Bible Strands
Judges 20:19
The next morning the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the Israelites' dawn departure and encampment immediately after God instructs Judah to lead the initial assault against Benjamin. The verse marks the shift from divine consultation to tactical deployment at the start of a military campaign.
The words — The Hebrew verbs וַיָּקֻמוּ (va.ya.ku.mu) and וַיַּחֲנוּ (va.ya.cha.nu) literally translate to "and they arose" and "and they encamped." These terms structure the narrative sequence of mobilization followed by strategic positioning near Gibeah.
The thread — This dawn mobilization motif recurs in Joshua 3:1, Joshua 6:12, and Joshua 7:16, where leaders rise early to execute commands or conduct tribal selection. The repeated phrasing links immediate action to divine direction across Israel's conquest narratives.
Why it lands — The text requires attention to disciplined preparation as a factual component of warfare. It asks the reader to track how narrative pacing and military logistics operate without editorializing or offering consolation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
Cross-references
- Joshua 3:1 Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
- Joshua 6:12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests took the ark of the LORD.
- Joshua 7:16 So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.