Judges 20 - Introduction

The vengeance of Israel

The older narrative (A) seems to be contained in Judges 20:1 a (… went out), d (unto the Lord…), Judges 20:3-8; Judges 20:14; Judges 20:19; Judges 20:29; Judges 20:36 b, Judges 20:37 a, Judges 20:38-41; Judges 20:44 a, Judges 20:47; it describes the gathering of all the Israelites at Mizpah, their examination of the Levite and resolve to avenge him, the capture of Gibeah by ambush, the slaughter of 18,000 Benjamites. The other and much later narrative (B), Judges 20:1 b, c, Judges 20:2; Judges 20:9-13; Judges 20:15-18; Judges 20:20-28; Judges 20:30-36 a, Judges 20:37 b, Judges 20:42-43; Judges 20:44-46; Judges 20:48, gives a considerably different account, of which the main features are: the confederate action of the Israelite ecclesia; the three battles; the enormous numbers. Certain irreconcilable or superfluous elements in this narrative may be due to additions or glosses, e.g. Judges 20:11; Judges 20:18; Judges 20:27 b, Judges 20:28 a, Judges 20:31 a. Some scholars detect a third source by subdividing A, but the analysis does not yield very decisive results.