translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JDG

label: NET study note

text: Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.


text: The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.


text: Verses 33-36 a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36 b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.


text: The number given here ( twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites ) is an approximate figure; v. 35 gives the more exact number (25,100). According to v. 15 , the Benjaminite army numbered 26,700 (26,000 + 700). The figures in vv. 35 (rounded in vv. 44-46 ) and 47 add up to 25,700. What happened to the other 1,000 men? The most reasonable explanation is that they were killed during the first two days of fighting. G. F. Moore ( Judges [ICC], 429) and C. F. Burney ( Judges , 475) reject this proposal, arguing that the narrator is too precise and concerned about details to omit such a fact. However, the account of the first two days’ fighting emphasizes Israel’s humiliating defeat. To speak of Benjaminite casualties would diminish the literary effect. In vv. 35, 44-47 the narrator’s emphasis is the devastating defeat that Benjamin experienced on this final day of battle. To mention the earlier days’ casualties at this point is irrelevant to his literary purpose. He allows readers who happen to be concerned with such details to draw conclusions for themselves.