All Israel gathers as one man, from Dan to Beer-sheba, against Gibeah; twice repulsed with great slaughter, they weep and fast before Hashem; by an ambush the city falls, and the tribe of Benjamin is all but destroyed.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to Hashem at Mizpah.
verse value 3200
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֗ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 3200 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "one" (אֶחָ֗ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·until·well" (וְעַד־בְּאֵ֣ר, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, and·assembled. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·assembled" (וַתִּקָּהֵ֨ל), "from·Dan" (לְמִדָּן֙), "and·until·well" (וְעַד־בְּאֵ֣ר). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). First appearance of the root קהל ("and·assembled") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Gilead', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצְאוּ֮ [and·went·out] (113) + כׇּל־בְּנֵ֣י [all·son] (112) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ [Israel] (541) + וַתִּקָּהֵ֨ל [and·assembled] (541) + הָעֵדָ֜ה [congregation] (84) + כְּאִ֣ישׁ [as·man] (331) + אֶחָ֗ד [one] (13) + לְמִדָּן֙ [from·Dan] (124) + וְעַד־בְּאֵ֣ר [and·until·well] (283) + שֶׁ֔בַע [sheba] (372) + וְאֶ֖רֶץ [and·land·of] (297) + הַגִּלְעָ֑ד [Gilead] (112) + אֶל־יְהֹוָ֖ה [to·Hashem] (57) + הַמִּצְפָּֽה [Mizpah] (220) = 3200.
Radak
"To the LORD, at Mizpah." In any place where all of Israel, or the majority of them, gather, the Divine Presence rests there, as it is stated: "God stands in the congregation of God" (Psalm 82:1). Alternatively, the meaning is as explained in the Book of Joshua: for at Mizpah there was the altar of the LORD and a house of prayer, and it served as a meeting place for Israel whenever they assembled to discuss a matter. We have already written in the Book of Joshua why their custom was to gather at Mizpah: because there was great salvation for Israel there when kings gathered to wage war against Joshua.
Ralbag
And indeed all the tribes of Israel gathered, except the tribe of Binyamin, on this to the Lord at Mizpah, for there they gathered for all wondrous matters, for the cause that we mentioned in what preceded. And there the Levite man informed them how this matter was, and he said, 'they desired to kill me,' thinking that he was giving himself to killing, and not indulging in this great and most disgraceful sin, meaning, the lying with a male. And indeed Israel was greatly indignant at this matter, and they wished to eradicate the evil from among them, according to the laws of the Torah. And in order that they could remain there until they eradicated the evil, they sent a tenth of the camp to take provisions for the people. And indeed they first sent throughout all the border of Binyamin and in all his families, that they should give these men, these sinners, into the hands of the sons of Israel, to kill them and to eradicate the evil from among Israel. But the sons of Binyamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers. And this indicated that the hand of all of them was in this transgression. And when the sons of Binyamin saw that Israel desired to fight with them, the sons of Binyamin went out to war with the sons of Israel, and their number was twenty-six thousand men drawing the sword, and seven hundred chosen men, each of whom was left-handed in his right hand, and they were skilled in shooting stones with a sling, until they were already slinging at one hair's breadth, with the abundance of their fineness, and they would not miss, that they would not fail. And this was a very wondrous thing.
Metzudat David
And they went out. From their cities:
As one man. This means: with one accord.
"To Dan." [Meaning] from "Dan" — which is "Leshem" — which stood in the northeastern corner, to Beer-sheba, which stood in the southwestern corner.
"To the LORD, at Mizpah." The Divine Presence rested there at the time when they gathered there.
Metzudat Zion
And they assembled. They gathered:
Malbim
The Questions: (1) Why did the Israelites assemble for war before they knew the details of the incident well? What concern was this for all of Israel, since each tribe had its own court to judge its members? And why did they not send the men of Benjamin to eradicate the sinners, as this obligation fell upon them, and they could have said, “Hand over the men, and we will put them to death”?
"And all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together." Behold, if they were proceeding according to the law of the Torah in this particular case, the men of Gibeah would not have been liable to death, as the Ramban wrote: regarding what they intended to rape him, it was only a thought and they did not act in deed; and regarding what they did to his concubine, according to the Ramban, a concubine is without kiddushin (betrothal), and even according to the opinion that she was betrothed, there were no witnesses and no warning. And regarding that she died, this was due to her weakness, for they did not intend to kill her, and it can be said that she died from the cold or from another cause. Only that the Israelites were indignant because it was done in public and with publicity, in which case they are judged according to the law of heretics, for many who assemble for such a great abomination do so with disgust. And with all the details that combined in this deed, they were close to the status of a rebellious city, and they could kill them for the sake of preventing the matter, according to the need of the hour. And this could only be done either by the king of Israel, who can kill them by the law of kingship, or by the totality of Israel with the Sanhedrin at their head, who stand in place of the king and can kill the company of evildoers like the king, especially since there was a great desecration of the Divine Name in this. And this is what it says: "And all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together," for it is explained in my composition HaTorah VeHaMitzvah (Leviticus, siman 241) that the definition of "congregation" (edah) is when Israel and their elders at their head assemble.
And the chiefs 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.—
verse value 4480
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "all" (כֹּ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·presented·themselves" (וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֞וּ, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·presented·themselves" (וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֞וּ), "corners·of" (פִּנּ֣וֹת), "foot" (רַגְלִ֖י). The root כל appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "people·of" (root עם, 79x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
"The chiefs of all the people." (Targum:) "The heads of all the people."
Radak
“And the leaders of all the people stood.” The leaders of the people stood within the assembly, for the assembly consisted of four hundred thousand men. The leaders stood in the assembly to ask and inquire how this evil had occurred. The text interrupts in the middle [of the narrative] and states, “And the sons of Benjamin heard,” to teach that they had heard [of the matter] when they gathered together, yet they did not take heed to come before them and eradicate the evil. And they asked, “How did this happen?” The interpretation of “and the leaders of the people stood” and “they said” is: the leaders of the people stood in the assembly and said, “O people of Israel, speak! How did this evil occur?”
Metzudat David
"And they stood at the corners…": This means that all the people who came up stood, each tribe of the tribes of Israel at its own corner, and they did not stand mixed together.
"In the congregation, etc." – This means that the number of those "in the congregation," etc., was "four hundred thousand," etc.
Metzudat Zion
Corners. Like 'at the corners,' and it is from the word for corner and angle:
On foot. Those who go on foot, not riders:
Drawing [his] sword. Meaning: with a drawn sword:
Malbim
The Questions (2-3): Why did they intend to kill them, when there were no witnesses and no formal warning? This is especially puzzling in light of the statement (Sanhedrin 21a) that a concubine is not subject to betrothal. Moreover, her death was due to her weakness, not because they intended to kill her. And why did they vent their wrath upon the entire tribe of Benjamin? Regarding what is stated in verse 3, "And the children of Benjamin heard," its place there is not fitting at all.
"And the leaders of the whole people presented themselves." This means that they stood in the order of the banners: Judah and its banner to the east, etc., and all the tribes of Israel were included in the assembly of the people of God, for they gathered from that side which is the people of God, who come with zeal for the honor of His Name. There were four hundred thousand men, all on foot, not mounted on horses, who came and assembled themselves out of zeal for the honor of the Name.
Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah.—And the children of Israel said: ‘Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?’
verse value 3882
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "where?" (אֵיכָ֥ה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·Israel" (בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 62: son, son. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "for·upon" (כִּֽי־עָל֥וּ), "speak" (דַּבְּר֕וּ), "where?" (אֵיכָ֥ה). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Mizpah', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ [and·they·heard] (432) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + בִנְיָמִ֔ן [Benjamin] (152) + כִּֽי־עָל֥וּ [for·upon] (136) + בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [son·Israel] (603) + הַמִּצְפָּ֑ה [Mizpah] (220) + וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ [and·they·said] (263) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + דַּבְּר֕וּ [speak] (212) + אֵיכָ֥ה [where?] (36) + נִהְיְתָ֖ה [was] (470) + הָרָעָ֥ה [the·evil] (280) + הַזֹּֽאת [this] (413) = 3882.
Metzudat David
“And they heard, etc.” The intent is to say: although they heard that the Israelites had assembled, they did not heed them nor take note of the matter; therefore, the Israelites spoke and asked one another how the affair had come about, and they deliberated what to do. Alternatively, it may be said that the men of Benjamin heard that they had gone up to Mizpah, and they also heard that they asked, “How has this happened?” And they heard the Levite’s answer, the people’s counsel, and their gathering of all the people; and after all this, they still sent further messengers to them, yet even so, they refused to listen.
Malbim
"And the children of Benjamin heard." The text relates that this matter was not concealed from Benjamin, for they heard that the men of Israel had ascended to Mizpah. They also heard that the men of Israel said, "How has this evil occurred?" And thus they heard all the matters that are recounted until verse 12. Nevertheless, they did not pay heed to eradicate the sinners among themselves, nor did they come to the assembly to purify themselves.
"And the men of Israel said, 'Tell us, how did this evil occur?'" For although they had heard of the incident from the mouths of the messengers who brought the pieces [of the body], the crux of the matter depends on the specific details of the case. If this had been an act committed by individual men who had forced his concubine, and she died as a result of the intercourse, this would not be a matter for all Israel to wage war over. Rather, the crux depends on the additional details involved in this atrocity. For perhaps she had already engaged in prostitution, or perhaps she was unmarried, as Ramban argued in defense of the men of Gibeah. Or perhaps she died from the cold or the like.
And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said: ‘I came into Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
verse value 3937
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֛ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "concubine" (וּפִילַגְשִׁ֖י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, the·woman. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "murdered" (הַנִּרְצָחָ֖ה), "I·came" (בָּ֛אתִי), "concubine" (וּפִילַגְשִׁ֖י). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges). First appearance of the root גבעתה ("to·Gibeah") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·said', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֜עַן [and·he·answered] (136) + הָאִ֣ישׁ [man] (316) + הַלֵּוִ֗י [the·Levite] (51) + אִ֛ישׁ [man] (311) + הָאִשָּׁ֥ה [the·woman] (311) + הַנִּרְצָחָ֖ה [murdered] (358) + וַיֹּאמַ֑ר [and·he·said] (257) + הַגִּבְעָ֙תָה֙ [to·Gibeah] (485) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + לְבִנְיָמִ֔ן [to·Benjamin] (182) + בָּ֛אתִי [I·came] (413) + אֲנִ֥י [I] (61) + וּפִילַגְשִׁ֖י [concubine] (439) + לָלֽוּן [to·lodge] (116) = 3937.
