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JUDG ES 21
page 237
And as they had done before, they began to kill
the Israelites. About thirty Israelites died in the
open fields and along the roads, one leading to
Bethel and the other leading back to Gibeah.
32 Then the warriors of Benjamin shouted,
“We’re defeating them as we did before!” But
the Israelites had planned in advance to run
away so that the men of Benjamin would chase
them along the roads and be drawn away from
the town.
33 When the main group of Israelite warriors
reached Baal-tamar, they turned and took up
their positions. Meanwhile, the Israelites hiding in ambush to the west* of Gibeah jumped
up to fight. 34 There were 10,000 elite Israelite
troops who advanced against Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that Benjamin didn’t realize
the impending disaster. 35 So the Lord helped
Israel defeat Benjamin, and that day the Israelites killed 25,100 of Benjamin’s warriors, all
of whom were experienced swordsmen. 36 Then
the men of Benjamin saw that they were beaten.
The Israelites had retreated from Benjamin’s
warriors in order to give those hiding in ambush
more room to maneuver against Gibeah. 37 Then
those who were hiding rushed in from all sides
and killed everyone in the town. 38 They had arranged to send up a large cloud of smoke from
the town as a signal. 39 When the Israelites saw
the smoke, they turned and attacked Benjamin’s warriors.
By that time Benjamin’s warriors had killed
about thirty Israelites, and they shouted, “We’re
defeating them as we did in the first battle!”
40 But when the warriors of Benjamin looked
behind them and saw the smoke rising into the
sky from every part of the town, 41 the men of Israel turned and attacked. At this point the men
of Benjamin became terrified, because they
realized disaster was close at hand. 42 So they
turned around and fled before the Israelites toward the wilderness. But they couldn’t escape
the battle, and the people who came out of the
nearby towns were also killed.* 43 The Israelites
surrounded the men of Benjamin and chased
them relentlessly, finally overtaking them east
of Gibeah.* 44 That day 18,000 of Benjamin’s
strongest warriors died in battle. 45 The survivors fled into the wilderness toward the rock of
Rimmon, but Israel killed 5,000 of them along
the road. They continued the chase until they
had killed another 2,000 near Gidom.
46 So that day the tribe of Benjamin lost
25,000 strong warriors armed with swords,
47 leaving only 600 men who escaped to the rock
20:33 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate;
Hebrew reads hiding in the open space. 20:42 Or battle, for
the people from the nearby towns also came out and killed
them. 20:43 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
21:11 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete
consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by
destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
of Rimmon, where they lived for four months.
48 And the Israelites returned and slaughtered
every living thing in all the towns—the people,
the livestock, and everything they found. They
also burned down all the towns they came to.
Israel Provides Wives for Benjamin
The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We
will never give our daughters in marriage
to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.” 2 Now the
people went to Bethel and sat in the presence
of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. 3 “O Lord, God of Israel,” they cried out,
“why has this happened in Israel? Now one of
our tribes is missing from Israel!”
4 Early the next morning the people built an
altar and presented their burnt offerings and
peace offerings on it. 5 Then they said, “Who
among the tribes of Israel did not join us at
Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the Lord?” At that time they had taken
a solemn oath in the Lord’s presence, vowing
that anyone who refused to come would be put
to death.
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. 7 How can we find wives
for the few who remain, since we have sworn
by the Lord not to give them our daughters in
marriage?”
8 So they asked, “Who among the tribes of
Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the Lord?” And they
discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had
attended the assembly. 9 For after they counted
all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was
present.
10 So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best
warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill
everyone there, including women and children. 11 “This is what you are to do,” they said.
“Completely destroy* all the males and every
woman who is not a virgin.” 12 Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young
virgins who had never slept with a man, and
they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the
land of Canaan.
13 The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who
were living at the rock of Rimmon. 14 Then the
men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and
the 400 women of Jabesh-gilead who had been
spared were given to them as wives. But there
were not enough women for all of them.
15 The people felt sorry for Benjamin because
the Lord had made this gap among the tribes
of Israel. 16 So the elders of the assembly asked,
“How can we find wives for the few who remain,
since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are
dead? 17 There must be heirs for the survivors so
that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out.
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