The children of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until even; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? Yahweh said, Go up against him.
"Just as the worship of Baal had brought about a near catastrophe in the plains of Moab (Numbers 25:1-9), so the Baal cult was probably responsible for subverting the Benjamites. This must have been comparatively soon after the earlier incident, for the same priest Phinehas intervened on both occasions (Numbers 25:7-8; Judges 20:28)." [Note: Ibid., p. 493.] 