Metzudat David
"The man of the woman" – the husband of the murdered woman.
Malbim
"And the Levite man, the husband of the slain woman, answered, saying: 'I came to Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.'" This comes to preclude [the possibility] that she was an unattached woman (panuyah) and that she had been unfaithful to him; for he was her husband by way of betrothal (kiddushin), and she was permitted to him since she had not been unfaithful to him; and [it also precludes] that she died from the cold, for she was murdered. "And he said: 'To Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, I came.'" A] Behold, this sin resembles in its outward appearance the matter of Sodom. There too, the guests came to lodge and they called out to Lot, "Bring out the men, that we may know them," which is a great disgrace for the entire community of Israel. And this is what it means when it says, "I came to lodge."
And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.
verse value 4073
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "upon·me" (עָלַי֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·concubine" (וְאֶת־פִּילַגְשִׁ֥י, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 110: upon·me, upon·me. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "blood" (דִּמּ֣וּ), "and·concubine" (וְאֶת־פִּילַגְשִׁ֥י), "and·died" (וַתָּמֹֽת). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·house" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "upon·me" (root על, 87x in Judges); "and·they·arose" (root קום, 43x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'night', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיָּקֻ֤מוּ [and·they·arose] (162) + עָלַי֙ [upon·me] (110) + בַּעֲלֵ֣י [owner] (112) + הַגִּבְעָ֔ה [Gibeah] (85) + וַיָּסֹ֧בּוּ [and·they·went·about] (84) + עָלַ֛י [upon·me] (110) + אֶת־הַבַּ֖יִת [the·house] (818) + לָ֑יְלָה [night] (75) + אוֹתִי֙ [me] (417) + דִּמּ֣וּ [blood] (50) + לַהֲרֹ֔ג [to·kill] (238) + וְאֶת־פִּילַגְשִׁ֥י [and·concubine] (840) + עִנּ֖וּ [they·answered] (126) + וַתָּמֹֽת [and·died] (846) = 4073.
Rashi
"They intended to kill [me]." They intended to kill; it is called "Anischnit" in the vernacular:
Metzudat David
"They sought to kill me. It was clear to him that if he had not allowed them to commit this abomination upon him before they had been appeased regarding his concubine, they would have killed him."
"And she died." [This occurred] due to the multitude of forced sexual acts.
Metzudat Zion
Upon me. For my sake:
They devised. They planned, as in (Isaiah 10:7) 'but he does not so intend [yidmeh]':
They raped. It is the rape, as in (Deuteronomy 22:24) 'for the matter that he raped [ana]':
Malbim
B] "And they rose up against him." This indicates that neither she nor he had any dealings with them until now. C] It was not merely individuals who rose up, but rather the men of the city, the prominent and property-owning citizens, and they did so in public. D] "And they surrounded the house all night," which is exactly like the case of Sodom. E] "They intended to kill me," meaning that he would certainly have died from the torture, let alone his concubine, whom they tortured until she died, even though it is a woman's nature to endure such things. And although they only intended to kill him and did not actually do so, he was nonetheless compelled to save himself by means of his concubine. F] "And they abused my concubine," and she was a married woman. G] Because they intended to kill me, they thereby abused my concubine; that is to say, they took her against her will, which is a great act of robbery done in public, as stated by Abarbanel.
And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and wantonness in Israel
verse value 3761
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·my·concubine" (בְּפִֽילַגְשִׁי֙, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·I·grasped" (וָאֹחֵ֤ז), "in·my·concubine" (בְּפִֽילַגְשִׁי֙), "and·I·cut·her·in·pieces" (וָֽאֲנַתְּחֶ֔הָ). The root ישראל appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "they·did" (root עשה, 87x in Judges); "for" (root כי, 70x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וָאֹחֵ֤ז [and·I·grasped] (22) + בְּפִֽילַגְשִׁי֙ [in·my·concubine] (435) + וָֽאֲנַתְּחֶ֔הָ [and·I·cut·her·in·pieces] (470) + וָֽאֲשַׁלְּחֶ֔הָ [and·I·sent·her] (350) + בְּכׇל־שְׂדֵ֖ה [all·field·of] (361) + נַחֲלַ֣ת [possession] (488) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + עָשׂ֛וּ [they·did] (376) + זִמָּ֥ה [plan] (52) + וּנְבָלָ֖ה [and·wantonness] (93) + בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל [in·Israel] (543) = 3761.
Metzudat David
“And I sent.” – To arouse the heart to take vengeance.
"For they committed [this]." This refers to the men of Gibeah.
“Among Israel.” This means: in public.
Metzudat Zion
Wickedness. An evil thought, as in (Job 31:11) 'for it is a wickedness [zomah],' and this is what they planned to kill him:
Malbim
"For they committed lewdness and depravity." The act itself is considered "detestable" (zimmah), and from the perspective that it was done publicly, it constitutes "abomination" (nevalah) in the sense of heresy, which concerns all of Israel.
Behold, you are all here, children of Israel, give here your advice and council.’
verse value 1328
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 31 letters. Notable word values: "give" (הָב֥וּ) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "they" (הִנֵּ֥ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "all·of·you" (כֻלְּכֶ֖ם), "give" (הָב֥וּ), "and·counsel" (וְעֵצָ֖ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "word" (root דבר, 52x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: הִנֵּ֥ה [they] (60) + כֻלְּכֶ֖ם [all·of·you] (110) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + הָב֥וּ [give] (13) + לָכֶ֛ם [to·you] (90) + דָּבָ֥ר [word] (206) + וְעֵצָ֖ה [and·counsel] (171) + הֲלֹֽם [here] (75) = 1328.
Radak
"Bnei Yisrael" is a term of calling:
Metzudat David
"Behold, you are all children of Israel." This means: Are you not all a holy people? And the matter is grievous to you. Therefore, take counsel for yourselves, for the matter concerns you as a whole.
Metzudat Zion
Give. Give:
Hither. Here, as in (Exodus 3:5) 'do not come hither [halom]':
Malbim
“Behold, you are all...” And you have the authority of a king to administer justice according to the needs of the hour, for the sake of preserving the matter: “Give yourselves a decree.” This is the judicial decision regarding what is to be done with them. And afterward, “and counsel,” namely, how to carry out the judgment in practice, to eradicate the sinners (and see what I wrote in the commentary on Isaiah 8:10).
And all the people arose as one man, saying: ‘We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn to his house.
verse value 2562
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·the·people" (כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, man. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "we·will·go" (נֵלֵךְ֙), "to·his·tent" (לְאׇהֳל֔וֹ). The root איש appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "as·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "we·will·go" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ [and·arose] (156) + כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם [all·the·people] (165) + כְּאִ֥ישׁ [as·man] (331) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + נֵלֵךְ֙ [we·will·go] (100) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + לְאׇהֳל֔וֹ [to·his·tent] (72) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + נָס֖וּר [we·will·turn·aside] (316) + אִ֥ישׁ [man] (311) + לְבֵיתֽוֹ [to·his·house] (448) = 2562.
Metzudat David
"And they rose." They remained standing in their place.
We will not go until the matter is completed.
Metzudat Zion
We shall turn aside. From the word for removal:
Malbim
"We shall not go each man to his tent, nor shall each man turn to his house." This means: they were to remain there. And even "nor shall each man turn to his house" implies not even for a brief moment or to prepare provisions. And you might ask: Who will prepare provisions for the people? [The answer is:] "This is the thing that we shall do to Gibeah" — that is to say, for the sake of Gibeah. "Against it." This means: on its account, in order to eradicate the sinners from within it, for they did not desire to kill all the men of Gibeah, only the sinners.
But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot;
verse value 2096
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֣ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Gibeah" (לַגִּבְעָ֑ה, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "by·lot" (בְּגוֹרָֽל). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "we·will·do" (root עשה, 87x in Judges); "on" (root על, 87x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְעַתָּ֕ה [now] (481) + זֶ֣ה [this] (12) + הַדָּבָ֔ר [the·thing] (211) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + נַעֲשֶׂ֖ה [we·will·do] (425) + לַגִּבְעָ֑ה [to·Gibeah] (110) + עָלֶ֖יהָ [on] (115) + בְּגוֹרָֽל [by·lot] (241) = 2096.
Radak
"Upon it, by lot." [Meaning:] we shall go up against it by lot. The matter of the lot is that the ten men chosen out of every hundred, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, shall take provisions for the people going to war. That is to say, they shall cast lots into ten portions in every hundred and in every ten thousand, and those upon whom the lot falls shall take provisions for the nine portions that go forth to war, because they did not know how long they would be delayed there.
Metzudat David
"And now, etc." — This too is from the words of all the people.
"Against it." They shall go up against it, [chosen] by lot, to determine who shall fight against them and who shall take provisions.
and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the wantonness that they have wrought in Israel.’
verse value 6243
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 97 letters. The shortest word is "to·them·of" (לְכֹ֣ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·all·the·senselessness" (כְּכׇ֨ל־הַנְּבָלָ֔ה, 8 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "then·we·will·take" (וְלָקַ֣חְנוּ), "for·the·hundred" (לַמֵּאָ֜ה), "for·the·thousand" (לָאֶ֙לֶף֙). The root לקח appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 8 words.
Rashi
"To do when they come." "When they come" refers to their coming to Gibeah of Benjamin, "as all that disgraceful act," etc.
Metzudat David
"To a hundred for each tribe." From all the tribes, we take ten for every hundred, who will provide provisions for the nine parts that go out to war.
"To do upon their coming." To do, upon their coming to Geba, in accordance with the outrage that they committed; this means to repay them according to their deeds.
Metzudat Zion
Ten thousand. It is ten thousand:
Provision. Food:
For their coming. The lamed taking the place of the beth, so too (I Samuel 20:30) 'ben Yishai [to the son of Jesse]':
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
verse value 1979
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "one" (אֶחָ֖ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·city" (אֶל־הָעִ֔יר, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "to·the·city" (אֶל־הָעִ֔יר), "companions" (חֲבֵרִֽים). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "to·the·city" (root איל, 114x in Judges). Full calculation: וַיֵּאָסֵ֞ף [and·he·withdrew] (157) + כׇּל־אִ֤ישׁ [all·man] (361) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + אֶל־הָעִ֔יר [to·the·city] (316) + כְּאִ֥ישׁ [as·man] (331) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + חֲבֵרִֽים [companions] (260) = 1979.
Rashi
Friends. Equal in one counsel:
Radak
Friends. They were all partners in this matter, and they all assembled as one man to be zealous against this abominable thing and to take vengeance on those who practiced it.
