Bible Strands
Judges 20:36
Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes the tactical shift during the final day of battle between Israel and Benjamin at Gibeah. The text reports the Benjamites' sudden awareness of their impending defeat as the Israelite forces deliberately withdraw to draw them out.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּרְא֥וּ (va/i.yir.'U) literally means "and they saw," indicating the Benjamites' dawning recognition of their military situation. The verb נִגָּ֑פוּ (ni.Ga.fu) translates as "they were defeated," confirming the irreversible turn of the battle.
The thread — This deliberate tactical retreat mirrors the strategy used at Ai in Joshua 8:15, where Israel feigned flight to draw enemy forces from the city. Both accounts use the same military deception to achieve a decisive victory.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to recognize how divine judgment operates through human strategy rather than miraculous intervention alone. It demands attention to the precise moment when tactical deception transitions into irreversible defeat.
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
So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.
Cross-references
- Joshua 8:15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.