And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.
The survivors turned and ran toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. As they fled along the roads, the pursuers caught and killed five thousand more men. They chased them relentlessly all the way to Gidom, where they killed another two thousand.
This verse describes the devastating final moments of a battle where fleeing soldiers were hunted down and killed as they tried to escape to safety.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Judges, this verse is part of a civil war between the tribes of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, triggered by the horrific rape and murder of a Levite's concubine in the city of Gibeah, which belonged to Benjamin. The other tribes demanded justice, leading to a series of battles where the Benjamites were overwhelmingly defeated after initial resistance. As the surviving Benjamites fled toward the rock of Rimmon in the wilderness, the pursuing Israelites continued to strike them down along the highways and at Gidom, illustrating the brutal consequences of unchecked sin and tribal conflict.
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