Metzudat David
To the city. To Geba:
“Like one man, they were partners.” This means that they were partners in complete agreement, as if they were a single individual.
Malbim
"And he gathered, etc., to the city" – to Mizpah. Until they prepared the provisions and until they sent out the messengers.
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying: ‘What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you?
verse value 4190
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "what?" (מָ֚ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·tribes·of" (בְּכׇל־שִׁבְטֵ֥י, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "all·tribes·of" (בְּכׇל־שִׁבְטֵ֥י). The root שבט appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַֽיִּשְׁלְח֞וּ [and·they·sent] (360) + שִׁבְטֵ֤י [tribes·of] (321) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + אֲנָשִׁ֔ים [man] (401) + בְּכׇל־שִׁבְטֵ֥י [all·tribes·of] (373) + בִנְיָמִ֖ן [Benjamin] (152) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + מָ֚ה [what?] (45) + הָרָעָ֣ה [the·evil] (280) + הַזֹּ֔את [this] (413) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + נִהְיְתָ֖ה [was] (470) + בָּכֶֽם [in·you] (62) = 4190.
Rashi
"In all the tribes of Benjamin": Ten tribes were counted as his ten families, so that there would be twelve tribes from Rachel.
Radak
"From all the tribes of Benjamin." The families of Benjamin, for the family is called a tribe, and the tribe [is called] a family, as it is written, "And he drew near the family of Judah," and further, he called them by saying, "From all the families of the tribes of Benjamin." And the large family is called a tribe, and the tribe of Benjamin had ten large families, which were houses of fathers: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. And they were mighty men, and the entire family was counted as a tribe. And they said, "We, ten families, will fight against ten tribes of Israel," for the tribe of Levi was not included among them.
Metzudat David
"And they sent." Before they began to fight, they sent out to all the tribes of Benjamin. This means, to the clans of Benjamin, for just as a tribe is called a clan, so too a large clan is called by the name of a tribe.
"What is the evil?" He means to say: How very great is this evil.
Metzudat Zion
What evil. The word 'mah' indicates the greatness and magnitude of the matter, as in (Psalms 31:20) 'how great is Your goodness':
Malbim
"And they sent." [This verse] recounts the evil of the sons of Benjamin. Israel sent their emissaries to them, and they began with greetings of peace, saying, "What is the evil?" This means: See how great the evil has grown and what its fruit is, and it occurred among you; therefore, you should be the first to eradicate the sinners.
Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.’ But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.
verse value 5771
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 87 letters. The shortest word is "give" (תְּנוּ֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·men" (אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֨ים, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "give" (תְּנוּ֩), "the·men" (אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֨ים), "and·we·will·kill·them" (וּנְמִיתֵ֔ם). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·men" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "son·worthlessness" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Metzudat David
"And we shall root out evil." [This means:] we shall remove the doer of evil from among Israel.
Metzudat Zion
And it shall be wiped out. The sense of removal and destruction from the world, as in (Deuteronomy 13:6) 'and you shall destroy the evil from your midst':
Were willing. They were willing:
Malbim
"And now, deliver the men." Then the evil will be removed from you to the general public: "and the evil shall be eradicated." All of us together, from the general public of Israel. And despite all this mission, the sons of Benjamin refused to listen, to expel the sinners, and more than this, they gathered for war and thereby began "letting out water" — the start of strife [cf. Proverbs 17:14].
And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of their cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
verse value 2664
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 47 letters. Verse gematria: 2664 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·go·out" (לָצֵ֥את, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·Benjamin" (בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִ֛ן, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "from·the·cities" (מִן־הֶעָרִ֖ים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·Benjamin" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "with·son" (root עם, 79x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּאָסְפ֧וּ [and·they·were·gathered] (163) + בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִ֛ן [son·Benjamin] (214) + מִן־הֶעָרִ֖ים [from·the·cities] (415) + הַגִּבְעָ֑תָה [to·Gibeah] (485) + לָצֵ֥את [to·go·out] (521) + לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה [to·the·battle] (153) + עִם־בְּנֵ֥י [with·son] (172) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 2664.
Metzudat David
From the cities that are in the inheritance of Benjamin:
And the children of Benjamin numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred chosen men.
verse value 5957
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "alone" (לְ֠בַ֠ד) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "son" (בְנֵ֨י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·were·numbered" (וַיִּתְפָּֽקְדוּ֩, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, man. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·they·were·numbered" (וַיִּתְפָּֽקְדוּ֩), "and·six" (וְשִׁשָּׁ֥ה), "dwelling" (מִיֹּשְׁבֵ֤י). The root פקד appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "in·the·day" (root יום, 76x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sword', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Radak
"Vayitpaqedu." [The tav] is without dagesh, and the pe is vocalized with a qamats; and the rule is for the kuf to take a dagesh, following the pattern of hitpael, so that its middle radical is dageshed — except for a few instances that are found without dagesh, such as "the inhabitants of Gibeah were mustered" [later in this same verse], and likewise "and every man of Israel were mustered" (20:17), and likewise "and the people were mustered" (21:9).
"Twenty-six thousand men." And in their defeat, it was found that twenty-five thousand one hundred of the men of Benjamin fell, and six hundred fled to the rock of Rimmon. It was found that they were a thousand short, for in their count they were twenty-six thousand seven hundred of the inhabitants of Gibeah. And regarding these thousand who were missing, we did not find what happened to them. And it is possible to explain that those thousand fell in the earlier battles, in which Israel was smitten, for it is impossible that none of Benjamin died in those battles. And the Scripture only counted those who died when Benjamin was smitten before Israel. And in the Midrash it is said that those thousand went to the land of Romania and settled there.
Metzudat David
From the cities. Which came from the cities:
"They were counted." By themselves [separately]:
All this people, even seven hundred chosen men, were left-handed; every one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
verse value 2901
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "from·all" (מִכֹּ֣ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "hand·right" (יַד־יְמִינ֑וֹ, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "slinging" (קֹלֵ֧עַ), "stone" (בָּאֶ֛בֶן), "to·the·hair" (אֶל־הַֽשַּׂעֲרָ֖ה). The root זה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "the·people" (root עם, 79x in Judges); "and·not" (root לא, 77x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hand·right', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
"His right hand was bound." Their right hands were atrophied; they had no control over it, as if it were sealed shut, as in (Psalms 69:16): "Let not the pit shut its mouth over me."
All this. These seven hundred men:
To the hair. To the hair’s breadth:
"And he would not miss." He would not err.
Radak
"To the hair, and would not miss." Its Targum is: "and they would sling to the estimation of a hair, and would not miss."
Metzudat David
"From all this people" – [referring] to the sons of Benjamin:
All this. All these would sling a stone at a strand of hair, and the stone would not fail to fall upon it despite its great fineness:
Metzudat Zion
Chosen. Each one was chosen:
Restricted, etc. Meaning: left-handed, and its parallel is in Ehud (above 3:15):
Sling. The sense of throwing stones with a sling, and it is the tool made for this purpose:
A hair. A hair's breadth:
He shall miss. The sense of missing, as in (I Kings 1:21) 'then I and my son Solomon shall be reckoned as missing [chatayim]':
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword; all these were men of war.
verse value 3939
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 56 letters. Notable word values: "alone" (לְבַד֙) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 3939 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "alone" (לְבַד֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "were·numbered" (הִתְפָּֽקְד֗וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, man. The root איש appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·man·of" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "this" (root זה, 39x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'sword', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאִ֨ישׁ [and·man·of] (317) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל [Israel] (541) + הִתְפָּֽקְד֗וּ [were·numbered] (595) + לְבַד֙ [alone] (36) + מִבִּנְיָמִ֔ן [from·Benjamin] (192) + אַרְבַּ֨ע [four] (273) + מֵא֥וֹת [hundred] (447) + אֶ֛לֶף [thousand] (111) + אִ֖ישׁ [man] (311) + שֹׁ֣לֵֽף [he·drew] (410) + חָ֑רֶב [sword] (210) + כׇּל־זֶ֖ה [this] (62) + אִ֥ישׁ [man] (311) + מִלְחָמָֽה [battle] (123) = 3939.
Ralbag
And the men of Israel enrolled themselves. Alone from Binyamin, four hundred thousand men drawing the sword. And they went up to Beit El, where the Ark of God was, to inquire through the Urim and Tumim, from Pinchas son of Eleazar son of Aharon the priest, who was High Priest then. And it seems that they called Shiloh Beit El, to establish there the House of God, for there it was established for many days. And there was rest, as our Sages of blessed memory said, 'rest is Shiloh, inheritance is the eternal House.' And indeed we know that after the Ark of the Lord departed from Gilgal, it came to Shiloh and was established there until the death of Eli. Or the meaning of Beit El is the House of God. And indeed it is impossible to say also that they went up to the city of Beit El, for it was in the border of Binyamin, as is mentioned in the book of Joshua.
Malbim
"And a man of Israel." Then the children of Israel were mustered and prepared themselves for war; they appointed captains of hosts, and arranged the order of battle, and their number was even now four hundred [thousand]. This teaches that they fulfilled their words, and not one of them turned aside to his house, nor did all who were fearful and faint-hearted and their like return, for they all went forth.
And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said: ‘Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?’ And Hashem said: ‘Judah first.’
verse value 3965
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 90 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3965 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "who?" (מִ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "shall·go·up·for·us" (יַעֲלֶה־לָּ֣נוּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 445: in·the·beginning, in·the·beginning. The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Rashi
"Judah first." But they did not examine [by asking] whether they would win or be defeated; but the last time, when they did examine [this], it says (verse 28): "Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand." They rose early and fulfilled their words.
Ralbag
And they inquired, 'who will go up first in the battle?' And it was said that Yehudah will go up first. And they did not complete their inquiry, for it was already fitting for them to inquire if they would win or be defeated. And if it were said to them that they would be defeated, they would cease from going up against them to war. And for this reason what happened to them happened, because they did not inquire properly, neither in the first time nor in the second time.
Metzudat David
Bethel. He means, to the House of God which was at Shiloh:
"In God." By the Urim and Tumim:
"Who will go up." Who among those who are with us will go up to war at the head, but they did not ask whether they would succeed.
Malbim
Questions (18–29): Why were the Israelites struck down twice before [the battle against] Benjamin, whereas they went to wage war as the Lord's war and to be zealous for His honor? And if they inquired twice through the judgment of the Urim, why was it not fulfilled, and [instead] the slain fell? Since verse 22 states that the men of Israel strengthened themselves and renewed their battle formation, how does the subsequent verse say that they went up to Bethel and sat there, when they had already been before Gibeah and had formed their battle lines there? Why, the second time, did they inquire in the language of "shall I again draw near [to battle]," whereas the third time they inquired "shall I again go out"? And why, the second time, does it say "the children of Israel went up and wept," whereas the third time it says "all the children of Israel and all the people went up"? Moreover, it added that they fasted and offered burnt offerings. What is stated in verses 27 and 28 — "and the Ark of the Covenant... was there," etc., and "and Phinehas...," etc. — belongs by rights in verse 18, when they inquired the first time; and why does it repeat "in those days"?
