Judges 20:47

Jdg 20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

Ver. 47. Unto the rock Rimmon.] Wherein there was a sweet providence, that these might be as a seminary, for recruit of that tribe.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(47) In the rock Rimmon.—This may be quite literally taken, for there are four large caverns in the hill.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

47. A’s version of the final flight. The 600 survivors have a part to play in the sequel.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin,.... After they had destroyed their army, the city of Gibeah, and the inhabitants of it: not content with this, in their wrath and fury, turned and went:

and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city; even men, women, and children, in every city of Benjamin, at least all that lay in their way; and which they might do to be avenged on them, for sending out their militia against them, which had made such a slaughter among them to the loss of 40,000 men, or to fulfil their oath, that such who came not to Mizpeh should be put to death; for which reason also the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead, as well as of the cities of Benjamin, were put to death, men, women, and children, dealing in the same severity with them as with the Canaanitish nations, or as with a city given to idolatry:

as the beast, and all that came to hand; spared no living creature, herds and flocks:

also they set on fire all the cities that they came unto; which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, so exceedingly wroth were they with them, for protecting such that had been the authors of such abominable wickedness, and for the loss of the lives of so many valuable men.

Next: Judges Chapter 21

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Escape. Mercy was shewn to these, as the tribe had been already treated with sufficient severity. St. Jerome says, they were "reserved for the sake of the apostle Paul," (epit. Paul.; Menochius) who was descended from some of them. (Haydock) --- Remmon, near Gabaa, Zacharias xiv. 10. Eusebius places it fourteen miles north of Jerusalem. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

In a cave within that rock, where they fortified themselves and fetched in provision as they had opportunity; which they could easily do, when the heat of the battle was over, and the Israelites were not solicitous to pursue them farther.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

But six hundred men turned. If these 600 survivors are added to the 25, 000, or 25, 100, enumerated as slain (vers. "35, 44), it gives a total of 25, 700. But the total number of Benjamites, as given in ver. 15, was 26, 700. There remain, therefore, 1000 men unaccounted for. These may, have been killed partly in the two first days successful battles (vers. 21, 25), and partly in the different cities into which they had escaped, when the general massacre recorded in ver. 48 took place. The rock Rimmon. There are two proposed identifications of this place. One makes it the same as Rummon, "a village perched on the summit of a conical chalky hill," "rising on the south side to a height of several hundred feet from the Wady Muti-yah," and defended on the west side "by a cross valley of great depth," which lies three miles east of Bethel, and seven miles northeast of Gibeah (Tulell el-Ful), and is situated in the wilderness between the highlands of Benjamin and the Jordan. This is advocated by Robinson ("Biblical Researches," 1:440), by Mr. Grove in the "Dictionary of the Bible," and by Lt. Conder ("Quart. State. for July 1880," P. 173). The other is advocated by Mr. W. F. Birch ("Pal. Expl., Quart. State. for April 1880"). This identifies it with the Wady er-Rummon, discovered by Mr. Rawnsley, where there is a vast cave, Mugharet el Jai, about a mile and a half from Geba, capable, according to the local tradition, of holding 600 men, and used to the present day by the villagers as a place of refuge from the government persecutions According to this view, the statement that they abode in the rock Rimmon is strictly correct.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

six hundred

"600" (See: Numbers)

turned back against the people of Benjamin

These people of Benjamin are not the soldiers who fled to the rock of Rimmon, but the ones who were still in the city.

the city

Here "the city" refers to the people in that city. AT: "everyone who was in the city" (See: Metonymy)

in their path

This idiom refers to everything that they found as they went toward the city. AT: "they came to" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

desert

Israel

Benjamin

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.