Rashi on TanakhJudges 20

The leaders of the entire people. The heads of the entire people.¹This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.

They thought they would murder me. They intended to murder me. "Apesment" in old French.

When taking action in their engagement in this engagement with Givas Binyomin, as befits their entirely loathsome, etc.

Comrades. In unified counsel.

To all the tribes of Binyomin. Their ten clans were considered ten families, so that twelve tribes would emanate from Rochel.²The ten clans and the tribes of Menashe and Efraim.

With shriveled right arms. Their right arms were shrunken. They could not utilize them, as if they were closed, as in "Let not the well close its mouth over me."³Tehilim, 69:16.

Each of them These seven hundred men.

At a hair. A strand of hair.

And not miss. And not err.

Yehudah first. But they did not try to inquire whether they would be victorious or vanquished. When they ultimately tried, He replied, "Go up, for tomorrow I shall deliver them into your hand." They were consistent, and fulfilled their promise.⁴V.28.

They crushed. They were punished because they were not equally vengeful over the incident of the figure of Michah,⁵Chapters 17, 18. which had already taken place.⁶Sanhedrin, 103:b.

Baal Tamar. The plain of Yericho.⁷“Tamar”, lit. “date”, alludes to Yericho, “The city of dates.” Devarim, 34:3.

Poured. Extended themselves, as in "He shall draw the Yardein into his mouth,"⁸Eyov, 40:23. "You drew me from the womb."⁹Tehilim, 22:10.

Maareh Gev'ah. From a narrow pass, the "nakedness,"¹⁰“Maareh” is from “Ervah,” nakedness. or exposed overlook of Givas Binyomin; its uncovered part from which it was defenseless against conquest, as in, "You have come to gaze at the nakedness of the land."¹¹Beraishis, 42:9. Yoseif accused his brothers of spying, claiming. that they were seeking Egypt’s “nakedness,” or exposed, defenseless areas.

The Yisroelite troops gave. Those in the field gave ground to Binyomin to escape to Givoh, since the Yisroelites depended on the ambushers to advance toward them.

The ambushers sounded the signal. The shofar blast. Another interpretation: With the shofar, they drew the people with them to the city.

A time frame was pre-arranged At the outset, a signal was arranged between the Yisroelites and the ambushers, whereby the ambushers would raise continuous smoke from the city. The Yisroelites would thus understand that the ambushers had conquered Givoh.

Clouds of smoke. High hanging smoke.

The Yisroelite troops retreated. Scripture now returns to the beginning of the narrative, reviewing and explaining how the twenty five thousand mentioned above¹²V.35. fell, and where they fell.

While those in the city. The ambushers who had penetrated the city demolished the tribe from within the city.

They [lit. crowned] Binyomin. They encircled Binyomin the way a crown encircles the head. Similarly, "The mighty of Bashan encircled me,"¹³Tehilim, 22:13. and, "For the villain encircles the saint."¹⁴Chabakuk, 1:4. Also, the word "wreath" connotes encirclement, as in, "Shaul and his troops encircled [lit. wreathed] David and his troops in order to seize them"¹⁵Shmuel 1, 23:26.

Called for their pursuit. They called for pursuit behind them—they shouted to each other to pursue.

And intercepted them at rest. At the cities, where they generally rested, they intercepted them.

Intercepted them. Caught them. There is a similar term in the Talmud, "He pursued him a parsa in the sand, but did not catch him."¹⁶Kesubos, 60:b.

Up to the area facing Givoh. East of Givoh.

There fell, from Binyomin, eighteen thousand troops In the field, in the thick of battle.

They gleaned them. Killing constantly, like plucking gleanings after reaping.

Five thousand troops. Thus totaling twenty three thousand.

Until Gid'om. The name of a place.

Striking down, of them, two thousand troops. Thus totaling twenty-five thousand mentioned above.¹⁷V.35. The remaining one hundred recorded above¹⁸Ibid. fell at unnamed locations.

Turned to the sons of Binyomin in all the cities.

Completely annihilating the cities. They annihilated all the inhabitants of the cities,

Including the cattle—the people are included in "completely annihilating," since מְּתֹם denotes absolute annihilation. There is a problem with the location of one thousand, as twenty-six thousand were counted in the cities, and seven hundred at Givoh;¹⁹V.15. here, those who fell totaled twenty-five thousand, one hundred troops,²⁰V. 46. and six hundred escaped to Rimon cliff.²¹V. 47. This totals 25,700, whereas the total in v. 15 was 26,700. Evidently, one thousand fled to the cities, and fell the following day when the Bnei Yisroel turned to the cities of Binyomin to annihilate the women and children.