"And they arose and went up to Bethel, and they inquired of God." Our Sages of blessed memory (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 38) stated that the reason they were struck down in the first two instances was because among them too was the sin of Micah's idol, which was also a communal transgression. And the Lord was angry with them for not protesting for His sake against the tribe of Dan regarding the sin of idolatry, which is more severe, and only for their own sake did they protest against matters of immorality and robbery, which pertain to the welfare of society and the settlement of the land. However, the text itself makes clear that there were three differences between the first two times, when they were unsuccessful in battle, and the final time.
The first difference: Initially, they asked, "Who will go up for us at the outset to war against the children of Benjamin?" They did not ask whether they should go up to war at all, nor did they ask whether they would succeed in their war, for they relied on their might and on their arm, an arm of flesh. And He answered them, in keeping with their own phrasing, "Judah [is] first," meaning that Judah takes precedence in every matter. He did not say, "Judah shall go up," and all the more so did He not inform them whether they would succeed.
The second time, it is stated: "And the people, the men of Israel, strengthened themselves and went up again to fight in the place where they had drawn up their battle lines on the first day. And the children of Israel went up and wept before God." It is clear that initially they went up to war on their own initiative and did not inquire of God, and they were in the place where they had drawn up their battle lines on the first day. According to this, the statement "And the children of Israel went up and wept before God" cannot mean that all of them went up, for they were already at the place of war, before the city of Gibeah. Rather, they sent their elders and their judges, and it was they who wept. They asked whether they should add to their approach to war. They did not ask, as they did the third time, whether they should add to their going out, for they had already gone out and were before Gibeah; what remained lacking was only to approach and draw near to the city, as it is stated, "And the children of Israel drew near to the children of Benjamin." And the question was whether they were permitted to wage this war according to the law. Likewise, they did not ask whether they would succeed, for they relied even now on their might and their great strength. Therefore, He answered them, "Go up against him," meaning that you are permitted to go up. He did not inform them whether they would succeed, for that depends on whether they do repentance for their sins.
Not so the third time: They did not set their hearts to go out at all. Rather, "All the children of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel," meaning that no man was absent. They asked whether they should add to their going out, and He answered, "Tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."
The second difference is that the first time they did not do teshuvah at all, and the second time, where it is written “And the children of Israel went up and wept,” I have already explained that not all of them did so, only their elders, and furthermore they did not weep for their sins but only for the fallen. Therefore, they were defeated on the day of battle. But the third time, when all of them went up, and all of them wept, and moreover they preceded this with three things: A) “And they sat before the Lord,” to examine their deeds. B) “And they fasted on that day,” to bind up iniquity and to atone for sin. C) “And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings,” sacrifices of thanksgiving for the remnant that was spared, for they understood that all of them were deserving of destruction on account of their sin. Therefore, they succeeded this time.
Difference three: Our Sages of blessed memory explained (Yoma 73b), and the commentators stated, that in the first and second instances, they did not inquire either in the proper place or through the proper agent. Only in the third instance did it specify that they inquired in the proper place, as it is written, “And the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was there in those days”—meaning, at that time [i.e., now, in the third instance]—and through the proper agent, as it is written, “And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was standing before Him in those days”—meaning, at that time [i.e., now, in the third instance]. Therefore, they were answered.
Now, the sons of Benjamin added to their wickedness. Whereas previously, the objective of their war was only against Gibeah, as it is written in the first instance, “And they arrayed themselves against them for battle against Gibeah,” and in the second instance, “And they arrayed themselves against Gibeah, as before,” in contrast to this, the intention of the sons of Benjamin was to destroy all of Israel. Furthermore, they grew bolder with each instance. In the first instance, it says, “And the sons of Benjamin went out from Gibeah.” In the second instance, it says, “And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah”; the phrase “to meet them” indicates face-to-face confrontation. And in the third instance, it adds, “They broke away from the city.”
And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
verse value 1340
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "in·the·morning" (בַּבֹּ֑קֶר, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·Israel" (בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·they·arose" (וַיָּק֥וּמוּ), "upon·Gibeah" (עַל־הַגִּבְעָֽה). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·Israel" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "and·they·arose" (root קום, 43x in Judges); "upon·Gibeah" (root גבעה, 20x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·morning', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיָּק֥וּמוּ [and·they·arose] (168) + בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [son·Israel] (603) + בַּבֹּ֑קֶר [in·the·morning] (304) + וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ [and·they·encamped] (80) + עַל־הַגִּבְעָֽה [upon·Gibeah] (185) = 1340.
And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
verse value 3218
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֣ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "man·Israel" (אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "with·Benjamin" (עִם־בִּנְיָמִ֑ן). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "with·Benjamin" (root עם, 79x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצֵא֙ [and·he·went·out] (107) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה [to·the·battle] (153) + עִם־בִּנְיָמִ֑ן [with·Benjamin] (262) + וַיַּעַרְכ֨וּ [and·they·arrayed] (312) + אִתָּ֧ם [with·them] (441) + אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל [man·Israel] (852) + מִלְחָמָ֖ה [battle] (123) + אֶל־הַגִּבְעָֽה [to·Gibeah] (116) = 3218.
And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.
verse value 3604
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "thousand" (אֶ֛לֶף, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·Benjamin" (בְנֵי־בִנְיָמִ֖ן, 8 letters). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "son·Benjamin" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "of·Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּצְא֥וּ [and·went·out] (113) + בְנֵי־בִנְיָמִ֖ן [son·Benjamin] (214) + מִן־הַגִּבְעָ֑ה [from·Gibeah] (175) + וַיַּשְׁחִ֨יתוּ [and·they·destroyed] (740) + בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל [of·Israel] (543) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֗וּא [that] (17) + שְׁנַ֨יִם [two] (400) + וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים [and·twenty] (626) + אֶ֛לֶף [thousand] (111) + אִ֖ישׁ [man] (311) + אָֽרְצָה [land] (296) = 3604.
Rashi
"And they struck down." They [Israel] were punished for not having likewise been zealous regarding the incident of Micah's image, which had already occurred.
Radak
"And they struck down [many] in Israel." Our Sages said that this punishment came upon Israel for the sin of Micah's idol, which existed in those days, as I have explained. Indeed, they were zealous for the matter of the concubine in Gibeah, but they were not zealous regarding Micah's idol. They ought to have been zealous, risen up against it in battle, and eradicated the idol from Israel, just as they eradicated that evil [of Gibeah]. Therefore, they were punished in this war. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: "You did not fight for My honor; you fought for the honor of flesh and blood."
Metzudat David
"To the ground." They fell slain to the ground, and our Sages of blessed memory stated (Sanhedrin 101b) that they were punished for not protesting against the idol of Micah.
And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.
verse value 4048
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֖ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·they·arrayed" (אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥רְכוּ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·he·strengthened·himself" (וַיִּתְחַזֵּ֥ק), "to·arrange" (לַעֲרֹ֣ךְ), "in·the·place" (בַּמָּק֕וֹם). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that·they·arrayed" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתְחַזֵּ֥ק [and·he·strengthened·himself] (531) + הָעָ֖ם [the·people] (115) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וַיֹּסִ֙פוּ֙ [and·they·added] (162) + לַעֲרֹ֣ךְ [to·arrange] (320) + מִלְחָמָ֔ה [battle] (123) + בַּמָּק֕וֹם [in·the·place] (188) + אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥רְכוּ [that·they·arrayed] (797) + שָׁ֖ם [there] (340) + בַּיּ֥וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הָרִאשֽׁוֹן [the·first] (562) = 4048.
Metzudat David
"And [the people] strengthened themselves." They strengthened their hearts:
And the children of Israel went up and wept before Hashem until even; and they asked of Hashem, saying: ‘Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?’ And Hashem said: ‘Go up against him.’
verse value 3795
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 92 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "my·brother" (אָחִ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·Israel" (בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "before·Hashem" (לִפְנֵי־יְהֹוָה֮), "shall·I·again" (הַאוֹסִ֗יף), "to·draw·near" (לָגֶ֙שֶׁת֙). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "in·Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "son·Israel" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·brother', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 4 words.
Metzudat David
“And they went up.” Before they approached the battle, they went up to Shiloh.
And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
verse value 5847
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "again" (ע֗וֹד, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Gibeah" (מִֽן־הַגִּבְעָה֮, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "eight" (שְׁמֹנַ֨ת), "drawers·of" (שֹׁ֥לְפֵי). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "in·sons·of" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'land', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 3 words.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Hashem, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Hashem.
verse value 4152
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁם֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "on·that·day" (בַיּוֹם־הַה֖וּא, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 170: to·face·of, to·face·of. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·they·fasted" (וַיָּצ֥וּמוּ). The root עלה appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'until·the·evening', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Radak
"And they came to Bethel." It appears to me that this refers to Shiloh, for there the Ark was, and it was called Bethel and the House of the Lord, just as it is said, "And I am going to the House of the Lord," for we do not find that they brought the Ark to Bethel, which is Luz. And in the first instance as well, they came to Shiloh, as it is stated, "And they arose and went up to Bethel, and they inquired of God." And after their inquiry, they arose and encamped on the hill to fight. The reason that it mentions again "And they came to Bethel" is to inform us that on this last occasion they returned to God with all their hearts, and they fasted, and they offered burnt offerings, and all of this took place in Shiloh. And He answered their prayer on this occasion. It is also possible to explain that they brought the Ark to Bethel, for Bethel is adjacent to Shiloh, as it states at the end of the matter, "Shiloh, which is north of Bethel." And they brought it there to pray there, and the Lord, blessed be He, answered them on account of the merit of Jacob, whom God blessed there, and Benjamin was born at that time. However, the implication of the verse is not that they brought the Ark there at that time, for the verse states, "And there was the Ark of the Covenant of God in those days." It appears that the Ark was there permanently, and not that they brought it there. And in Shiloh the Ark was in those days, and they engaged in abundant prayer. And Phinehas, who was with them, also prayed for them, and they were answered on this occasion.
Metzudat David
"And all the people." The repetition of the phrase serves to add further clarification:
"And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings." Burnt offerings, to appease themselves before the Lord; "and peace offerings," to establish peace between themselves and their Father in Heaven.
