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The phrase “all Israel as one man” appears in Judges and 1 Samuel to describe Israel acting together. In Judges, the tribes unite to punish a crime in Gibeah, except for Jabesh-Gilead. Later, in 1 Samuel, Saul from Gibeah rescues Jabesh-Gilead, reuniting the nation. This connects Saul’s rise with the earlier story of division and guilt.
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Judges 20:11
Hebrew Bible
10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin, they will punish them for the atrocity that they committed in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. 12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place?
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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1 Samuel 11:7
Hebrew Bible
6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a pair of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army. 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The action by the Levite and by Saul (accompanied by his threat) is answered by all Israel "as one man" (Judges 20:1, 11; 1 Samuel 11:7), as might be expected with such an action. However, despite this "as one man", one group is missing in the account in Judges, namely the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, thus increasing the contrast between Jabesh-Gilead and Israel - as one man. On the other hand, the coming out of Israel "as one man" in 1 Samuel 11:7 on behalf of Jabesh-Gilead is striking - the summons by a Benjaminite (Saul) was answered in contrast to the disobedience of the tribe at the punitive expedition against Gibeah. Then, Benjamin's behaviour could only be described as a cover up and as approval of the town's behavior ... What is described between those two phrases is what happens when there is no king in Israel.35 In this way this story seems to function as a legitimation of the rise of the monarchy.36 It should, however, not be overlooked that when a new king was finally anointed, this king came from Gibeah, of all towns in Israel, exactly the town where this folly took place ... I have demonstrated that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is part of a triptych. The central panel of this triptych is the story of the outrage at Gibeah in Judges 19-21. The left, opening panel is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the right panel is the story of Saul's rescue of Jabesh-Gilead. By means of various signs, these three stories are linked to each other: the story of Gibeah in Judges 19-21 is the key text, yet without the side panel of Sodom and Gomorrah it loses much of its power. Precisely as a result of a combination of these three stories, Saul is depicted as a direct descendant of Gibeah, the Sodom of Benjamin, and is in this respect a true Sodomite ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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