the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This moment reveals Benjamin's dangerous arrogance; their success, even if only killing a few, immediately makes them believe the war is over. They're so caught up in their perceived victory that they can't see it's all part of Israel's strategy to draw them out.
the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
The men of Israel are pretending to flee in battle as part of a carefully planned trap to draw the Benjamites out of their city. As the Israelites turn back, the Benjamites pursue, killing about thirty men, and confidently believe they are winning, just as they did in the first disastrous battle. This moment of perceived victory for Benjamin is the critical turning point before the tables are dramatically and decisively turned against them.
The Israelites seemed to be losing badly, but this wasn't a defeat – it was a trap. What does this tell us about God's wisdom in warfare?
This verse describes a pivotal moment in the battle against the tribe of Benjamin. The 'retirement' or 'turning' of the Israelite men wasn't a genuine retreat born of fear or defeat. Instead, it was a deliberate strategy, a carefully orchestrated ploy to draw the Benjamites out from their stronghold in Gibeah.
This tactic mirrored the successful strategy used to conquer Ai centuries earlier (Joshua 8:3-23). The plan was to feign weakness and then, when the enemy pursued carelessly, to cut them off. The initial 'killing of about thirty men' was part of this deception, designed to make the Benjamites overconfident.
The Benjamites felt victorious, thinking history was repeating itself. What fatal flaw did their mindset reveal?
The Benjamites' immediate conclusion upon seeing the Israelite 'retreat' was one of overwhelming triumph. They declared, 'Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.' This statement reveals a dangerous overconfidence and a dangerous reliance on past success.
Their victory in the first engagement against Israel (Judges 20:15, 21) had clearly inflated their pride. Instead of remaining vigilant and discerning, they assumed the outcome was inevitable. This blindness to the true nature of the unfolding events led them to pursue the retreating Israelites recklessly, falling directly into the prepared ambush.
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This verse captures a pivotal moment in a brutal civil war, where a feigned retreat by Israel lulls the Benjaminite army into a false sense of victory, directly mirroring their success in the first battle and leading them into a deadly trap.
c. 1070 BC
The Levite's concubine is abused
A Levite's concubine is brutally gang-raped and mutilated by men of Gibeah, leading to her death. Her husband later dismembers her body and sends the pieces throughout Israel.
c. 1070 BC
Israelites vow to punish Gibeah
The tribes of Israel gather and vow to punish the men of Gibeah for their heinous crime. The tribe of Benjamin refuses to hand over the perpetrators, leading to civil war.
c. 1070 BC
First battle against Benjamin fails
The united tribes of Israel suffer a devastating defeat against Benjamin, losing 22,000 men. This loss prompts prayer and fasting before the next engagement.
c. 1070 BC— this verse
Second battle involves a stratagem
The Israelites employ a new strategy, setting an ambush around Gibeah. The main army feigns retreat to draw the Benjamites out.
c. 1070 BC
Israelites are ambushed and routed
The Benjamite army pursues the feigning Israelites, only to be ambushed from behind by the waiting Israelite forces. The Benjamites are trapped and nearly annihilated.
This passage describes a similar military stratagem where Joshua also used a decoy force to lure the enemy into a trap, mirroring the tactic employed by the Israelites against Benjamin.
1 Samuel 17:51Just as Goliath was overconfident and underestimated David, the Benjamites here wrongly assume victory based on initial success, failing to recognize the larger plan unfolding against them.
Psalm 37:12This verse speaks of the wicked plotting against the righteous and gnashing their teeth, reflecting the Benjamites' aggression and their mistaken belief in their triumph, which is ultimately futile.
Proverbs 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall—this proverb perfectly captures the Benjamites' arrogant assumption of victory based on their early success, setting the stage for their ultimate downfall.
gillJudges 20:39: "And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle."
And when the men of Israel retired in the battle,.... Which is before expressed by their fleeing, and giving place to the Benjaminites, and was only an artifice of theirs, to draw them off from the city: Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons…
ellicottJudges 20:39: "And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle."
(39) And when the men of Israel retired. —This merely repeats with more graphic details the fact already mentioned in Judges 20:31 . The “when” should be omitted, and from “Benjamin began” to the end of the next verse is parenthetic.
This moment reveals Benjamin's dangerous arrogance; their success, even if only killing a few, immediately makes them believe the war is over. They're so caught up in their perceived victory that they can't see it's all part of Israel's strategy to draw them out.
The men of Israel are pretending to flee in battle as part of a carefully planned trap to draw the Benjamites out of their city. As the Israelites turn back, the Benjamites pursue, killing about thirty men, and confidently believe they are winning, just as they did in the first disastrous battle. This moment of perceived victory for Benjamin is the critical turning point before the tables are dramatically and decisively turned against them.
The men of Israel are pretending to flee in battle as part of a carefully planned trap to draw the Benjamites out of their city. As the Israelites turn back, the Benjamites pursue, killing about thirty men, and confidently believe they are winning, just as they did in the first disastrous battle. This moment of perceived victory for Benjamin is the critical turning point before the tables are dramatically and decisively turned against them.
"the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.”" — This moment reveals Benjamin's dangerous arrogance; their success, even if only killing a few, immediately makes them believe the war is over. They're so caught up in their perceived victory that the…
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Last reviewed October 2026