Metzudat Zion
And they sat. The sense of remaining:
And they fasted. They afflicted themselves:
And the children of Israel asked of Hashem—for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
verse value 2442
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "and·there" (וְשָׁ֗ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·Israel" (בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·there" (וְשָׁ֗ם), "chest" (אֲרוֹן֙). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "son·Israel" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "in·the·days" (root יום, 76x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּשְׁאֲל֥וּ [and·asked] (353) + בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [son·Israel] (603) + בַּיהֹוָ֑ה [in·Hashem] (28) + וְשָׁ֗ם [and·there] (346) + אֲרוֹן֙ [chest] (257) + בְּרִ֣ית [covenant] (612) + הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים [God] (91) + בַּיָּמִ֖ים [in·the·days] (102) + הָהֵֽם [abundance] (50) = 2442.
Metzudat David
"And the ark of the covenant..." And since in the first instances they did not test and they did not succeed, neither the ark nor the inquiring priest was mentioned.
and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days—saying: ‘Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?’ And Hashem said: ‘Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into your hand.’
verse value 4138
Insights
Verse structure: 22 words, 102 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "with·son·Benjamin" (עִם־בְּנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִ֥ן, 10 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·Phinehas" (וּ֠פִֽינְחָ֠ס), "son·of·Eleazar" (בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֨ר), "son·of·Aaron" (בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֜ן). The root בין appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "with·son·Benjamin" (root עם, 79x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'or·shall·I·cease', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 7 words.
Radak
He stood before Him in those days. For he was the High Priest in those days, and through him they inquired by means of the Urim and Thummim. On this day, he stood before the Ark, and the Thummim were with him.
To say, "He who adds," etc., "if I should refrain." It may seem that in the first inquiries he did not ask, and in the first inquiries their question was not clarified, nor was the answer clear, and all of this was by the will of God so that they would go up and be defeated, for they ought to have asked whether they would go up and succeed. Now they added to clarify the question, saying, "If I should refrain," meaning that if I do not succeed, I will refrain. And He answered him clearly, saying, "Tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand." And the manner of inquiry through the Urim and Tummim was as our Sages of blessed memory wrote: How does one inquire? The inquirer faces the one being asked, and the one being asked faces the Divine Presence. The inquirer says, "Shall I pursue this band? Will I overtake them?" And the one being asked says, "Pursue, go up, and succeed." One does not inquire by voice, as it is stated, "And he shall inquire of Him," and not by murmuring in his heart, as it is stated, "According to his word," but rather in the manner that Hannah said in her prayer. And how was the answer effected through the Urim and Tummim? The letters would stand out, and they would answer the need with the assistance of the Holy Spirit that was upon the priest through whom they inquired. And so they said: Every priest who speaks with the Holy Spirit and upon whom the Divine Presence rests, they inquire through him; but one who does not speak with the Holy Spirit and upon whom the Divine Presence does not rest, they do not inquire through him. For Zadok inquired and his inquiry was accepted, while Abiathar inquired and his inquiry was not accepted, as it is stated, "And Abiathar went up." And twelve tribes were written on them. And our Sages of blessed memory said that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were also written on them. And behold, all the letters were on them. And it says, "And Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest," lest people not believe that it was that same Phinehas, since from his years until that time were more than three hundred years. Therefore, his lineage was traced back to Aaron. And he lived for a long time, for the Lord, blessed be He, promised him this because he was zealous at Shittim, and He said, "Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace," and it says, "My covenant was with him, life and peace." And concerning Phinehas it is said, and some of our Sages of blessed memory said that this Phinehas is Elijah, and some of them said that Elijah was from the sons of Benjamin, and they have support for this in Chronicles.
Ralbag
But in the third time they inquired properly, and they said, 'shall I add to go out to war with the sons of Binyamin my brothers, or shall I cease?' And this was by way of asking counsel, if evil would come from this, they would cease, for the matter was in their choice, not by the notification of future events, as was the matter in the first two inquiries that they inquired of God. And then the answer was complete, and it said, 'go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.'
Metzudat David
"Standing before Him." Standing before the Ark and inquiring through the Urim and Tumim (Shevuot 35b):
"To say." This refers back to the word "and they asked" in the preceding verse:
And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about.
verse value 1340
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "and·put" (וַיָּ֤שֶׂם, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·Gibeah" (אֶל־הַגִּבְעָ֖ה, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "lying·in·wait" (אֹֽרְבִ֔ים). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "to·Gibeah" (root גבעה, 20x in Judges). Full calculation: וַיָּ֤שֶׂם [and·put] (356) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + אֹֽרְבִ֔ים [lying·in·wait] (253) + אֶל־הַגִּבְעָ֖ה [to·Gibeah] (116) + סָבִֽיב [around] (74) = 1340.
Ralbag
And indeed the sons of Israel acted with wisdom, to place ambushers against Gevah, as they did when they conquered Ai. And the sons of Israel showed themselves stricken and fled from the sons of Binyamin, in order to draw them from the city. And the ambush that was in the valley, that is called Ma'arah, for there all the waters that are there would flow, and the moist places. And the sons of Binyamin did not see it, to raid then against Gevah and to strike the city with the edge of the sword. And the ambushers were ten thousand men from the mightiest of Israel. And after the sons of Israel fled and the sons of Binyamin were far from the city, they arose and arranged war with the sons of Binyamin in the place whose name was Baal Tamar. And this matter drew the ambush of Israel from its place to raid against Gevah and to strike the city with the edge of the sword, for there was a sign between them and the ambush, that when they would reach Baal Tamar, the ambush would rise from its place to raid against Gevah.
Metzudat Zion
Lying in wait. Sitting in ambush and concealed:
Malbim
“And he set ambushers.” This means that they set up several ambushes from various places, as will be explained.
And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
verse value 2513
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "in·the·day" (בַּיּ֣וֹם, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·Israel" (בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "third" (הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י). The root פעם appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·Israel" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "to·son" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·they·went·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'third', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיַּעֲל֧וּ [and·they·went·up] (122) + בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל [son·Israel] (603) + אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י [to·son] (93) + בִנְיָמִ֖ן [Benjamin] (152) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י [third] (655) + וַיַּעַרְכ֥וּ [and·they·arrayed] (312) + אֶל־הַגִּבְעָ֖ה [to·Gibeah] (116) + כְּפַ֥עַם [as·this·time] (210) + בְּפָֽעַם [in·this·time] (192) = 2513.
Metzudat David
“From time to time.” In the manner in which they were arranged on the first occasions:
Malbim
The Questions (30–46): Behold, it mentions twice that twenty-five thousand of the men of Benjamin fell; and it mentions twice that the men of Israel turned back, twice that the men of Benjamin struck them, about thirty men; twice that smoke went up from the city, and twice from the ambush. And the entire order is confused and mixed up, and the superfluous details are innumerable. Moreover, the men of Benjamin were twenty-six thousand and seven hundred, yet only twenty-five thousand and one hundred fell, leaving six hundred remaining, which means they were short by a thousand men.
The book states that initially the tribe of Benjamin withdrew from the city, and through the Israelites making themselves appear as if they were defeated before them, they drew them out onto the roads. And it explained that the tribe of Benjamin withdrew onto the roads because they thought that the Israelites were defeated, and the Israelites made themselves appear as if they were fleeing in order to draw them out from the city.
And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the field, in the highways, of which one goes up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, about thirty men of Israel.
verse value 8061
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 107 letters. The shortest word is "the·people" (הָעָ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Benjamin" (בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִן֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: in·the·field, man. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "were·drawn·away" (הׇנְתְּק֖וּ), "and·began" (וַיָּחֵ֡לּוּ), "from·the·people" (מֵהָעָ֨ם). The root עם appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "sons·of·Benjamin" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 17 words.
Radak
"[Those who] were drawn away from the city." This is from a form whose agent is not stated — from the pattern of hifil and hofal — as if [it meant] "they drew them away from the city"; and this is a matter of removal and displacement.
Metzudat David
Those who separated from the city. They departed from the city when they went out to meet the people:
"In the highways, etc., in the field." This means that they struck them in the field, in the place where the roads branch out, one of which goes up to Bethel, etc. In that field, they struck thirty men. The letter "kaf" comes to affirm the truth of the matter. Similarly, (Joshua 3:4), "about two thousand cubits by measurement."
Metzudat Zion
Departed. They were removed and departed:
And they began. From the word for beginning:
On the roads. A beaten path:
And the children of Benjamin said: ‘They are smitten down before us, as at the first.’ But the children of Israel said: ‘Let us flee, and draw them away from the city to the highways.’
verse value 4106
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "abundance" (הֵ֛ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·we·draw·him·away" (וּֽנְתַקְּנ֔וּהוּ, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "struck·down" (נִגָּפִ֥ים), "as·at·the·first" (כְּבָרִֽאשֹׁנָ֑ה), "let·us·flee" (נָנ֙וּסָה֙). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). First appearance of the root נגף ("struck·down") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'as·at·the·first', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ [and·they·said] (263) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + בִנְיָמִ֔ן [Benjamin] (152) + נִגָּפִ֥ים [struck·down] (183) + הֵ֛ם [abundance] (45) + לְפָנֵ֖ינוּ [before·us] (226) + כְּבָרִֽאשֹׁנָ֑ה [as·at·the·first] (578) + וּבְנֵ֧י [and·sons·of] (68) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל [Israel] (541) + אָמְר֗וּ [they·said] (247) + נָנ֙וּסָה֙ [let·us·flee] (171) + וּֽנְתַקְּנ֔וּהוּ [and·we·draw·him·away] (623) + מִן־הָעִ֖יר [from·the·city] (375) + אֶל־הַֽמְסִלּֽוֹת [to·the·highways] (572) = 4106.
Radak
"And we will draw it away." The dagesh in the kuf is for the beauty of the reading, and similar cases we have written about in the book Mikhlol.
Metzudat David
“And they said, etc.” This means that the sons of Benjamin thought that they were being struck down and could not withstand them.
"And the children of Israel." This implies that, in truth, they deliberately fled in order to completely remove them from the city to the roads, so that the ambushers could enter the city.
