Judges 20:43

43 They closed in on the men of Benjamin and pursued them without stopping. They overtook them east of Gibeah.

Judges 20:43 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 20:43

Thus they enclosed the Benjaminites round about
Surrounded them on all sides, the army of Israel being posted in different places, and people coming out of all the cities to their assistance. Josephus ^F1 says, they were forced into, and cooped up, in a hollow place in a valley, so that they could not escape:

and chased them;
or "caused to pursue" ^F2; calling after them a pursuit, crying to one another as they went along, saying, pursue them, pursue them; so Jarchi and Kimchi; which cry, as it inspired the pursuers with zeal, so they pursued with terror:

and trod them down with ease;
they making no resistance, being quite dispirited; the Targrim is,

``from the house of their rest,''

where they took up their rest, and designed to rest that night, but could not, being so closely pursued, and diligently sought after. Some take "menuchah", rendered "ease", to be the name of a place, from or unto which they were pursued and trodden down, see ( 1 Chronicles 2:52 ) and so the Septuagint seems to take it for the name of a place, rendering it, "from Noua":

over against Gibeah, towards the sunrising;
that is, as Jarchi interprets it, to the east of Gibeah, there was this overthrow and slaughter made.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 10.)
F2 (whpydrh) "persequi fecerunt eum", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "vel eos", Vatablus.

Judges 20:43 In-Context

41 Then the men of Israel turned around, and the men of Benjamin panicked. They realized that their evil had overtaken them.

42 They turned in front of Israel toward the road to the desert. But the battle caught up with the men of Benjamin. Israel slaughtered whoever came out of the cities on the road to the desert.

43 They closed in on the men of Benjamin and pursued them without stopping. They overtook them east of Gibeah.

44 There were 18,000 experienced men from Benjamin who died in battle.

45 The others turned and fled into the desert to Rimmon Rock. But the men of Israel killed 5,000 more on the roads. They caught up with another 2,000 and killed them near Gidom.