Then, during the civil war, when the Benjamites tried to escape to the wilderness, the fighting caught up with them [hidbikat'hu] (20:42).
In Judges, the word hayil (which has various connotations) is applied to soldiers in the deplorable civil war: for example the Benjamites are described as "brave men" [anshei hayil] (Judg.
The Hebrew term for "left-handed" in Judges 3:15 and 20:16 literally means "restricted in his right hand." Did the
Benjamites bind the right arms of their sons to their sides to encourage use of the left hand?
He had even teamed up with Saul's son and
Benjamite kinsmen, who had gone over to David's side in this battle for the kingdom.
There is a striking difference between these two episodes: the Israelites tolerated the idol of Micah, yet they went to war to punish the
Benjamites for raping and murdering the concubine of Gibeah.