Metzudat Zion
Stricken. Smitten, as in (Psalms 91:12) 'lest you strike [tigof] your foot against a stone':
And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar; and the liers-in-wait of Israel broke forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.
verse value 3809
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. Verse gematria: 3809 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·them·of" (וְכֹ֣ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·his·place" (מִמְּקוֹמ֔וֹ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 541: Israel, Israel. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "they·rose" (קָ֚מוּ), "from·his·place" (מִמְּקוֹמ֔וֹ), "at·Baal" (בְּבַ֣עַל). The root ישראל appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "and·them·of" (root כל, 44x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Baal-tamar', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְכֹ֣ל [and·them·of] (56) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל [Israel] (541) + קָ֚מוּ [they·rose] (146) + מִמְּקוֹמ֔וֹ [from·his·place] (232) + וַיַּעַרְכ֖וּ [and·they·arrayed] (312) + בְּבַ֣עַל [at·Baal] (104) + תָּמָ֑ר [Baal-tamar] (640) + וְאֹרֵ֧ב [and·lying·in·wait] (209) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל [Israel] (541) + מֵגִ֥יחַ [burst·forth] (61) + מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹ [from·his·place] (226) + מִמַּ֥עֲרֵה [from·bare·space·of] (355) + גָֽבַע [Geba] (75) = 3809.
Rashi
"At Baal-tamar." In the plain of Jericho.
Magiach. It is derived from the meaning of "to burst forth" or "to emerge," as in (Job 40:23): "The Jordan will surge into his mouth"; and (Psalms 22:10): "You drew me from the womb."
"From Maareh-geba." From a narrow place, the exposed and uncovered [area] of the hill of Benjamin, a spot of its vulnerability where it is easy to conquer from there, as in (Genesis 42:9): "to see the nakedness of the land you have come."
Radak
"They arose from his place." 'They arose' refers to the individual; 'from his place' refers to the collective.
"Magiach." Explanation: it means "emerging/coming out," and it is an intransitive verb; whereas "though the Jordan gush against his mouth" (Job 40:23) — there "yagiach" is a transitive verb.
"From a cave of a hill." The Targum translates: "From the plain of the hill." And it may be interpreted from the sense of nakedness, as in "naked by the Nile," and "sprouting forth" like a green citizen, which pertains to moisture; and that place which was adjacent to the hill was a place of lush vegetation.
Metzudat David
They rose from their place. After they had drawn the Benjaminites away from the city, they rose from their place, and turned their faces toward the sons of Benjamin, and they arrayed themselves for battle against them at Baal Tamar.
"And the ambush." The meaning is: And even the ambush had already moved from its place, "from Maareh-geba," for they did not turn their faces until after they saw the column of smoke rising from the city, which the ambush had caused to rise, as it is written in the matter:
Metzudat Zion
Drawing forth. The sense of drawing out, as in (Psalms 22:10) "You drew me [gochi] from the womb":
From an open place. From an exposed place that is convenient to conquer from there, and it is like (Leviticus 20:18) "her fountain has been laid bare [he'erah]":
Malbim
"And every man of Israel." Initially, they stationed a portion of the camp in the manner of battle, and they made themselves appear as routed [in retreat]. Meanwhile, all the men, who constituted the camp in its entirety, arose and took their positions at Baal-tamar. Now, Israel came from Bethel, which is to the north of the land of Benjamin; thus, the camp was positioned to the north. And while Israel was arranging themselves, one of the ambushes, which was located to the west of Geva, sallied forth from its place—from the cave of Geva, where it had been standing in concealment within a cave.
And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.
verse value 3846
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·all·Israel" (מִכׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: was·heavy, not. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "from·all·Israel" (מִכׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל), "was·heavy" (כָּבֵ֑דָה), "and·abundance" (וְהֵם֙). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 93x in Judges); "upon·them" (root על, 87x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'was·heavy', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Metzudat David
“And they came.” The ambush, which consisted of ten thousand men, had already arrived opposite Gibeah.
"And the battle was fierce." This means that despite this, both sides fought with strength and might.
"And they": He means to say that the sons of Benjamin did not yet know that the evil concerned them and was near at hand, for they had not seen the column of smoke at the time when the Israelites saw it, and their hearts had not yet been melted; and they too fought with valor.
Malbim
"And they came opposite Gibeah." From the west side of the city; according to this, the men of Benjamin were surrounded from the north and the west, and then the battle became heavy upon them, and they did not know that evil was touching them, and the end of the battle was that by this means twenty-five thousand men fell from them on that day. All of this is written in general terms, and now it will begin to explain in detail how it happened. And it begins to elucidate the details of the battle:
And Hashem smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men; all these drew the sword.
verse value 5120
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 84 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "son" (בְנֵ֨י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Benjamin" (אֶֽת־בִּנְיָמִן֮, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 620: twenty, drawing·sword. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·plagued" (וַיִּגֹּ֨ף), "of·Benjamin" (בְּבִנְיָמִן֙). The root ישראל appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 2 words.
Metzudat David
"And the Lord struck." This implies that ultimately, the matter concluded with the Lord striking down Benjamin before Israel, and in the course of all this, they destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men from among them.
So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten. And the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted to the liers-in-wait whom they had set against Gibeah.—
verse value 3555
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Benjamin" (בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִ֖ן, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: for, for. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "they·were·struck" (נִגָּ֑פוּ), "trusted" (בָֽטְחוּ֙), "to·the·ambush" (אֶל־הָ֣אֹרֵ֔ב). The root כי appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man·Israel" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "that·they·set" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "sons·of·Benjamin" (root בן, 116x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·were·struck', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיִּרְא֥וּ [and·they·saw] (223) + בְנֵֽי־בִנְיָמִ֖ן [sons·of·Benjamin] (214) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + נִגָּ֑פוּ [they·were·struck] (139) + וַיִּתְּנ֨וּ [and·they·gave] (472) + אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל [man·Israel] (852) + מָקוֹם֙ [place] (186) + לְבִנְיָמִ֔ן [to·Benjamin] (182) + כִּ֤י [for] (30) + בָֽטְחוּ֙ [trusted] (25) + אֶל־הָ֣אֹרֵ֔ב [to·the·ambush] (239) + אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֖מוּ [that·they·set] (847) + אֶל־הַגִּבְעָֽה [to·Gibeah] (116) = 3555.
Rashi
"And the men of Israel gave..." Those who were in the field, a place for Benjamin to flee to Gibeah, for Israel relied on the ambushers that they would go out to meet them.
Radak
"The place of Benjamin." To pursue, for it was near Gibeah, to pursue after them. And they were fleeing before them with intent, so that they would become separated from the city, and they were relying on the ambushers, that they would enter the city.
Metzudat David
"And they saw, etc." He now returns to recount all the details of the events, and he states at first that the sons of Benjamin thought that Israel had been struck down before them, and Israel allowed the sons of Benjamin to err, for they fled intentionally so that they would pursue them and become detached from the city, for they relied on the ambushers, that they would capture the city after their detachment.
Malbim
"And the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten." This means that immediately at the outset, when the ambush emerged, the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, and their intention was to return to the city. Then the children of Israel gave way to Benjamin, meaning that the camp which had stood against him in the north began to flee once more. And the text relates why they did this: because they trusted in the ambush which they had set at Gibeah. This was another ambush located on the southern side, which was prepared to kill the inhabitants of the city. And it had been agreed among them that when [the ambush] had struck down all the men of the city, they would set the city on fire, and when Israel would see the smoke rising, they would turn back against Benjamin and surround them on every side, as will be explained. And this is what is stated: "for they trusted in the ambush, etc."
And the liers-in-wait hastened, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew forth, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
verse value 2756
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "and·struck" (וַיַּ֥ךְ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 2756 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·struck" (וַיַּ֥ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·the·city" (אֶת־כׇּל־הָעִ֖יר, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "hastened" (הֵחִ֔ישׁוּ), "and·they·raided" (וַֽיִּפְשְׁט֖וּ), "and·drew" (וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙). The root ארב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges); "and·struck" (root נכה, 28x in Judges); "with·edge·of·sword" (root חרב, 25x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Gibeah', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְהָאֹרֵ֣ב [and·that·lies·in·wait] (214) + הֵחִ֔ישׁוּ [hastened] (329) + וַֽיִּפְשְׁט֖וּ [and·they·raided] (411) + אֶל־הַגִּבְעָ֑ה [to·Gibeah] (116) + וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙ [and·drew] (376) + הָאֹרֵ֔ב [that·lies·in·wait] (208) + וַיַּ֥ךְ [and·struck] (36) + אֶת־כׇּל־הָעִ֖יר [all·the·city] (736) + לְפִי־חָֽרֶב [with·edge·of·sword] (330) = 2756.
Rashi
"And the ambush drew." He sounded the shofar. Another interpretation: By shofar he drew the people who were with him into the city.
Radak
"And the ambush was drawn out." Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] interpreted it as an intransitive verb, ve'itnagid kemaneih, meaning "it extended of itself," implying that it was drawn toward the hill. And it may also be interpreted according to its plain meaning, as a transitive verb, meaning that they sounded [the shofar] and raised a shout, as in "when the ram's horn is sounded" (Exodus 19:13).
Metzudat David
And the ambush hastened it. While they were pursuing, the men of the ambush hastened and rushed upon the city, entered it, and struck it.
Metzudat Zion
Hasten. Hurry, as in (Psalms 55:9) "hasten [ha-chisha] to deliver me":
And they spread out. The sense of scattering, and as is the way of those who fight:
To the edge. The edge of the sword is called its 'mouth [peh]':
Malbim
And the ambush. At that time, when Israel made themselves appear to flee a second time, at that time the ambush hastened and swooped down upon the city and struck the men of the city. But since there was an appointed time set between the men of Israel and the ambush—that is to say, that they had set an appointed time and fixed the time between them, that the time for the beginning of the battle would be when they would increase in sending up the column of smoke from the city, at which time the ambush would go out from the city to close them in from the third side—and this continued for a short time until they finished striking the men of the city—therefore, for this reason:
Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait, that they should make a great beacon of smoke rise up out of the city.—
verse value 3680
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "was" (הָיָ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·raise" (לְהַעֲלוֹתָ֛ם, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·the·meeting" (וְהַמּוֹעֵ֗ד), "with·the·ambush" (עִם־הָאֹרֵ֑ב), "the·multitude" (הֶ֕רֶב). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·man·of" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·the·ambush', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְהַמּוֹעֵ֗ד [and·the·meeting] (131) + הָיָ֛ה [was] (20) + לְאִ֥ישׁ [to·man·of] (341) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + עִם־הָאֹרֵ֑ב [with·the·ambush] (318) + הֶ֕רֶב [the·multitude] (207) + לְהַעֲלוֹתָ֛ם [to·raise] (581) + מַשְׂאַ֥ת [rising·of] (741) + הֶעָשָׁ֖ן [smoke] (425) + מִן־הָעִֽיר [from·the·city] (375) = 3680.
