Bible Verses About Strategy in War

When Isra'el had finished slaughtering all the inhabitants of 'Ai in the countryside, in the desert where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen, consumed by the sword, then all Isra'el returned to 'Ai and defeated it with the sword.

Twelve thousand men and women fell that day, everyone in 'Ai.

He divided the three hundred men into three companies. He put in the hands of all of them shofars and empty pitchers with torches in them.

Then he said to them, "Watch me, and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you do the same.

When I and everyone with me blow the shofar, then you blow your shofars all around the whole camp, and shout, "For ADONAI and for Gid'on!"

Gid'on and the hundred men with him arrived at the edge of the camp a little before midnight, just after they had changed the guard. They blew the shofars and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.

All three companies blew the shofars, broke the pitchers and held the torches in their left hands, keeping their right hands free for the shofars they were blowing; and they shouted, "The sword for ADONAI and for Gid'on!"

Then, as every man stood still in place around the camp, the whole camp was thrown into panic, with everyone screaming and trying to escape.

Gid'on's men blew their 300 shofars, and ADONAI caused everyone in the camp to attack his comrades; and the enemy fled beyond Beit-Sheetah near Tz'rerah, as far as the border of Avel-M'cholah, by Tabat.

Then men of Isra'el were summoned from Naftali, Asher, and both regions of M'nasheh; and they pursued Midyan.

Isra'el hid some men around Giv'ah,

and on the third day Isra'el attacked the army of Binyamin and took a position against Giv'ah as they had the other times.

Again the army of Binyamin went out against the people. Lured away from the city, they began attacking and killing some of the people, as they had the other times - they killed about thirty men of Isra'el in the countryside and on the roads, one of which goes up to Beit-El and the other to Giv'ah.

The army of Binyamin said, "They're defeated, just as before." But the army of Isra'el said, "Let's run off and draw them away from the city onto the roads."

All the men of Isra'el left their places and took up a battle position at Ba'al-Tamar, while the other Isra'el men burst out of their hiding places at Ma'areh-Geva.

Ten thousand men chosen out of all Isra'el came over to attack Giv'ah, and the combat was intense. But the army of Binyamin didn't know that they were about to be defeated.

For ADONAI routed Binyamin in Isra'el's presence; that day the army of Isra'el destroyed 25,100 men of Binyamin, all of whom carried swords;

and the people of Binyamin realized that they had been beaten. The men of Isra'el, trusting the ones they had put in place to ambush Binyamin, gave ground to the men of Binyamin.

Then the men who had been lying in wait rushed in on Giv'ah, drew their swords and destroyed the city.

The army of Isra'el and the ambushers had agreed that as a signal they would make a huge cloud of smoke rise from the city,

at which time the men of Isra'el would turn back. When this happened, Binyamin began to attack. They killed about thirty of Isra'el's men and said, "Clearly we're defeating them again, as in the first battle."

But when the smoke signal began rising from the city, the men of Binyamin looked behind them and saw the whole city going up to the sky in smoke.

Then, as the men of Isra'el reversed direction, those of Binyamin were overcome with terror. When they saw that disaster had come upon them,

they turned their backs on the men of Isra'el and made for the road to the desert. But the battle followed them, and those who came out of the city destroyed them from the rear.

They surrounded the men of Binyamin, chased them and trampled them down across from Giv'ah on the east.