Judges 20:2

The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The leaders of all Israelite tribes present themselves at Mizpah immediately after the initial national gathering before the LORD. This occurs as the assembled congregation prepares to investigate the crime in Gibeah.

The words — וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ (va-yit-tzach-veu) means "and they presented themselves," denoting the formal positioning of the army. כָּל־הָעָם (kol-ha-'am) translates to "all the people," underscoring the complete tribal mobilization.

The thread — The count of 400,000 armed men aligns with the military tallies in Judges 8:10 and Judges 20:15-17. These passages collectively document the massive troop numbers on both sides of the conflict.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to register the scale of Israel's unified military response to a single tribal atrocity. It demands a plain assessment of the situation's gravity through the documented size of the mobilization.

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

וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֞וּva/i.yit.ya.tze.Vuand/ they presented themselves פִּנּ֣וֹתpi.Not[the] corners of כָּל־kol-all הָעָ֗םha./'Amthe/ people כֹּ֚לkolall שִׁבְטֵ֣יshiv.Tei[the] tribes of יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsrael בִּקְהַ֖לbi/k.Halin/ [the] assembly of עַ֣ם'am[the] people of הָאֱלֹהִ֑יםha./'E.lo.Him<the>/ God אַרְבַּ֨ע'ar.Ba'four מֵא֥וֹתme.'othundred<s>אֶ֛לֶף'E.lefthousand אִ֥ישׁ'ishman רַגְלִ֖יrag.Lion foot שֹׁ֥לֵֽףSho.lef[who] drew חָֽרֶב׃ פCha.reva sword

King James Version

And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.

Cross-references

Judges 8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
Judges 20:15 On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah.
Judges 20:17 The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.
2 Kings 3:26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.
2 Samuel 24:9 And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.