Judges 20:15
And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.
The numbering records twenty-six thousand swordsmen gathered from the cities of Benjamin for battle, besides seven hundred chosen men of Gibeah itself. Gibeah means high, lying just beyond Mizpeh within an hour's walk of Jerusalem and a little more than a mile from Nob, 2,690 feet above the sea and about 200 feet higher than Jerusalem, commanding a view beyond the Dead Sea far into the mountains of Moab. The numbering belongs to the account of the crime at Gibeah after the disgraceful murder of the Levite's concubine there, when the whole tribe of Benjamin identified itself with the people of Gibeah.
The conflict that followed nearly exterminated the tribe of Benjamin, leaving Benjamin the least tribe and nearly extinct. The passage stands in the record of Israel's backsliding and low condition, ending in disgrace and punishment, showing that tribal loyalty does not excuse injustice or sin. The events belong to the early part of the judges' history.
The passage belongs to the closing chapters of Judges that show the low state into which Israel had fallen just before the call of Samuel the prophet. Because Benjamin was the least and nearly extinct tribe, God chose the king from Benjamin so the other tribes would have no grounds for jealousy. Israel's low condition described here stands in mighty contrast to the miracles, teachings, healings, and compassion of Jesus recorded in Luke, yet both speak of the goodness and mercy of God.