Judges 20:48

And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
men	וְאִ֨ישׁ ve.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
again	שָׁ֣בוּ Sha.vu	H7725	to turn back (hence · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
children	בְּנֵ֤י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Benjamin	בִנְיָמִן֙ vin.ya.Min	H1144	Binjamin · proper noun, a man's name
smote	וַיַּכּ֣וּם vai.ya.Kum	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
edge	לְפִי le.fi-	H6310	the mouth (as the means of blowing) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
sword	חֶ֔רֶב Che.rev	H2719	drought · noun, common feminine singular absolute
men	מְתֹם֙ me.Tom	H4974	wholesomeness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
city	מֵעִ֤יר me.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
as	עַד 'ad-	H5704	as far (or long · preposition
beast	בְּהֵמָ֔ה be.he.Mah	H929	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
hand	הַנִּמְצָ֑א ha.nim.Tza'	H4672	properly · definite article + verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
set	שִׁלְּח֥וּ shi.le.Chu	H7971	to send away · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person common plural
fire	בָאֵֽשׁ va.'Esh	H784	fire (literally or figuratively) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
cities	הֶעָרִ֥ים he.'a.Rim	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
to	הַנִּמְצָא֖וֹת ha.nim.tza.'ot	H4672	properly · definite article + verb, niphal active participle, feminine plural 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

Deuteronomy 13:15-17 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cat…
2 Chronicles 25:13 But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samari…
2 Chronicles 28:6-9 For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken…
Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:26–end

We have here a full account of the complete victory which the Israelites obtained over the Benjamites in the third engagement: the righteous cause was victorious at last, when the managers of it amended what had been amiss; for, when a good cause suffers, it is for want of good management. Observe then how the victory was obtained, and how it was pursued. I. How the victory was obtained. Two things they had trusted too much to in the former engagements - the goodness of their cause and the superiority of their numbers. It was true that they had both right and strength on their side, which were great advantages; but they depended too much upon them, to the neglect of those duties to which now…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:48

the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword--This frightful vengeance, extending from Gibeah to the whole territory of Benjamin, was executed under the impetuous impulse of highly excited passions. But doubtless the Israelites were only the agents of inflicting the righteous retributions of God; and the memory of this terrible crisis, which led almost to the extermination of a whole tribe, was conducive to the future good of the whole nation. Next: Judges Chapter 21

John Gill on Judges 20:48

And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin,.... After they had destroyed their army, the city of Gibeah, and the inhabitants of it: not content with this, in their wrath and fury, turned and went: and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city; even men, women, and children, in every city of Benjamin, at least all that lay in their way; and which they might do to be avenged on them, for sending out their militia against them, which had made such a slaughter among them to the loss of 40,000 men, or to fulfil their oath, that such who came not to Mizpeh should be put to death; for which reason also the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead, as well as of…

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The Church Fathers

Not even a minority of the women stayed clear of that struggle, but all the women of the tribe of Benjamin, along with boys and girls of every age, were wiped out by sword or fire.
— Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 33

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

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…
Benjamin, Tribe Of · Almost annihilated for protecting the men of Gibeah — Almost annihilated for protecting the men of Gibeah
Jews, The · Obliged to unite against enemies — Obliged to unite against enemies

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Judges 20:48

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:26–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:48

John Gill on Judges 20:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Judges 20:48

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 20:26–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 20:48

John Gill on Judges 20:48

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 20:29–end

Rashi on Judges 20:48