Judges 20:47 Commentary: The Remnant at the Rock of Rimmon

The rock of Rimmon is identified by some scholars (following Robinson) with a steep, conical hill of white limestone about fifteen miles north of Jerusalem, not far from Gibeah. The name 'Rimmon' means 'pomegranate,' a fruit common in Palestine (Numbers 20:5; Deuteronomy 8:8). Several places bore the name, one in Zebulun (Joshua 19:13), another in Judah (Joshua 15:32, Zechariah 14:10), but this Rimmon is likely the same as that mentioned in Judges 21:13, where the Israelites later negotiate with the survivors hiding there.

The flight 'toward the wilderness' suggests a movement away from settled land into open, uncultivated terrain, a place of refuge for those escaping the battle. The wilderness in this context is not an endless desert but a region of rocky hills and caves. The fact that the Benjamites 'stayed in the rock of Rimmon four months' indicates a sustained period of hiding, long enough for the Israelite forces to return home and for cooler heads to prevail. Gill's Exposition remarks that such a cave was large enough to hold 600 men, comparing it to the cave at Engedi where David and his 600 men hid (1 Samuel 24).

Literarily, this verse closes the battle narrative. The preceding verses (vv. 44, 46) give precise casualty numbers: 25,000 Benjamite warriors fell. The 600 survivors are the thread that will lead into chapter 21, where the problem of preserving the tribe without breaking an oath becomes the central tension. The number 600 matches other military remnants in Scripture (e.g., Saul's 600 men at Gibeah in 1 Samuel 14:2), giving it a ring of historical plausibility.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew is consistent across the major manuscripts, with only minor differences in reading traditions (e.g., whether to read 'rock Rimmon' or 'rock of Rimmon'), which do not affect meaning.

The rock of Rimmon appears in Jewish tradition as a place of refuge and preservation. Medieval Jewish commentators like Rashi focused on the strategic and theological significance of the remnant. In Christian interpretation, this verse has often been read as a type of God's mercy mingled with judgment, a forerunner of the Pauline 'remnant according to the election of grace' (Romans 11:5). The four months of hiding have been variously allegorized as a period of purgation or of waiting for God's timing. Modern evangelical commentators tend to emphasize both the severity of sin's consequences and the surprising preservation of a line through which the tribe of Benjamin would continue, eventually producing figures like Saul, Paul, and perhaps even Mordecai.

Three-point outline

1. Judgment is severe, but not total. Of 26,700 Benjamites, only 600 escape, a mere 2%. God's wrath against sin is real, yet He always preserves a remnant.
2. Survival comes through flight, not fight. The Benjamites 'turned and fled.' Sometimes wisdom is found in retreat, not in continuing a doomed stand.
3. Hiding places can become places of hope. The rock of Rimmon, at first a refuge from punishment, becomes the site from which the tribe is restored (Judges 21:13). What seemed like a dead end was actually a holding cell for grace.

Five-point outline

1. The scale of judgment: 25,000 dead, 600 alive. Sin has consequences that are corporate and devastating.
2. The act of preservation: The survivors fled to the wilderness and a rock. No divine rescue, just human resourcefulness, yet God allowed it.
3. The duration of waiting: Four months in a cave. Time for reflection, repentance, and the anger of Israel to cool.
4. The promise of restoration: Chapter 21 shows the congregation speaking peace to these same men. God's discipline has a horizon.
5. The pattern of remnant: From Noah to the 600 of Benjamin to the early church, God regularly saves a small group to carry His purposes forward.

Illustration hooks

• A student fails a course badly but is allowed to retake, not because they deserved it, but because the teacher wanted them to learn, not just be punished.
• A family business collapses due to poor decisions; only a few assets remain. Over years, those remnants become the start of something new.
• A wildfire burns through a forest, leaving only scattered patches unharmed. From those patches, life slowly returns.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Why does God allow some sinners to escape and not others? Is that fair?
• When I've made a mess of things, how do I know if God is giving me a second chance or just letting me hide for a while?
• What does this story teach about God's character, is He more angry or more merciful?

This verse sits at the hinge between judgment and restoration. The tribe of Benjamin had committed a terrible sin (the rape and murder of the Levite's concubine, chapter 19), and Israel executed a brutal civil war. But here, 600 men survive. As you discuss this passage, consider both the severity of sin and the surprising preservation of a remnant.

Discussion questions

1. Read Judges 20:35, 46, 47. How many Benjamites died, and how many survived? What does this ratio tell you about the scale of the conflict?
2. The survivors hid 'in the rock of Rimmon' for four months. What might those four months have felt like for them? For the rest of Israel?
3. Look at Judges 21:13. What does the fact that Israel later 'spoke peace' to these survivors say about the purpose of their preservation?
4. Compare this remnant with other 'remnants' in Scripture (e.g., Noah and his family, the 7,000 in Elijah's day, the early disciples after the crucifixion). What pattern do you see?
5. Psalm 103:9, 10 says God 'will not always accuse' and has 'not dealt with us according to our sins.' How does this verse in Judges illustrate that truth, even in a story of judgment?
6. In your own life, have you ever experienced a situation where judgment or failure was real, but a 'remnant' of hope remained? How did you respond?
7. What does this passage teach about God's character that you might not have seen before?