שופטים, פרק כ׳, פסוק מ״ב

The climax of the battle arrives as the fighters of the tribe of Benjamin suddenly grasp the gravity of their situation. Surrounded and outmaneuvered, they are forced to run for their lives, turning their backs on the Israelite army to flee toward the wilderness. They choose this specific escape route out of pure necessity. The city of Gibeah is no longer a safe haven, as it has already been captured by an Israelite ambush force [מצודת דוד]. Trapped by the main Israelite camp and two separate ambush units, the fighters of Benjamin find themselves boxed in from three directions. Their only remaining option is to run east toward the open wilderness [מלבי"ם].

However, their desperate escape plan fails. The Israelite army relentlessly chases the fleeing men, quickly catching up and closing the distance between them [מצודת ציון, רד"ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The pursuit is absolute, with the Israelites pressing in on them from every possible side [מלבי"ם].

As the slaughter unfolds, a complex picture of destruction emerges involving the surrounding cities. One perspective suggests that the Israelite ambush troops, having already taken over Gibeah and the neighboring towns, are the ones who strike down the men of Benjamin right inside their own territory [רש"י, רד"ק]. Another approach shifts the focus of the devastation to the interior of the Benjamite camp itself. In this view, Israelite soldiers emerging from the nearby cities manage to pierce the very center of the retreating Benjamite forces, destroying them from the inside out [מלבי"ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A completely different understanding views this moment as a strike against enemy reinforcements. As men from other Benjamite cities rush out toward the wilderness to save their embattled brothers, they too are caught in the overwhelming chaos and wiped out by the Israelite army [מצודת דוד].