שופטים, פרק כ׳, פסוק מ״ה

The remnants of a defeated army desperately attempt to escape the battlefield, seeking refuge in the harsh terrain of the desert. However, the forces pursuing them are systematic and uncompromising, determined to completely eliminate the scattered fighters along their escape routes. As the retreat begins, the fleeing soldiers turn off the main path, heading deep into the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon [מצודת דוד].

During this desperate flight, the Israelites execute a methodical hunt. The strategy used to eliminate the remaining forces is compared to the agricultural practice of gleaning, where farmers collect the single, leftover grapes after the main harvest is complete. In a similar manner, the pursuers strike down the retreating fighters one after another [רש״י]. They systematically destroy those who try to escape along the roads [ביאור שטיינזלץ], ensuring no survivors remain, much like gathering the very last remnants of a vineyard [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. In this brutal phase of the pursuit, five thousand men lose their lives.

The pursuers refuse to let up, eventually closing the distance and catching up to the fleeing survivors [מצודת דוד]. They continue the chase until reaching Gidom, a specific location [רש״י] whose exact geographical position remains unknown [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. There, the Israelites strike down an additional two thousand men. These casualty figures serve to complete the total death toll of the tribe of Benjamin mentioned earlier in the narrative [רש״י]. The five thousand killed on the roads bring the count to twenty-three thousand, and the final two thousand killed at Gidom raise the total to twenty-five thousand. Although an earlier summary mentions an overall count of twenty-five thousand one hundred, the exact location where the remaining one hundred men fell is not detailed in the account.