Keraia
Judges 20

Judges 20:26

Civil War against Benjamin · Judges 20:18–48
Read Judges 20

Translations

Modern
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
Traditional
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 fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
Literal
And all the sons of Israel went up, and all the people, and they came to Bethel and wept. And they sat there before the face of YHWH and fasted that day until the evening, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the face of YHWH.
Latin
Quam ob rem omnes filii Israël venerunt in domum Dei, et sedentes flebant coram Domino: jejunaveruntque die illo usque ad vesperam, et obtulerunt ei holocausta, atque pacificas victimas,

Original

Hebrew
English
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.

Notes

Judges 20:26–28

The pressure to admit defeat and return home was growing. The Israelites intensified their activities in the Lord's presence, seeking his guidance.

Judges 19:1–21:25

  • This second epilogue (see study note on Judges 17:1–21:25) shifts the focus from individuals to entire tribes. It begins with the outrage in the Benjamite town of Gibeah (Judges 19), which led to a civil war (Judges 20) and the near destruction of Benjamin. It then moves to the attempt to save the tribe from disappearing (Judges 21). The book ends with the familiar refrain: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This was what they did in the days of Gibea, perhaps the lowest point in Israel's history that Hosea, 400 years later, would compare to the depths Ephraim had reached (Hosea 9:9; 10:9).

  • The path was cleared for a shift from charismatic leadership to "covenant-charismatic kingship." This kingship combined living under the Lord’s covenant with the anointing of the spirit for ruling, as seen with Saul and David.

Judges 17:1–21:25

These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.

People

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Places

Bethel: Important city in Israel, associated with Abraham and Jacob

Glossary

Benjamin, Tribe of Bethel (Place), Bethelite Concubinage, Concubines Fast, Fasting Gibeah Jabesh, Jabesh-Gilead (Place) Judges, Book of Psalms, Book of

Topics

Church: House of God Corporate Prayer Fasting: Fasting in the Conflict Between the Other Tribes with the Tribe of Benjamin Fasting: National Exemplified: Israel Peace-Offerings by Israel After Their Defeat Tabernacle: Pitched: At Shiloh The Evening: Humiliation often Continued Until The Jews: Obliged to Unite Against Enemies Tribe of Benjamin: Almost Annihilated for Protecting the Men of Gibeah