Today we begin Judges Chapter 20.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
“All the people of Israel came out,
from Dan to Be’er-sheva,
including Gil‘ad;
the community assembled
with one accord
before Adonai at Mitzpah.”
-Judges 20:1
In the last chapter we just got done reading what could be considered the worst atrocity ever committed by Hebrews in the entire Bible.
Recall it was about a group of perverted men from the tribe of Benjamin who wanted to homosexually gang rape a Levite man.
But instead they accepted the Levite’s concubine (willingly handed over by the Levite) to satisfy their sexual appetites.
The men ended up abusing the concubine so badly she died in the process.
But things didn’t end there.
The Levite’s response was equally appalling.
Instead of giving his concubine a proper burial, he dismembered her and sent her body pieces to each of the tribes in Israel.
Truthfully, the Levite should also have been judged for how he treated the concubine’s body..
But no one seemed to care.
This was the tragic state of Israel during this era when Israel didn’t have a king and every man did what was right in his own eyes.
Now verse 1 tells us that all of Israel answered the call to judge the wicked Benjamites who had murdered the Levite’s concubine.
And when I say “all” of Israel, I indeed mean ALL…
This included even the 2 1/2 tribes who had settled on the east side of the Jordan River.
Notice in verse 1 it says “All the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Be’er-sheva, including Gil‘ad“.
The phrase “from Dan to Beersheva” is just another way to refer to all of Israel.
This phrase also tells us this chapter was written AFTER the tribe of Dan had migrated to the northern part of Israel (this was when they conquered and took over the city of Layish)…
Which means these events were likely recorded during the time when Israel was being ruled by a king, either Saul, David or his son Solomon.
The repeated mention of the phrase “at that time there was no king in Israel” was to drive home the comparison to when Israel DID have a king.
Next, the bit where it says the warriors from Gilead also responded to the call to war is referring to the tribes who settled on the east side of the Transjordan.
Gilead was a specific region occupied by the tribes of Gad and Manessah in the Transjordan.
BUT it was also a term used to refer to all the members of the tribes who decided to make their home outside of promised land territory…
Specifically Reuben, Gad and one-half of Manessah.
There may have been a rift between the 9 1/2 tribes in the land and the 2 1/2 tribes who opted to live outside of the land.
But not in this case.
Here they had all come together to teach Benjamin a lesson…
And it wasn’t gonna be pretty.
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