Judges 20:18

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
children	בְּנֵ֣י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
arose	וַיָּקֻ֜מוּ vai.ya.Ku.mu	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
up	וַיַּעֲל֣וּ vai.ya.'a.Lu	H5927	to ascend · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
house	בַּיִת bayith	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications
God	בֵאלֹהִים֒ ve.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
asked	וַיִּשְׁאֲל֣וּ vai.yish.'a.Lu	H7592	to inquire · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
God	אֱלֹהִים ʼĕlôhîym	H430	gods in the ordinary sense
said	וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ vai.yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Which	מִ֚י mi	H4310	who? (occasionally · interrogative pronoun
up	יַעֲלֶה ya.'a.leh-	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
first	בַתְּחִלָּ֔ה va.te.chi.Lah	H8462	a commencement · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
battle	לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה la.mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
children	בְּנֵ֣י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Benjamin	בִנְיָמִ֑ן vin.ya.Min	H1144	Binjamin · proper noun, a man's name
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
said	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Judah	יְהוּדָ֥ה ye.hu.Dah	H3063	Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
first	בַתְּחִלָּֽה va.te.chi.Lah	H8462	a commencement · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Numbers 27:21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall th…
Judges 20:23 (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battl…
Judges 20:26-27 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and f…
Genesis 49:8-10 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down befo…
Numbers 27:5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.
Joshua 9:14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
Joshua 18:1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And…
Judges 1:1-2 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaan…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:18-25

We have here the defeat of the men of Israel in their first and second battle with the Benjamites. I. Before their first engagement they asked counsel of God concerning the order of their battle and were directed, and yet they were sorely beaten. They did not think it was proper to ask of God whether they should go up at all against Benjamin (the case was plain enough, the men of Gibeah must be punished for their wickedness, and Israel must inflict the punishment or it will not be done), but "Who shall go first?" (Jdg 20:18), that is, "Who shall be general of our army?" for, which soever tribe was appointed to go first, the prince of that tribe must be looked upon as commander-in-chief of th…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:18

THE ISRAELITES LOSE FORTY THOUSAND. (Jdg 20:18-28) the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God--This consultation at Shiloh was right. But they ought to have done it at the commencement of their proceedings. Instead of this, all their plans were formed, and never doubting, it would seem, that the war was just and inevitable, the only subject of their inquiry related to the precedency of the tribes--a point which it is likely was discussed in the assembly. Had they asked counsel of God sooner, their expedition would have been conducted on a different principle--most probably by reducing the number of fighting men, as in the case of Gideon's army. As it was, the vast number…

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John Gill on Judges 20:18

And the children of Israel arose,.... From Mizpeh, where they were assembled, having heard that the Benjaminites were gathered together to defend the men of Gibeah: and went up to the house of God; to the tabernacle which was in Shiloh, Judges 18:31, see Joshua 18:1 though the Targum takes Bethel for the name of a place so called; and so do Ben Gersom and Josephus (p), which was near Shiloh, for Shiloh is said to be on the north side of Bethel, Judges 21:19 but as there is no reason to believe the tabernacle was now removed from Shiloh thither, so it is not likely they would go to any other place but where the tabernacle ark, and high priest were: and asked counsel of God; before Phinehas…

Dictionary and topics

Bethel — House of God. (1.) A place in Central Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Michmash and Ai. It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Gen. 28:19). The…
Congregation — (Heb. kahal), the Hebrew people collectively as a holy community (Num. 15:15). Every circumcised Hebrew from twenty years old and upward was a member of the congregation. Strangers resident in the…
Gibeah — A hill or hill-town, “of Benjamin” (1 Sam. 13:15), better known as “Gibeah of Saul” (11:4; Isa. 10:29). It was here that the terrible outrage was committed on the Levite’s concubine which led to the…
Shiloh — Generally understood as denoting the Messiah, “the peaceful one,” as the word signifies (Gen. 49:10). The Vulgate Version translates the word, “he who is to be sent,” in allusion to the Messiah; the…
Thummim — Perfection (LXX., “truth;” Vulg., “veritas”), Ex. 28:30; Deut. 33:8; Judg. 1:1; 20:18; 1 Sam. 14:3, 18; 23:9; 2 Sam. 21:1. What the “Urim and Thummim” were cannot be determined with any certainty.…
Benjamin, Tribe Of · Almost annihilated for protecting the men of Gibeah — Almost annihilated for protecting the men of Gibeah
Beth-El · .Tabernacle at, and — .Tabernacle at, and
Church · HOUSE OF GOD — HOUSE OF GOD
Jews, The · Obliged to unite against enemies — Obliged to unite against enemies
Judah, The Tribe Of · Went first against Gibeah — Went first against Gibeah
Urim And Thummim · Israelites consult — Israelites consult

Judges 20:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:18-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:18

John Gill on Judges 20:18

Dictionary and topics

Judges 20:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:18-25

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:18

John Gill on Judges 20:18

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 20:17-18

Rashi on Judges 20:18