14So the Benjaminites gathered from their towns to Gibeah in order to take the field against the Israelites. 15dOn that day the Benjaminites mustered from the towns 26,000 fighting men, mustered apart from the inhabitants of Gibeah; 700 picked men 16of all this force—700 picked men— were left-handed. Every one of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17The men of Israel other than Benjamin mustered 400,000 fighting men, warriors to a man. 18They proceeded to Bethel and inquired of God; the Israelites asked, “Who of us shall advance first to fight the Benjaminites?” And the LORD replied, “Judah first.” 19So the Israelites arose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.
20The men of Israel took the field against the Benjaminites; the men of Israel drew up in battle order against them at Gibeah. 21But the Benjaminites issued from Gibeah, and that day they struck down 22,000 men of Israel.
22Now the army—the men of Israel—rallied and again drew up in battle order at the same place as they had on the first day. 23For the Israelites had gone up and wept before the LORD until evening. They had inquired of the LORD, “Shall we again join battle with our kinsmen the Benjaminites?” And the LORD had replied, “March against them.” 24The Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites on the second day. 25But the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah against them on the second day and struck down 18,000 more of the Israelites, all of them fighting men.
26Then all the Israelites, all the army, went up and came to Bethel and they sat there, weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening, and presented burnt offerings and offerings of well-being to the LORD. 27The Israelites inquired of the LORD (for the Ark of God’s Covenant was there in those days, 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest ministered before Him in those days), “Shall we again take the field against our kinsmen the Benjaminites, or shall we not?” The LORD answered, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hands.”
29Israel put men in ambush against Gibeah on all sides. 30And on the third day, the Israelites went up against the Benjaminites, as before, and engaged them in battle at Gibeah. 31The Benjaminites dashed out to meet the army and were drawn away from the town onto the roads, of which one runs to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. As before, they started out by striking some of the men dead in the open field, about 30 men of Israel.
32The Benjaminites thought, “They are being routed before us as previously.” But the Israelites had planned: “We will take to flight and draw them away from the town to the roads.” 33And while the main body of the Israelites had moved away from their positions and had drawn up in battle order at Baal-tamar, the Israelite ambush was rushing out from its position at Maareh-geba.e 34Thus 10,000 picked men of all Israel came to a point south off Gibeah, and the battle was furious. Before they realized that disaster was approaching, 35the LORD routed the Benjaminites before Israel. That day the Israelites slew 25,100 men of Benjamin, all of them fighting men. 36Then the Benjaminites realized that they were routed.g Now the Israelites had yielded ground to the Benjaminites, for they relied on the ambush which they had laid against Gibeah. 37One ambush quickly deployed against Gibeah, and the other ambush advanced and put the whole town to the sword.
38A time had been agreed upon by the Israelite men with those in ambush: When a huge column of smoke was sent up from the town, 39the Israelite men were to turn about in battle. Benjamin had begun by striking dead about 30 Israelite men, and they thought, “They are being routed before us as in the previous fighting.” 40But when the column, the pillar of smoke, began to rise from the city, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and there was the whole town going up in smoke to the sky! 41And now the Israelites turned about, and the men of Benjamin were thrown into panic, for they realized that disaster had overtaken them. 42They retreated before the men of Israel along the road to the wilderness, where the fighting caught up with them; meanwhile those h-from the towns-h were massacring them in it. 43iThey encircled the Benjaminites, pursued them, and trod them down [from] Menuhah to a point opposite Gibeah on the east. 44That day 18,000 men of Benjamin fell, all of them brave men. 45They turned and fled to the wilderness, to the Rock of Rimmon; but [the Israelites] picked off another 5,000 on the roads and, continuing in hot pursuit of them up to Gidom, they slew 2,000 more. 46Thus the total number of Benjaminites who fell that day came to 25,000 fighting men, all of them brave. 47But 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness, to the Rock of Rimmon; they remained at the Rock of Rimmon four months. 48The men of Israel, meanwhile, turned back to the rest of the Benjaminites and put them to the sword—towns, people, cattle—everything that remained. Finally, they set fire to all the towns that were left.
21 Now the men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: “None of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjaminite.”
2The people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They wailed and wept bitterly, 3and they said, “O LORD God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that one tribe must now be missing from Israel?” 4Early the next day, the people built an altar there, and they brought burnt offerings and offerings of well-being.
5The Israelites asked, “Is there anyone from all the tribes of Israel who failed to come up to the assembly before the LORD?” For a solemn oath had been taken concerning anyone who did not go up to the LORD at Mizpah: “He shall be put to death.” 6The Israelites now relented toward their kinsmen the Benjaminites, and they said, “This day one tribe has been cut off from Israel! 7What can we do to provide wives for those who are left, seeing that we have sworn by the LORD not to give any of our daughters to them in marriage?”
8They inquired, “Is there anyone from the tribes of Israel who did not go up to the LORD at Mizpah?” Now no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. 9For, when the roll of the troops was taken, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was present. 10So the assemblage dispatched 12,000 of the warriors, instructing them as follows: “Go and put the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead to the sword, women and children included. 11This is what you are to do: Proscribe every man, and every woman who has known a man carnally.” 12They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 maidens who had not known a man carnally; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.a
13Then the whole community sent word to the Benjaminites who were at the Rock of Rimmon, and offered them terms of peace. 14Thereupon the Benjaminites returned, and they gave them the girls who had been spared from the women of Jabesh-gilead. b-But there were not enough of them.-b
15Now the people had relented toward Benjamin, for the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16So the elders of the community asked, “What can we do about wives for those who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been killed off?” 17For they said, “There must be a saving remnant for Benjamin, that a tribe may not be blotted out of Israel; 18yet we cannot give them any of our daughters as wives,” since the Israelites had taken an oath: “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin!”
19They said, “The annual feast of the LORD is now being held at Shiloh.” (It lies north of Bethel, east of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.)
20So they instructed the Benjaminites as follows: “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. 21As soon as you see the girls of Shiloh coming out to join in the dances, come out from the vineyards; let each of you seize a wife from among the girls of Shiloh, and be off for the land of Benjamin. 22And if their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we shall say to them, b-‘Be generous to them for our sake! We could not provide any of them with a wife on account of the war, and you would have incurred guilt if you yourselves had given them [wives].”’-b
23The Benjaminites did so. They took to wife, from the dancers whom they carried off, as many as they themselves numbered. Then they went back to their own territory, and rebuilt their towns and settled in them. 24Thereupon the Israelites dispersed, each to his own tribe and clan; everyone departed for his own territory.
25In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as he pleased.
* This is the traditional rendering of shophetim, which, however, in the text is rendered “chieftains.” The corresponding verb shaphat is usually translated not “judged” but “ruled” or “led.”
a Cf. Josh. 14.6, 14.
b-b Cf. Josh. 15.18–19 and notes.
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “Amalekites”; cf. 1 Sam. 15.6.
d I.e., “Proscribed.” Cf. notes at Num. 21.2–3.
e Septuagint reads “But
