What Does Judges 20:23 Mean in the King James?

(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)

Judges 20:23 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The command to go up does not dissolve the words “my brother”: the conflict remains within kinship.

THE MEANING

Grief and direction occupy the same moment: the people weep before the LORD, ask whether to face Benjamin again, and hear, “Go up.” Benjamin (⁨בִּנְיָמִין⁩, Binyāmîn, “son of the right hand”) is still called “my brother” as the order comes, keeping kinship visible inside the conflict.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The verse unsettles the belief that an answer from God must remove the conflict: the reply here is still, “Go up.”

THE ROOT

עֲלוּ

ʿalû

GROWS FROM

עלה

ʿ-l-h

Go up, ascend.

The command uses the ascent verb ⁨עלה⁩ (ʿ-l-h, “go up”), whose wider word family includes ⁨עֹלָה⁩ (ʿōlāh, “ascending offering”). That shared root gives “go up” an image of ascent, while the sentence keeps the order concrete: against him.

ALSO GROWS

ʿōlāh: A burnt offering, literally an ascending offering.

עֹלָה

It shares the ascent root and makes the upward movement audible in the command to go up.

maʿălāh: A step, stair, or ascent.

מַעֲלָה

It shows the same root naming an upward rise, adding a spatial sense to the repeated command.

וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ

vayyishʾalû

GROWS FROM

שאל

š-ʾ-l

Ask, request, inquire.

The wording rendered “asked counsel” centers on the verb ⁨שאל⁩ (š-ʾ-l, “ask, inquire”): the people put a question about what comes next. The same root appears in ⁨שָׁאוּל⁩ (šāʾûl, “Saul; asked for”), joining the act of asking to what is asked for.

ALSO GROWS

sheʾēlāh: A question or request.

שְׁאֵלָה

It names the kind of spoken inquiry the people bring before the LORD.

šāʾûl: Saul; asked for.

שָׁאוּל

This name comes from the same ask/request root, linking inquiry with what is requested.

THE PATTERN

Seeking God’s direction can yield a concrete next step while the situation that prompted the question remains in view.

And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

1 Samuel 30:8 · KJVA question about facing a threat receives a direct command to pursue while the threat remains present.

Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

2 Chronicles 20:17 · KJVThe direction is to go out against the opposing force, even as the answer changes what the people must do in the battle.

Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

Acts 10:20 · KJVPeter receives a clear next movement while the unexpected visitors are still waiting below.

THE THREAD

And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

Judges 20:28 · KJV

The answer repeats ⁨עֲלוּ⁩ (ʿalû, “go up”), the same ascent verb used here. In this verse the command is brief; when the root returns after another question, the answer adds a promise of deliverance.

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