The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.
This oppressive action provided only 400 women for the 600 remaining Benjamites, an insufficient number (Judges 21:12-14). The failure of the plan confirms that it was not God’s will, though He permitted it.