Rashi
"And the appointed time was." Initially, there was a signal between Israel and the ambushers, so that the ambushers would increase the smoke rising from the city, and Israel would understand that the ambushers had captured Gibeah.
From the rising of the smoke. The height of the smoke:
Radak
"And the appointed time." They established this time between them so that when the ambushers would enter the city, they would set fire to the city, and the rising smoke would serve as a sign to Israel that the city had already been captured. At the time they would see the smoke, they would turn their faces toward Benjamin to strike them. The meaning of "the rising smoke" is a column of smoke that rises upward. As for why it says "a column of smoke" after it said "and the rising began," it is an additional explanation. Or perhaps "rising" refers to burning, from the context of "David lifted them up," referring to burning; "rising" is named after the flame that rises upward. Similarly, in the Mishnah: "They raise signal fires." The meaning of "the rising smoke" is the rising of the flame, and "the rising smoke" is a rising that stands in the place of two. It is also called "a column of smoke," "rising" because it rises upward. According to this interpretation, "stood" is written deficient, lacking a vav. And the meaning of "and the rising began" is that the flame began to rise, and the column of smoke also began to rise.
Metzudat David
"And the appointed time was." This means that from the time they sent out the ambush, they had a signal with the ambush to know the time of their arrival at the city.
"Greatly, to bring it up." This means that the sign of knowing the time was that they should raise up a great quantity of smoke from the city, by burning things that produce much smoke.
Metzudat Zion
And the appointed time. The time, as in (Jeremiah 46:17) 'he let the appointed time pass,' meaning: they announced the time of their coming:
Greatly. Abundantly:
The column of smoke. The pillar of smoke, [so named] because it rises upward:
And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said: ‘Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.’
verse value 5255
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 92 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·man·of·Israel" (בְּאִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 9 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·turned" (וַיַּהֲפֹ֥ךְ), "and·Benjamin" (וּבִנְיָמִ֡ן), "began" (הֵחֵל֩). The root איש appears 3 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man·Israel" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "you" (root הוא, 71x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'battle', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 16 words.
Rashi
"And the man of Israel turned back." Now it returns to the beginning of the matter and repeats and explains the twenty-five thousand that we wrote above (verse 35): how they fell and where they fell.
Radak
"And the man of Israel turned." He turned his back to the men of Benjamin in battle, so that they would break away from the city.
Metzudat David
"And they turned back." This means that at the time when the men of Israel turned to flee, the Benjaminites began striking them dead, thinking that they [Israel] were actually being routed as at first.
Malbim
"And the men of Israel turned in the battle." This means that this was the matter of what was recounted earlier, that they made room for Benjamin by making themselves appear as though they were fleeing. This was because of the appointment they had made with the ambush. And at that time, Benjamin began to strike down the slain, etc., about thirty men. And the sons of Benjamin thought, "It is but a rout," meaning that even though they too were being struck down in the midst of the battle, they did not pay attention to this, for they thought that even though Israel had strengthened themselves for a moment, surely their strength would be exhausted. And therefore, they made room for Benjamin. According to this, these three verses serve as an explanation and interpretation of what was stated in verse 36, "And the men of Israel made room for Benjamin, because they trusted in the ambush which they had set against Gibeah."
But when the beacon began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven.
verse value 3720
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "smoke" (עָשָׁ֑ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "whole·of·the·city" (כְלִיל־הָעִ֖יר, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 375: from·the·city, whole·of·the·city. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·uprising" (וְהַמַּשְׂאֵ֗ת), "began" (הֵחֵ֛לָּה), "to·go·up" (לַעֲל֥וֹת). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·go·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges); "from·the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges); "after·him" (root אחר, 49x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'smoke', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהַמַּשְׂאֵ֗ת [and·uprising] (752) + הֵחֵ֛לָּה [began] (48) + לַעֲל֥וֹת [to·go·up] (536) + מִן־הָעִ֖יר [from·the·city] (375) + עַמּ֣וּד [pillar] (120) + עָשָׁ֑ן [smoke] (420) + וַיִּ֤פֶן [and·turned] (146) + בִּנְיָמִן֙ [Benjamin] (152) + אַחֲרָ֔יו [after·him] (225) + וְהִנֵּ֛ה [and·behold] (66) + עָלָ֥ה [went·up] (105) + כְלִיל־הָעִ֖יר [whole·of·the·city] (375) + הַשָּׁמָֽיְמָה [heaven] (400) = 3720.
Radak
"The whole of the town." The burning of the city was complete; the smoke of the fire rose up to the heavens.
Metzudat David
And the raising up. At the time when Israel fled, and Benjamin pursued them, then the raising up began to ascend, and the children of Israel saw it immediately, as it is written above (verse 38):
And he turned. And as Benjamin turned after him, he too saw that the smoke of the city was ascending to the heavens.
Metzudat Zion
Began. It began:
Column of smoke. Said for added clarification, for he already said 'and the rising':
Whole. From the word for whole, as in (Leviticus 6:15) 'you shall burn it whole [kalil],' meaning: the smoke of the burning of the whole city:
Malbim
And the smoke. However, when the ambush had finished striking the city, they then set the city on fire, and a column of smoke rose as a signal. Then Benjamin saw two things leading to his downfall: a) that the entire city was consumed, and b) that the men of Israel had turned back. Consequently, the men of Benjamin were terrified, for they saw that disaster had befallen them.
And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were amazed; for they saw that evil was come upon them.
verse value 2269
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·touched" (כִּֽי־נָגְעָ֥ה, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "turned" (הָפַ֔ךְ), "and·was·disturbed" (וַיִּבָּהֵ֖ל), "that·touched" (כִּֽי־נָגְעָ֥ה). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·man·of" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "upon·him" (root על, 87x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְאִ֤ישׁ [and·man·of] (317) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + הָפַ֔ךְ [turned] (105) + וַיִּבָּהֵ֖ל [and·was·disturbed] (53) + אִ֣ישׁ [man] (311) + בִּנְיָמִ֑ן [Benjamin] (152) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + רָאָ֔ה [saw] (206) + כִּֽי־נָגְעָ֥ה [that·touched] (158) + עָלָ֖יו [upon·him] (116) + הָרָעָֽה [the·evil] (280) = 2269.
Radak
He turned his face toward Benjamin to strike them.
Metzudat David
“And a man of Israel.” He means to say, “Moreover, he saw that a man of Israel had turned to him to fight against him, after having fled at first; and from this he discerned and understood that they had set the city on fire, and that they had fled at first with cunning. For this reason he was greatly alarmed, because he saw that the calamity had touched him and was near at hand.”
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the city destroyed them in the midst of the men of Israel.
verse value 4873
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֤ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "overtook·him" (הִדְבִּיקָ֑תְהוּ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "to·way" (אֶל־דֶּ֣רֶךְ), "overtook·him" (הִדְבִּיקָ֑תְהוּ), "corrupting" (מַשְׁחִיתִ֥ים). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'overtook·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּפְנ֞וּ [and·they·turned] (152) + לִפְנֵ֨י [to·face·of] (170) + אִ֤ישׁ [man] (311) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + אֶל־דֶּ֣רֶךְ [to·way] (255) + הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר [the·wilderness] (251) + וְהַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה [and·the·battle] (134) + הִדְבִּיקָ֑תְהוּ [overtook·him] (532) + וַֽאֲשֶׁר֙ [and·that] (507) + מֵהֶ֣עָרִ֔ים [from·the·cities] (365) + מַשְׁחִיתִ֥ים [corrupting] (808) + אוֹת֖וֹ [him] (413) + בְּתוֹכֽוֹ [in·his·midst] (434) = 4873.
Rashi
"And those from the cities": The ambush [party] that had entered the city was destroying it [Benjamin], within the tribe, within the city.
Radak
And they turned. They turned their backs on Israel and fled through the wilderness.
“And the war overtook him.” The men of war overtook him.
"And those from the cities." As its Targum [reads]: "And men from their cities arose, slaying them, from here and from there." This means that the ambushers who entered Gibeah were destroying them from Gibeah and from the other cities. And the explanation of "within it" is: within Benjamin; just as those who were slain from the outside, so too these were slain from the inside.
Metzudat David
"To the way of the wilderness." For they could not return to the hill, because of the ambush.
"And the battle." The congregation of the battle from Israel overtook him in their pursuit of them.
“And those from the cities.” This means: And whoever came from the cities of Benjamin to the road of the wilderness to rescue any of them, the Israelites would also destroy him among those who were fighting.
Metzudat Zion
She overtook him. She reached him and was attached to him:
Malbim
"And they turned back." At that time, they were surrounded on three sides: the camp was in the north, the first ambush that emerged from the cave was in the west, and the second ambush that set fire to the city was in the south. They were forced to retreat along the path of the wilderness toward the east, which was open. Their route was along the roads, and from there before the city on its eastern side, and from there into the wilderness. However, during this battle, they were overtaken, for they were surrounded and pursued from three sides. Moreover, those from the cities were destroying them from within, as the camps of Israel that had exited the cities entered into the midst of the camp of Benjamin and devastated it.
They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and overtook them at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
verse value 3020
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֛ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·rising·of·the·sun" (מִמִּזְרַח־שָֽׁמֶשׁ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "they·surrounded" (כִּתְּר֤וּ), "chased·him" (הִרְדִיפֻ֔הוּ), "resting·place" (מְנוּחָ֖ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "until" (root עד, 21x in Judges); "Gibeah" (root גבעה, 20x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'trod·him·down', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּתְּר֤וּ [they·surrounded] (626) + אֶת־בִּנְיָמִן֙ [Benjamin] (553) + הִרְדִיפֻ֔הוּ [chased·him] (310) + מְנוּחָ֖ה [resting·place] (109) + הִדְרִיכֻ֑הוּ [trod·him·down] (250) + עַ֛ד [until] (74) + נֹ֥כַח [opposite] (78) + הַגִּבְעָ֖ה [Gibeah] (85) + מִמִּזְרַח־שָֽׁמֶשׁ [from·the·rising·of·the·sun] (935) = 3020.
Rashi
"Crown Benjamin": Surround Benjamin like a crown that encircles the head. Similarly, it is stated in Psalms (22:3): "The mighty ones of Bashan have encircled me"; and similarly in Habakkuk (1:4): "For the wicked one encircles the righteous one." And likewise, the term "crown" (or "garland") is used in the sense of encircling, as it is stated in I Samuel (23:26): "And Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to capture them."
"They pursued him hard": They call after him in pursuit, shouting to one another to pursue.
"Menuchah — they trod him down": Near the cities in which they were comfortable, there they overtook him.
