Judges 20:9

Jdg 20:9 But now this [shall be] the thing which we will do to Gibeah; [we will go up] by lot against it;

Ver. 9. We will go up by lot against it.] They do not shake off the plaintiff, or send him to Gibeah for satisfaction, or defer the further hearing and determining of the cause, as the Areopagites dealt by the dame of Smyrna, whom they appointed to appear some hundred years after; but, We will presently go up, say they, and that by lot, that none may think himself wronged.

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.

Jdg 20:9-10. We will go up by lot against it — They probably cast lots who should go, and who should stay at home to provide the necessary supplies. According to all the folly that they have wrought — That we may punish them as such wickedness deserves. In Israel — This is added as an aggravation, that they should do that in Israel, or among God’s peculiar people, which was esteemed abominable even among the heathen. “The abhorrence of the crime” of the Gibeathites “here expressed, and the determination of the Israelites to punish the criminals, were very proper, but they seem to have acted with too much precipitation and resentment. There were with them also sins against the Lord: the abomination of Gibeah was both an evidence and effect of national degeneracy; and it called for deep humiliation and lamentation, that such wickedness had been wrought in Israel, as well as for indignation against the criminals. They ought to have begun with personal and national repentance and reformation; with solemn sacrifices and earnest supplications. This was required in other wars, (Deu 23:9,) much more in such a war as this.” — Scott.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(9) We will go up by lot against it.—The English Version follows the LXX. and other versions in supplying “we will go up.” This is like the decision of the Amphictyonic counsel against the guilty city of Crissa (Grote, iv. 85). But perhaps it should be rendered “we will cast the lot upon it,” to divide its territory when conquered.

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

9. we will go up against it by lot] An accidental omission from the text makes it necessary to supply a verb; the LXX reads we will go up. Judging from Jdg_20:18 and Jdg_1:1, the object of casting lots was to find out which tribe should go up first to the attack.

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.

But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah,.... Where the fact was done; what follows was proposed by some, and unanimously agreed to by all:

we will go up by lot against it; cast lots who shall go up to it and demand satisfaction for the offence committed; and if denied, to act in an hostile manner against it.

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

By lot - To determine who should go up first Jdg 20:18. The shape of the ground probably made it impossible for the whole force to operate at once; and the question of spoil would have something to do with the arrangement. (Compare 1Sa 30:22-25.)

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In common. Hebrew, "by lot." (Calmet) --- They chose one man out of ten to procure provisions, selecting 40,000 for that purpose, or the 10th part of the forces. (Haydock)

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).

9. By lot against it — That is, We will deal with Gibeah just as our fathers, by divine commandment, dealt with devoted Canaanitish cities: we will subdue it, destroy all its inhabitants, and then divide its territory by lot among our families, See Numbers 32:53, 54. Some expositors understand this of the selection by lot of the tenth of the men to supply the rest with provisions during the war, as narrated in the next verse; but such a construction of the passage would be strangely inapposite.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We will go up by lot against it. The words we will go up are not in the Hebrew, but are supplied by the Septuagint, who very likely found in their Hebrew copy the word naaleh, we will go up, which has since (perchance) fallen out of the Hebrew text from its resemblance to the following word aleha against it. The sense will then be, Not one of us will shrink from the dangers of the war; but we will cast lots who shall go up against Gibeah, and who shall be employed in collecting victuals for the army, 40, 000 having to be told off for the latter service. And exactly in the same spirit (if indeed the answer was not actually given by lot) they inquired of the Lord who should go up first (in ver. 18), and, we may presume also, who should follow in the subsequent attacks, though this is omitted for brevity. Others, however, think the words against it by lot are purposely abrupt, and that the meaning is that Israel would deal with Gibeah as they had done with the Canaanites, viz., destroy their city, and divide its territory by lot among the other tribes, after the analogy of Jos_18:8-10. But this interpretation is not borne out by what actually happened, nor is the phrase a likely one to have been used.

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