Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 21:10

And the congregation sent hither twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

10. twelve thousand men ] No doubt reckoning 1000 men from each tribe, cf. Num 31:4 f.; the writer forgot that Benjamin could not be counted.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And the congregation sent 12,000 men – A thousand from each tribe; they followed the precedent of Num 31:4.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Who in such public and scandalous crimes were, for the greater terror of such transgressors, and prevention of the like sins, oft involved in the same punishment with the men, as Deu 13:15; Jos 7:24, &c.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest,…. That were in their army; in the Vulgate Latin version it is only 10,000; but the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and Josephus c, agree with the Hebrew text. This place, according to Bunting, to which this army was sent, was fifty two miles from Shiloh d:

and commanded them, saying; these were the orders they gave them, when they marched out:

go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children; which it seems was according to the oath they had made, Jud 21:5.

c Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 10.) d Travels, &c. p. 121.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(10) Twelve thousand men.The Vulgate has 10,000, but it is doubtless meant to imply that each tribe sent a thousand valiant men (Gen. 47:6, &c.), as in the war against the Midianites, in which Balaam was slain and at which Phinehas had been present (Num. 31:6).

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

10. Go and smite They attempt to help one calamity by causing another. It is noticeable that in all this action it is not said that they asked counsel of Jehovah.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And the people sent there twelve eleph men of the most valiant, and commanded them saying, “Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. And this is the thing you will do. You will utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.” ’

Twelve picked units of fighting men were despatched to Jabesh-gilead with a view to carrying out The Ban. All there were to be slain except for young virgins. The hypocrisy of the situation is clear. Why should the children die and the virgins be spared? Simply for man’s convenience to get him out of a tight corner. We note that they did not seek Yahweh’s guidance on this. They knew He would not approve.

But the carrying out of the same procedure on Jabesh-gilead as on the Benjaminites demonstrates how seriously this campaign and the stain of the actions of the men of Gibeah were taken. It was seen as a sacred crusade to eradicate deep sin in the tribal confederacy. And those who would not partake were considered to be tainted with the sin of the men of Gibeah. They were traitors to the covenant, and the penalty for that was death, for they had failed to recognise and bow down to the holiness of Yahweh. (This was in this case their view, not God’s. But it was genuine nonetheless.).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 21:10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

Ver. 10. Of the valiantest. ] Heb., Of the sons of valour; such as were those duo fulmina belli, the two Scipios.

With the women and the children. ] Why, what had those poor sheep done, that they must be slaughtered? a This is surely Exemplum nimiae severitatis saevientis in innocentes, as Piscator noteth: an excess of severity, raging against innocents that could not resist. Egregiam vero laudem! Surely, if these men had rightly repented of their cruelty toward the Benjamites, as they even now pretended, those of Jabeshgilead had found more mercy. David had not yet recovered his foul fall, when he dealt so cruelly with the Ammonites. 2Sa 12:31

a Here again rash zeal outruns right reason.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

children = little children. Hebrew. taph. Compare Jdg 13:5.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Go and smite: As they had sworn to destroy those who would not assist in the war – Jdg 21:5, they determined to destroy the men of Jabesh, and to leave none except the virgins; and to give these to the 600; Benjamites who had escaped to the rock of Rimmon. The whole account is dreadful. The crime of the men of Gibeah was of the deepest dye; the punishment involving both the guilty and innocent, was extended to the most criminal excess, and their mode of remedying the evil they had occasioned was equally abominable. Jdg 21:5, Jdg 5:23, Deu 13:15, Jos 7:24, 1Sa 11:7, 1Sa 15:3

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge