The Benjamite army gathers at Gibeah in anticipation of war. In response, the Israelites also muster their troops and go up to Bethel to inquire of the Lord regarding which tribe should lead the charge (20:18). The question they ask and the answer they receive mirror a similar exchange found at the beginning of the book (1:1–2), except here, the Lord’s answer does not come with a promise of victory. So the Israelites go to battle and promptly suffer a loss of twenty-two thousand men. They return to inquire of the Lord whether they should go again, and again receive instructions from the Lord to go (20:23). But as they go, they are again defeated, losing eighteen thousand men. So they return to inquire of the Lord yet a third time, this time even suggesting the possibility of quitting, onl…