Battle of Gibeah The Battle of Gibeah is an episode in the Book of Judges . The battle was triggered by an incident of gross inhospitality on part of the Tribe of Benjamin , in which a concubine belonging to a man from the Tribe of Levi was raped to death by a rowdy mob . The Levite had offered his concubine to the mob in place of himself ( whom the mob originally sought to " be intimate with " ) , saying " bring out the man that came into your house , so that we may be intimate with him " and then locked the door for the night . In the morning the Levite found his dead concubine at the door , and butchered her into twelve pieces , and sent the pieces throughout all the territory of Israel . The outraged tribes of Israel sought justice , and asked for the miscreants to be delivered for judgement . The Benjamites refused , so the tribes then sought vengeance , and in the subsequent war , the members of Tribe of Benjamin were systematically killed , including women and children ; when Benjamin was nearly ' extinguished ' , it was decided that the tribe should be allowed to survive , and all the men from another town , Jabesh Gilead , that had refused to take part in the punishment of the Tribe of Benjamin , were killed , so that their daughters could be wed to the surviving men of Benjamin . The first king of Israel , Saul , descended from these men . Due to this war , the Tribe of Benjamin was subsequently referred to as " the smallest of all the tribes . " Scholarly view . According to Jewish scholars , the biblical text describing the battle and the events surrounding it is considerably late in date , originating close to the time of the Deuteronomist ' s compilation of Judges from its source material , and clearly has several exaggerations of both numbers and of modes of warfare . Additionally , the inhospitality which triggered the battle is reminiscent of the Torah ' s account of Sodom and Gomorrah . Many Biblical scholars concluded that the account was a piece of political spin , which had been intended to disguise atrocities carried out by the tribe of Judah against Benjamin , probably in the time of King David as an act of revenge or spite by David against the associates of King Saul , by casting them further back in time , and adding a more justifiable motive . More recently , scholars have suggested that it is more likely for the narrative to be based on a kernel of truth , particularly since it accounts for the stark contrast in the biblical narrative between the character of the tribe before the incident and its character afterwards . Some scholars see the account as illustrating God as ' the judge and preserver of his wayward people . ' Biblical account . In those days , when there was no king in Israel , there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim . He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah . But his concubine played the harlot against him , and went away from him to her father ' s house at Bethlehem in Judah , and was there four whole months . Then her husband arose and went after her , to speak kindly to her and bring her back , having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him . So she brought him into her father ' s house ; and when the father of the young woman saw him , he was glad to meet him . Now his father - in - law , the young woman ' s father , detained him ; and he stayed with him three days . So they ate and drank and lodged there . Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning , and he stood to depart ; but the young woman ' s father said to his son - in - law , " Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread , and afterward go your way . " So they sat down , and the two of them ate and drank together . Then the young woman ' s father said to the man , " Please be content to stay all night , and let your heart be merry . " And when the man stood to depart , his father - in - law urged him ; so he lodged there again . Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart , but the young woman ' s father said , " Please refresh your heart . " So they delayed until afternoon ; and both of them ate . And when the man stood to depart ; he and his concubine and his servant ; his father - in - law , the young woman ' s father , said to him , " Look , the day is now drawing toward evening ; please spend the night . See , the day is coming to an end ; lodge here , that your heart may be merry . Tomorrow go your way early , so that you may get home . " However , the man was not willing to spend that night ; so he rose and departed . The Levite came to Jebus ( Jerusalem , which was a non - Jewish city until its conquest by King David ) , but rejects a suggestion from his servant to spend the night there , and heads for Gibeah . J . P . Fokkelman argues that is a chiasm , which hinges on the Levite referring to Jebus as " a town of aliens who are not of Israel . " In doing this , the narrator is hinting at the " selfishness and rancid group egotism " of the Levite . Yet , it is not the " aliens " of Jebus who commit a heinous crime , but Benjamites in Gibeah . Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening , who also was from the mountains of Ephraim ; he was staying in Gibeah , whereas the men of the place were Benjamites . And when he raised his eyes , he saw the traveler in the open square of the city ; and the old man said , " Where are you going , and where do you come from ? " So he said to him , " We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim ; I am from there . I went to Bethlehem in Judah ; now I am going to the house of the Lord . But there is no one who will take me into his house , although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys , and bread and wine for myself , for your female servant , and for the young man who is with your servant ; there is no lack of anything . " And the old man said , " Peace be with you ! However , let all your needs be my responsibility ; only do not spend the night in the open square . " So he brought him into his house , and gave fodder to the donkeys . And they washed their feet , and ate and drank . As they were enjoying themselves , suddenly certain men of the city , perverted men , surrounded the house and beat on the door . They spoke to the master of the house , the old man , saying , " Bring out the man who came to your house , that we may know him carnally ! " But the man , the master of the house , went out to them and said to them , " No , my brethren ! I beg you , do not act so wickedly ! Seeing this man has come into my house , do not commit this outrage . Look , here is my virgin daughter and the man ' s concubine ; let me bring them out now . Humble them , and do with them as you please ; but to this man do not do such a vile thing ! " But the men would not heed him . So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them . And they knew her and abused her all night until morning ; and when the day began to break , they let her go . Then the woman came as the day was dawning , and fell down at the door of the man ' s house where her master was , till it was light . When her master arose in the morning , and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way , there was his concubine , fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold . And he said to her , " Get up and let us be going . " But there was no answer . So the man lifted her onto the donkey ; and the man got up and went to his place . When he entered his house he took a knife , laid hold of his concubine , and divided her into twelve pieces , limb by limb , and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel . And so it was that all who saw it said , " No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day . Consider it , confer , and speak up ! " The Battle of Gibeah . So all the Children of Israel came out , from Dan to Beersheba , as well as from the land of Gilead , and the congregation gathered together as one man before the Lord at Mizpah . And the leaders of all the people , all the tribes of Israel , presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God , four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword . ( Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah . ) Then the children of Israel said , " Tell us , how did this wicked deed happen ? " So the Levite , the husband of the woman who was murdered , answered and said , " My concubine and I went into Gibeah , which belongs to Benjamin , to spend the night . And the men of Gibeah rose against me , and surrounded the house at night because of me . They intended to kill me , but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died . So I took hold of my concubine , cut her in pieces , and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel , because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel . Look ! All of you are children of Israel ; give your advice and counsel here and now ! " So all the people arose as one man , saying , " None of us will go to his tent , nor will any turn back to his house ; but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah : We will go up against it by lot . We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel , a hundred out of every thousand , and a thousand out of every ten thousand , to make provisions for the people , that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin , they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel . " So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city , united together as one man . Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin , saying , " What is this wickedness that has occurred among you ? Now therefore , deliver up the men , the perverted men who are in Gibeah , that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel ! " But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren , the children of Israel . Instead , the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah , to go to battle against the children of Israel . And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty - six thousand men who drew the sword , besides the inhabitants of Gibeah , who numbered seven hundred select men . Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left - handed ; every one could sling a stone at a hair ' s breadth and not miss . Now besides Benjamin , the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword ; all of these were men of war . Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God . They said , " Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin ? " The Lord said , " Judah first ! " So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah . And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin , and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah . Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah , and on that day cut down to the ground twenty - two thousand men of the Israelites . And the people , that is , the men of Israel , encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day . Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening , and asked counsel of the Lord , saying , " Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin ? " And the Lord said , " Go up against him . " So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day . And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day , and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel ; all these drew the sword . Then all the children of Israel , that is , all the people , went up and came to the house of God and wept . They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening ; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord . So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord ( the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days , and Phinehas the son of Eleazar , the son of Aaron , stood before it in those days ) , saying , " Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin , or shall I cease ? " And the Lord said , " Go up , for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand . " Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah . And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day , and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times . So the children of Benjamin went out against the people , and were drawn away from the city . They began to strike down and kill some of the people , as at the other times , in the highways ( one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah ) and in the field , about thirty men of Israel . And the children of Benjamin said , " They are defeated before us , as at first . " But the children of Israel said , " Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways . " So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar . Then Israel ' s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba . And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah , and the battle was fierce . But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them . The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel . And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty - five thousand one hundred Benjamites ; all these drew the sword . So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated . The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites , because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah . And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah ; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword . Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city , whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle . Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel . For they said , " Surely they are defeated before us , as in the first battle . " But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke , the Benjamites looked behind them , and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven . And when the men of Israel turned back , the men of Benjamin panicked , for they saw that disaster had come upon them . Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness ; but the battle overtook them , and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst . They surrounded the Benjamites , chased them , and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east . And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell ; all these were men of valor . Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon ; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways . Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom , and killed two thousand of them . So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty - five thousand men who drew the sword ; all these were men of valor . But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon , and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months . And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin , and struck them down with the edge of the sword ; from every city , men and beasts , all who were found . They also set fire to all the cities they came to . Tribe of Benjamin ' s reconciliation . Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah , saying , " None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife . " Then the people came to the house of God , and remained there before God till evening . They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly , and said , " O Lord God of Israel , why has this come to pass in Israel , that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel ? " So it was , on the next morning , that the people rose early and built an altar there , and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings . The children of Israel said , " Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the Lord ? " For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah , saying , " He shall surely be put to death . " And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother , and said , " One tribe is cut off from Israel today . What shall we do for wives for those who remain , seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives ? " And they said , " What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord ? " And , in fact , no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly . For when the people were counted , indeed , not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there . So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men , and commanded them , saying , " Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword , including the women and children . And this is the thing that you shall do : You shall utterly destroy every male , and every woman who has known a man intimately . " So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately ; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh , which is in the land of Canaan . Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon , and announced peace to them . So Benjamin came back at that time , and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead ; and yet they had not found enough for them . And the people grieved for Benjamin , because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel . Then the elders of the congregation said , " What shall we do for wives for those who remain , since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed ? " And they said , " There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin , that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel . However , we cannot give them wives from our daughters , for the children of Israel have sworn an oath , saying , ' Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin . ' " Then they said , " In fact , there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh , which is north of Bethel , on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem , and south of Lebonah . " Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin , saying , " Go , lie in wait in the vineyards , and watch ; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances , then come out from the vineyards , and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh ; then go to the land of Benjamin . Then it shall be , when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain , that we will say to them , ' Be kind to them for our sakes , because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war ; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time , making yourselves guilty of your oath . ' " And the children of Benjamin did so ( on Tu B ' Av ) ; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced , whom they caught . Then they went and returned to their inheritance , and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them . So the children of Israel departed from there at that time , every man to his tribe and family ; they went out from there , every man to his inheritance . According to the Book of Judges 20 , 15 - 18 , the strength of the armies numbered 26 , 000 men on the Benjamin side ( of whom only 700 from Gibeah ) , and 400 , 000 men on the other side .