וְאִ֤ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ הָפַ֔ךְ וַיִּבָּהֵ֖ל אִ֣ישׁ בִּנְיָמִ֑ן כִּ֣י רָאָ֔ה כִּֽי־נָגְעָ֥ה עָלָ֖יו הָֽרָעָֽה׃

And now Israel’s side turned about, and Benjamin’s side was thrown into panic, for they realized that disaster had overtaken them.

(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation—an adaptation of the NJPS translation—showing a slight modification projected for October 2023. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ.)


See my comment at v. 36.


As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘the Israelites’ recognizes a collective usage, but without a situational orientation; and similarly the NJPS ‘the men of Benjamin’. See my comment at Josh 10:24. Meanwhile, the fact that women are not in view can go without saying, because it is self-evident from the military context.