speeds up to 90 m.p.h.!" [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 201.]
The Israelites went to Bethel to inquire for God’s strategy in their battle (Jdg 20:18). In Jdg 1:1 they inquired of Yahweh, but here they inquired of Elohim, the generic name for God. In Jdg 1:1 the Lord directed Judah to go up against the Canaanites, but here He told Judah to go up against the Benjamites. These details are still more evidence of Israel’s departure from the Lord.
Bethel was only about four miles north of Mizpah. The ark of the covenant was at Bethel then (Jdg 20:27). This is the only mention of the ark in Judges. The people were not seeking the Lord much at this time. Contrast the more numerous references to it in Joshua where the Israelites were more victorious. They apparently had moved the ark and the tabernacle from Shiloh (cf. Jos 21:2; Jos 22:9; Jos 22:12; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:12; Jdg 21:19; Jdg 21:21; 1Sa 1:3). Another possibility is that only the ark was at Bethel and the tabernacle was still at Shiloh. The Israelites viewed the ark as a good luck charm (cf. 1Sa 4:3-4). They had a low view of God’s holiness, which explains their disregard for Him as their commander-in-chief in this chapter.