Judges 20:7-12

Judges 20:7

Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.

 

Since all the heads of the people of Israel were now assembled with the 400,000, it was time for them to give counsel as to what they should do about the situation in Gibeah.  It must be noted that not all the inhabitants of Gibeah were like the rabble that attacked the Levite’s concubine.  Yet, there should have been some kind of laws or magistrates to prevent or punish such a situation.

 

Judges 20:8

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 into his house.

 

The people attending rose up with one agreeing thought that none of them would return back home or go to their tents until the situation in Gibeah has been resolved concerning the murder of the Levite’s concubine.

 

Judges 20:9

But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;

 

A suggestion was made that not all of the four hundred thousand men should attack Gibeah but that they should cast lots to see who will go up against Gibeah to give them an ultimatum concerning the murder or if they refuse to do anything about it, to take physical measures against the town.

 

Judges 20:10

And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.

 

Since the army may be there for a while or that there supplies were running low, they dispatched men according to the size of companies 10 for 100, 100 for 1,000, and 1,000 for 10,000 for the purpose of visiting the adjacent towns and maybe sending some of the men back to their towns to garner supplies of food and water for the troops who were ready to bring vengeance on Gibeah.  Victuals is food.  They needed the food so the army would be well-nourished when they advance upon Gibeah and begin to retaliate against not only the inhabitants but also the ones who perpetrated the crime along with the Magistrates who were very lax in their duties and were not doing the job they were supposed to be doing and that was to enforce the law.

 

Judges 20:11

So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

 

So all the men of the army were now poised and ready to approach the city and they were unified in purpose as one man set on a certain course.  They were determined to see that justice was done for the Levite and his concubine.

 

Judges 20:12

And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?

 

Then the men of the army of Israel went unto all tribes within Benjamin.  The sons of Benjamin were the descendants of ten families.  And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.  (Genesis 46:21, KJV)  So they went to all ten families.  The term “families” may be exchanged for the word “tribes.”  They went to these ten tribes and asked them concerning the wickedness which seemed to pervade the city of Gibeah and also asking to see if this type of wickedness had also spread beyond Gibeah.

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