Bible Strands
Judges 20:30
On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the Israelite army advancing against the tribe of Benjamin at Gibeah during the civil war narrative of Judges 20. This action follows the immediate establishment of an ambush around the city in the prior verse.
The words — וַ/יַּעֲל֧וּ (va/i.ya.'a.Lu) literally means "and they went up," marking the army's physical movement toward the battlefield. בַּ/יּ֣וֹם הַ/שְּׁלִישִׁ֑י (ba/i.Yom ha./she.li.Shi) provides the precise chronological marker "on the third day" for this specific maneuver.
The thread — The verse tracks the Israelites repeating a tactical deployment they previously used against the Benjamites. This motif of deliberate military repetition runs through the Judges 20 campaign where forces systematically maneuver around Gibeah.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe the calculated timing and repetition of the army's movements. It presents the battle's progression through precise chronological and tactical markers rather than emotional commentary.
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 went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.