שופטים, פרק כ׳, פסוק ל׳

The military campaign against the tribe of Benjamin enters its third day as the Israelite army positions itself once again facing the city of Gibeah. Returning to the battlefield is not driven by a desire for revenge over the soldiers lost in previous clashes, but rather by a clear purpose to discipline and punish the sinful people of the city [אברבנאל].

The primary approach among commentators is that the Israelites arrange themselves for combat in the exact same formation and manner as they did in their previous attempts [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, this identical setup is no accident. It is a carefully planned military deception designed to make the Benjaminites believe the Israelites are being routed just as before. To execute this trap, the Israelites stage a fake retreat, even absorbing minor casualties at the start of the fight, to draw the forces of Benjamin out of their fortified city and pull them toward the open highways [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל].

This simulated retreat creates an opening for an ambush force of ten thousand Israelite warriors to emerge from hiding, storm the unprotected city, and conquer it. The strategy relies on a precise, prearranged signal. Upon capturing the city, the hidden force is to set it on fire. The resulting pillar of smoke rising into the sky will alert the main Israelite army that Gibeah has fallen, turning the tide of the battle and leading to the ultimate defeat of Benjamin by God [אברבנאל].

From a literary standpoint, this moment serves as an introduction that paints the overall picture of the battlefield. The subsequent accounts are intended to break down the specific stages of the war. This structure explains why the upcoming descriptions regarding casualty numbers, the mechanics of the retreat, and the actions of the ambush might initially seem out of order or repetitive [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל].