English Standard Version
Judges 20:17
17And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.
Judges 20:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
- New International Version (NIV)Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Israel had 400,000 experienced soldiers armed with swords, not counting Benjamin’s warriors.
Context of Judges 20:17
15And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. 16Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war. 18The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, "Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first." 19Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.
Read all of Judges 20Judges 20:17 word by word
וְאִ֨ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל הִתְפָּֽקְד֗וּ לְבַד֙ מִבִּנְיָמִ֔ן אַרְבַּ֨ע מֵא֥וֹת אֶ֛לֶף אִ֖ישׁ שֹׁ֣לֵֽף חָ֑רֶב כָּל־זֶ֖ה אִ֥ישׁ מִלְחָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- beside Benjaminבִּנְיָמִיןbinyâmîyn · BenjaminH1144
- were numberedפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: listH6485
- fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- thousandאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- that drewשָׁלַףshâlaph · to drawH8025
- swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- of warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
Cross-references for Judges 20:17
- Judges 20:2And 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.
- Numbers 1:46all those listed were 603,550.
- Numbers 26:51This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.
- 1 Samuel 11:8When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
- 1 Samuel 15:4So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah.
- 1 Chronicles 21:5And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword.
- 2 Chronicles 17:14This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor;
Commentaries on Judges 20:17
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-17Verses 15-17 Comparing the numbers here with those in Judges 20:16 See Judges 3:15, and note. In the Septuagint and Vulgate the 700 chosen men of Gibeah are represented as the seven hundred left-handed slingers.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-17Benjamin's response matched its independent and warlike nature (compare Genesis 49:27). The tribe had strong confidence in its famous warriors (Judges 3:12–30; 1 Chronicles 12:2). Although outnumbered nearly three to one, they defeated the rest of Israel twice and caused many casualties (Judges 20:18–24).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1714-17. the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah--Allowing their valor to be ever so great, nothing but blind passion and unbending obstinacy could have impelled them to take the field against their brethren with such a disparity of numbers.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries