Judges 20:2

Judges 20:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the chief 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.
• New International Version (NIV)The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.

Context of Judges 20:2

1Then all the sons of Israel from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south], including the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah. The chiefs of all the people of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand men on foot who drew the sword. 3(Now the Benjamites [in whose territory the crime was committed] heard that the [other tribes of the] sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “How did this evil thing happen?” 4So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, replied, “I had come with my concubine to spend the night in Gibeah, [a town] which belongs to [the tribe of] Benjamin.

Judges 20:2 word by word

וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֞וּ פִּנּ֣וֹת כָּל־הָעָ֗ם כֹּ֚ל שִׁבְטֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בִּקְהַ֖ל עַ֣ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים אַרְבַּ֨ע מֵא֥וֹת אֶ֛לֶף אִ֥ישׁ רַגְלִ֖י שֹׁ֥לֵֽף חָֽרֶב׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the chiefפִּנָּהpinnâh · cornerH6438
• of all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of all the tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• presentedיָצַבyâtsab · to standH3320
• themselves in the assemblyקָהָלqâhâl · assemblyH6951
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• footmenרַגְלִיraglîy · on footH7273
• footmenאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that drewשָׁלַףshâlaph · to drawH8025
• swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719

Cross-references for Judges 20:2

• Judges 20:15And the Benjamites assembled out of their cities at that time twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who assembled seven hundred chosen men.
• Judges 8:10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies, about fifteen thousand [fighting] men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.
• 2 Samuel 24:9And Joab gave the sum of the census of the people to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
• 2 Kings 3:26When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.

Commentaries on Judges 20:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The chief of all the people - The corners פנות pinnoth ; for as the corner-stones are the strength of the walls, so are the chiefs the strength of the people. Hence Christ is called the chief corner-stone. In the assembly of the people of God - The Septuagint translate, And all the tribes of Israel stood up before the face of the Lord, ͅ , in the Church of the people of God. Here was a Church, though there was no priest; for, as Tertullian says, Ubi tres…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The chief - literally, “the corner stones.” (Compare 1 Samuel 14:38.)Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-48These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-71-2. all ... the congregation was gathered as one man--In consequence of the immense sensation the horrid tragedy of Gibeah had produced, a national assembly was convened, at which "the chief of all the people" from all parts of the land, including the eastern tribes, appeared as delegates. Mizpeh--the place of convention (for there were other Mizpehs), was in a town situated on the confines of Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15:38; 18:26). Assemblies were…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 20:2

• Mizpah

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Four Hundred
• people of God
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Gibeah

Commentaries on Judges 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary