And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
Parallel translations
- WEB The men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were counted four hundred thousand men who drew sword. All these were men of war.
- BSB The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.
- NKJV Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.
- NASB Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were counted, four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.
- NLT Israel had 400,000 experienced soldiers armed with swords, not counting Benjamin’s warriors.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel assembled 400,000 swordsmen against Benjamin, a vast force compared to Benjamin's small army.
Overview
The lopsided numbers (400,000 against roughly 26,000) frame the conflict and make Benjamin's early successes all the more startling. The sheer size of the coalition shows the unity of the other tribes against the outrage at Gibeah, yet numbers alone would not secure the outcome. The narrative repeatedly reminds us that victory belongs to the Lord, not to large armies (cf. Psalm 33:16-17).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Num 1:46Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.
- Num 26:51These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.
- Judg 20:2And 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.
- 1 Sam 15:4And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
- 1 Sam 11:8And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
- 1 Chr 21:5And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
- 2 Chr 17:14–18And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 20:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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