And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
When the Israelite army retreated during the battle, the Benjamites started attacking and killing about thirty Israelite soldiers. The Benjamites said to themselves, 'We're definitely defeating them just like we did in the first battle.'
The Benjamites became confident they were winning again as they killed about thirty retreating Israelites, not realizing this was part of Israel's battle strategy.
📚 Historical Context
This occurred during a civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other eleven tribes of Israel over Benjamin's refusal to hand over men who had committed a terrible crime in Gibeah. Benjamin had already won two previous battles, so they were overconfident when they saw the Israelites retreating, not knowing it was a planned military tactic.
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