Judges 20:17

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.
• 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.

Context of Judges 20:17

15That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. 16Among this army were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. 18The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God, “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” The Lord said, “Judah should lead.” 19The Israelites got up the next morning and moved against Gibeah.

Judges 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 20:2The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.
• Numbers 1:46And all those numbered totaled 603,550.
• Numbers 26:51These were those numbered of the Israelites, 601,730.
• 1 Samuel 11:8When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.
• 1 Samuel 15:4So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah.
• 1 Chronicles 21:5Joab reported to David the number of warriors. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 sword-wielding soldiers; Judah alone had 470,000 sword-wielding soldiers.
• 2 Chronicles 17:14These were their divisions by families: There were a thousand officers from Judah. Adnah the commander led 300,000 skilled warriors,

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

• Benjamin
• Israel
• Four Hundred
• Congregation
• Fetch
• Gibeah
• Glean
• Trust
• Wickedness
• Wolf

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