"They overtook him": They caught up with him. There is a parallel to this usage in the language of the Gemara (Ketubot 60b): "He ran after him a parasang in the sand, but did not catch up with him."
"Until opposite Gibeah." From the east side of Gibeah:
Radak
“Crown.” They surrounded him like a crown, and in this manner they encircle David and his men to seize them.
“Pursue him.” This means that each of them says to the other: “Pursue him.”
"[From] Menuhah they trod him down." [The word] lacks the prefixed mem, and the meaning is: "From a place of rest they trod him down." So too did Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] render it: "From their place of rest they drove them out." Alternatively, the meaning is: "In the place of their rest they trod him down," just as it says, "opposite Gibeah," meaning: in the place where they thought to rest, there they trod him down. And according to this interpretation, "trod him down" derives from the sense of treading, as in "like one who treads in the winepress."
Metzudat David
"כתרו" – They surrounded him like this crown that encircles the head, as it is said (Psalms 22:13): "Mighty ones of Bashan have surrounded me."
“Pursue him.” This means that they called out to one another, saying, “Pursue him.”
"Menuhah, they trod him down." In the place of his rest and his inheritance, they called out to one another, "Trample him!"
“Until it was opposite the hill.” This means that they pursued and trampled them until they were opposite the hill, on its eastern side.
Metzudat Zion
They encircled. From the word for crown:
They trode. From the word for treading and trampling:
Malbim
"They encircled him." Now he explains each [word] individually: first, "they encircled Benjamin"—like a crown—this was the time when the first ambush went out, which surrounded him from two sides. Afterward, "they caused him to pursue" [hirdifuhu]—this is a causative verb, directed to a third [party], meaning that they made him into the pursuer by making themselves appear routed, while he was the pursuer, as stated (20:36, 40). Afterward, "rest overtook him" [menuchah hidrichuhu], meaning they set his cities ablaze: "and those from the cities were destroying him within it." And he was struck until opposite Gibeah, toward the east, toward sunrise, for it was by that route that he fled into the wilderness.
And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour.
verse value 2607
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "thousand" (אֶ֖לֶף, 3 letters) and the longest is "eight·ten" (שְׁמֹנָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "eight·ten" (שְׁמֹנָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "from·Benjamin" (root בנימן, 34x in Judges); "thousand" (root אלף, 34x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַֽיִּפְּלוּ֙ [and·they·fell] (132) + מִבִּנְיָמִ֔ן [from·Benjamin] (192) + שְׁמֹנָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר [eight·ten] (965) + אֶ֖לֶף [thousand] (111) + אִ֑ישׁ [man] (311) + אֶת־כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה [all·these] (487) + אַנְשֵׁי־חָֽיִל [men·of·strength] (409) = 2607.
Rashi
"And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell." In the field, during the battle.
Malbim
"And they fell." Now, it enumerates in detail how many fell in each place: first, at the place of the battle, eighteen thousand fell. (45) And afterwards, when they fled toward the wilderness, when he reached the roads, as stated above, there five thousand fell; and from there they pursued him to Gidom, and they killed another two thousand.
And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and followed hard after them to Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.
verse value 4151
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 85 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֑ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·gleaned·him" (וַיְעֹלְלֻ֙הוּ֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: man, man. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·gleaned·him" (וַיְעֹלְלֻ֙הוּ֙), "until·Gidom" (עַד־גִּדְעֹ֔ם). The root אלף appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·crag" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "after·him" (root אחר, 49x in Judges). First appearance of the root רמון ("Rimmon") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 7 words.
Rashi
"And they picked them off": This denotes a slaughter following a slaughter, like the gleanings that follow the vintage.
Five thousand men. Thus, there are twenty-three thousand.
"Until Gidom." It is the name of a place.
"And they struck of them two thousand men." Thus, the twenty-five thousand mentioned above (verse 35), and the hundred written above (ibid.), it did not specify where they fell.
Radak
"And they picked him off." Even the stragglers [gleanings] that remained of them were cut off, like one who gleans a vineyard.
Metzudat David
And they turned aside. They turned aside from the way, and fled into the wilderness, "to the rock of Rimmon."
"And they gleaned them." On the roads they killed the survivors, like the gleanings that are gathered after the grape harvest.
"And they overtook them." They overtook him and drew near to him until they came to Gidom, and they struck down two thousand men.
Metzudat Zion
And they gathered the gleanings. From the word for gleanings, which are gathered after the vintage, as in (above 8:2) 'are not the gleanings of Ephraim good?':
So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.
verse value 3480
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "thousand" (אֶ֥לֶף, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·who·fell" (כׇל־הַנֹּ֨פְלִ֜ים, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "all·who·fell" (כׇל־הַנֹּ֨פְלִ֜ים). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "in·the·day" (root יום, 76x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'that', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִי֩ [and·it·was] (31) + כׇל־הַנֹּ֨פְלִ֜ים [all·who·fell] (265) + מִבִּנְיָמִ֗ן [from·Benjamin] (192) + עֶשְׂרִים֩ [twenty] (620) + וַחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה [and·five] (359) + אֶ֥לֶף [thousand] (111) + אִ֛ישׁ [man] (311) + שֹׁ֥לֵֽף [he·drew] (410) + חֶ֖רֶב [sword] (210) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֑וּא [that] (17) + אֶת־כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה [all·these] (487) + אַנְשֵׁי־חָֽיִל [men·of·strength] (409) = 3480.
Radak
"Twenty-five thousand men." As for the [additional] hundred that he counted above, he omitted it here, because it is a [specific] detail, and he relied on the first number that he had mentioned.
Ralbag
And indeed in this manner it relates in general that the sons of Israel destroyed of Binyamin twenty-five thousand and one hundred men. And afterwards it mentions the particulars. And it relates how the beginning was in the matter of the ambush, and how the stratagem was in the matter of the ambush, at the appointed time that the sons of Israel hurried to raid against Gibeah and to strike the city with the edge of the sword. And he said this to raise the smoke from the city, to confuse the sons of Binyamin at seeing that the whole smoke of the city went up to heaven. And indeed it did not mention in the particulars except twenty-five thousand men, and he did not mind the hundred that exceed the count, for he did not mention in the particulars except the thousands. And it seems that there were more than the thousands, in every killing and killing a certain number, when all the gatherings are one hundred men. And it relates that six hundred men remained of Binyamin, and they fled to the rock of Rimmon. And it was already mentioned at first that the number of the sons of Binyamin was twenty-six thousand drawing the sword, and seven hundred. And it seems that the thousand that remained died in the first battles.
Metzudat David
Twenty-five thousand. And above it said (verse 35) "another hundred men," and now it did not deem it necessary to mention only the thousands:
"On that day." For in the earlier battles, although the Israelites were struck down, nonetheless a thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin also fell at that time. And this is what is written below (verse 47), that only six hundred men remained of them, for the men of Benjamin were twenty-six thousand, besides the seven hundred men of Gibeah. In the final battle, twenty-five thousand and one hundred fell, and in the earlier battles, a thousand fell; thus, six hundred remained.
Malbim
"And all who fell." The total was twenty-five thousand. And what is meant by "on that day"? The thousand and one hundred missing (from the count of twenty-six thousand seven hundred, as stated above in 15) fell in previous battles, or were killed in caves on the days following.
But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.
verse value 3812
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "six" (שֵׁ֥שׁ, 2 letters) and the longest is "wilderness" (הַמִּדְבָּ֙רָה֙, 6 letters). The root רמון appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "to·crag" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·dwelt" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'man', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּפְנ֞וּ [and·they·turned] (152) + וַיָּנֻ֤סוּ [and·they·fled] (132) + הַמִּדְבָּ֙רָה֙ [wilderness] (256) + אֶל־סֶ֣לַע [to·crag] (191) + הָרִמּ֔וֹן [Rimmon] (301) + שֵׁ֥שׁ [six] (600) + מֵא֖וֹת [hundred] (447) + אִ֑ישׁ [man] (311) + וַיֵּֽשְׁבוּ֙ [and·dwelt] (324) + בְּסֶ֣לַע [in·rock·of] (162) + רִמּ֔וֹן [Rimmon] (296) + אַרְבָּעָ֖ה [four] (278) + חֳדָשִֽׁים [months] (362) = 3812.
Radak
Six hundred men. And there was no woman among them, for these six hundred had fled from the battle, and women do not participate in battle; therefore, no woman remained from the tribe of Benjamin, for they had killed all of them, except for these six hundred who fled to the rock of Rimmon.
Metzudat David
"And they turned." This means that those remaining from them, who had fled to the rock of Rimmon, were "six hundred," and the rest Israel killed as they pursued them along the paths and as far as Gidom, as it is written above.
And the men of Israel turned back upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found; moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.
verse value 4716
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 78 letters. Verse gematria: 4716 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·that·was·found" (כׇּל־הַנִּמְצָ֑א, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "turned·back" (שָׁ֣בוּ), "male" (מְתֹם֙), "until·beast" (עַד־בְּהֵמָ֔ה). The root עיר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·man·of" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "to·sons·of" (root איל, 114x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'all·that·was·found', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Rashi
"They returned to the children of Benjamin." In all the cities:
From an entire city. All the inhabitants of the cities have perished:
"Even the beasts." And men were included in the term "completely destroyed," for "completely destroyed" is an expression of total annihilation. And one might wonder about the thousand: where were they? For twenty-six thousand had been mustered from the cities, and six hundred from Gibeah. And here it counts twenty-five thousand and one hundred men among the fallen, and six hundred fled to the rock of Rimmon, and the thousand fled to the cities and fell the next day when the children of Israel returned to the cities of Benjamin to devote the women and children to destruction.
Radak
"From an entire city." ['From the city'] refers to the people, and ['the whole/entirety'] relates to humankind, encompassing men, women, and children. That is to say: the people in the city and the livestock in the field—they killed them all.
"Until all that is found." Explanation: "All that is found"—birds or animals—all that is found among them, they killed.
"The cities that were found." Explanation: "That were found" means that they were found intact for them, having not been destroyed when the Israelites entered them to kill the inhabitants, who had been destroying the city. As for the cities into which the Israelites did not enter in battle, they returned to them and burned them with fire.
Metzudat David
"They returned." They went back to the cities of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword.
"From the city, its men." From every city, they struck the men, and even the cattle; all that was found therein of beasts and birds.
The [cities] that were found, which they found after this, having not been destroyed since, upon coming to strike them, they returned and burned at the time of their finding:
Metzudat Zion
Men. It is a term for humanity, including men and women, as in (Genesis 34:30) 'few in number [metei mispar]':
Sent forth. Meaning: they ignited, because the fire carries out the errand of going and burning:
Radak
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim