Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this outrage that has occurred among you? Hand over the perverted men in Gibeah so we can put them to death and eradicate evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not obey their fellow Israelites. Instead, the Benjaminites gathered together from their cities to Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. read more.
On that day the Benjaminites rallied 26,000 armed men from their cities, besides 700 choice men rallied by the inhabitants of Gibeah. There were 700 choice men who were left-handed among all these people; all could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, rallied 400,000 armed men, every one an experienced warrior. They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, "Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?" And the Lord answered, "Judah will be first." In the morning, the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. The men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took their battle positions against Gibeah. The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and slaughtered 22,000 men of Israel on the field that day. But the Israelite army rallied and again took their battle positions in the same place where they positioned themselves on the first day. They went up, wept before the Lord until evening, and inquired of Him: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites?" And the Lord answered: "Fight against them." On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites. That same day the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to meet them and slaughtered an additional 18,000 Israelites on the field; all were armed men. The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there, and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving before it. The Israelites asked: "Should we again fight against our brothers the Benjaminites or should we stop?" The Lord answered: "Fight, because I will hand them over to you tomorrow." So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah. On the third day the Israelites fought against the Benjaminites and took their battle positions against Gibeah as before. Then the Benjaminites came out against the people and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about 30 men of Israel on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah through the open country. The Benjaminites said, "We are defeating them as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's flee and draw them away from the city to the highways." So all the men of Israel got up from their places and took their battle positions at Baal-tamar, while the Israelites in ambush charged out of their places west of Geba. Then 10,000 choice men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was about to strike them. The Lord defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin; all were armed men. Then the Benjaminites realized they had been defeated. The men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin, because they were confident in the ambush they had set against Gibeah. The men in ambush had rushed quickly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. The men of Israel had a prearranged signal with the men in ambush: when they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, the men of Israel would return to the battle. When Benjamin had begun to strike them down, killing about 30 men of Israel, they said, "They're defeated before us, just as they were in the first battle." But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, Benjamin looked behind them, and the whole city was going up in smoke. Then the men of Israel returned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had struck them. They retreated before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and those who came out of the cities slaughtered those between them. They surrounded the Benjaminites, pursued them, and easily overtook them near Gibeah toward the east. There were 18,000 men who died from Benjamin; all were warriors. Then Benjamin turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel killed 5,000 men on the highways. They overtook them at Gidom and struck 2,000 more dead. All the Benjaminites who died that day were 25,000 armed men; all were warriors. But 600 men escaped into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and stayed there four months. The men of Israel turned back against the [other] Benjaminites and killed them with their swords-the entire city, the animals, and everything that remained. They also burned down all the cities that remained.


I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict came. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, day or night. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”

The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.


Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets.

The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.


The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.


The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.


When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let's bring the ark of the Lord's covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." So the people sent [men] to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells [between] the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh where it set up the tent of meeting there; the land had been subdued by them.

They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?”

And the Lord answered, “Judah will be first.”

and plunge it into the container or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.

These were the portions that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed to the Israelite tribes by lot at Shiloh in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.

They also said, “Look, there’s an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image that he had made, and it was there as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.

“But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first. See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel.

The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. Then the Israelites inquired of the Lord. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there,

what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name—the house in which you trust—the place that I gave you and your ancestors.