¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (lav) refers here to consulting the LORD through a prophetic oracle.
²tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”
³tn Heb “Judah should go up.”
⁴tn The exclamation “Be sure of this” (hnh) draws attention to the following statement. The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the LORD speaks of it as a “done deal.”
⁵tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”
⁶tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”
⁷tn Heb “I.”
⁸tn Heb “Judah went up.”
⁹tn Or “found.”
¹⁰tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “gather, pick up, glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.
¹¹tn “Food scraps” is supplied.
¹²tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.
¹³tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shepelah.”
¹⁴tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” LXX has for the verb “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew Vorlage had wayya`al rather than MT wayyelek. It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.
¹⁵tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).
¹⁶tn Heb “he.”
¹⁷tn Heb “she.”
¹⁸tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him (Othniel) to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he (Othniel) urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see Paul G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18//Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984) 18-22.
¹⁹tn Elsewhere this word (Heb. hkrb) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen. 33:11; 1 Sam. 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs. 5:15).
²⁰tn Part of the Greek manuscript tradition lacks “of Judah.”
²¹tn Heb “(to) the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
²²“Of Judah” is supplied. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading is probably influenced by 1 Sam. 15:6 (see also Num. 24:20-21).
²³tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”
²⁴tn Heb “it.”
²⁵tn Hormah (Heb. hmrj) sounds like the verb translated “wipe out” (<rj).
²⁶tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”
²⁷tn Or “seized possession, occupied.”
²⁸tn Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.
²⁹tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, Warfare, 255 and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989), 15-23.
³⁰tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”
³¹tn The statement reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam. 5:6-7).
³²tn Heb “house.”
³³tn Heb “went up.”
³⁴tn Heb “saw.”
³⁵tn Heb”the man.”
³⁶tn Heb”The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”
³⁷tn Or “were determined.”
³⁸tn Heb “in this land.”
³⁹tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”
⁴¹tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
⁴²tn “Canaanites” is supplied.
⁴³tn Heb “come down into.”
⁴⁴tn Or “were determined.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”
⁴⁶tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”
¹tn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.
²tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”
³tn Or “covenant.”
⁴tn Or “covenant.”
⁵tn Heb “their altars.”
⁶tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”
⁷tn Heb “What is this you have done?”
⁸tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh. 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.
⁹tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied. See Josh. 23:12-13.
¹⁰tn Heb “them.”
¹¹tn The meaning of the Hebrew word (<ydx) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense. On the basis of Num. 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If we add this word, the text would read, “they will become thorns in your sides.”
¹²tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”
¹³tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”
¹⁴sn Bokim means “weeping ones” and is derived from the Hebrew word for “weep” (hkb).
¹⁵tn Or “sent away.”
¹⁶tn Heb “the Israelites went each to his inheritance.”
¹⁷tn Or “served, followed.”
¹⁸tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen...”
¹⁹tn Heb “the great work of the LORD which he had done for Israel.”
²⁰tn Heb “they.”
²¹tn Heb “the territory of his inheritance.”
²²tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”
²³tn Heb “arose after them.”
²⁴tn “Personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive. The text literally reads, “that did not know the LORD or the work which he had done for Israel.”
²⁵tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²⁶tn Or “serving, following.”
²⁷tn Or “fathers.”
²⁸tn Or “bowed before.”
²⁹tn Or “bowed before.”
³⁰tn Local manifestations of the goddess `Ashtar (i.e. Astarte.)
³¹tn Or “The LORD’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”
³²tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb hsv appears twice.)
sn This is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.
³³tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
³⁴tn “Attacks” is supplied.
³⁵tn “To fight” is interpretive.
³⁶tn Heb “the LORD’s hand was against them for harm.”
³⁷tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”
³⁸tn Or “they experienced great distress.”
³⁹tn Or more traditionally, “judges.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”
⁴¹tn Or “listen to.”
⁴²tn Or more traditionally, “judges.”
⁴³tn Or “bowed before.”
⁴⁴tn Or “way (of life).”
⁴⁵tn Or “fathers.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “... walked, obeying the LORD’s commands. They did not do this.”
⁴⁷tn Or more traditionally, “judges.”
⁴⁸tn Or more traditionally, “each judge.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “them.”
⁵⁰tn Or more traditionally, “the judge.”
⁵¹tn “For them” is supplied.
⁵²tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.”
sn The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.
⁵³tn Or more traditionally, “a judge.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “they.”
⁵⁵tn The verb bwv, “return, turn,” is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.
⁵⁶tn Heb “their fathers.”
sn This must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).
⁵⁷tn Or “serving.”
⁵⁸tn Or “drop.”
⁵⁹tn See note 29.
⁶⁰tn Heb “Because this nation.”
⁶¹tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”
⁶²tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.”
⁶³tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the LORD announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20). (See B. Lindars, Judges, 111.) In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the LORD’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the translation above) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the LORD recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the LORD announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh. 23:12-13; see also Judg. 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. Webb observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment” (Judges, 115). This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the LORD did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of hsn is subordinated to the perfect of bzu, see 2 Chr 32:31.)
⁶⁴tn The Hebrew text adds “by them.”
⁶⁵tn The words “I (i.e., the LORD) wanted to see” are added for clarification.
⁶⁶tn Heb “they.”
⁶⁷tn Or “way (of life).”
⁶⁸tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.
⁶⁹tn Or “fathers.”
⁷⁰tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.
⁷¹tn Or “quickly.”
¹tn Heb “did not know the wars of Canaan.”
²tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war—only those who formerly did not know them.”
sn The stated purpose for leaving the nations (to teach the subsequent generations…how to conduct holy war) seems to contradict 2:22 and 3:4, which indicate the nations were left to test Israel’s loyalty to the LORD. However, the two stated purposes can be harmonized. The willingness of later generations to learn and engage in holy war would measure their allegiance to the LORD. (See Webb, Judges, 114-15.)
³tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied here for clarity.
⁴tn Or “then entrance to Hamath.”
⁵tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the LORD which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”
⁶tn Heb “to their sons.”
⁷tn Or “served, followed.”
⁸tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
⁹tn Or “served, followed.”
¹⁰tn Local manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Asherah.
¹¹tn Or “The LORD’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”
¹²tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
¹³tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”
¹⁴tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”
¹⁵tn Heb “the LORD.”
¹⁶tn Or “delivered.”
¹⁷tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).
¹⁸tn Heb “was on him.”
¹⁹tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”
²⁰tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²¹tn Heb “strengthened Eglon... against Israel.”
²²tn Or “served.”
²³tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”
²⁴tn Or “the Israelites served Eglon.”
²⁵tn Heb “the LORD.”
²⁶tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. (See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates.) See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon,” Bible Review (December, 1988) 35.
²⁷tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”
²⁸tn The Hebrew term dmg denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger—approximately eighteen inches). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist—approximately thirteen inches) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand—approximately nine inches). See BDB 167; KB 196; Lindars 142.
²⁹tn Heb “the tribute payment.”
³⁰tn Or “returned (to Eglon’s palace).”
³¹tn The words “when he reached” are added for clarification. Heb. has simply “from.”
³²tn Or “idols.”
³³tn The words “to Eglon” are added for clarification.
³⁴tn Heb “he.”
³⁵tn Or “Hush!”
³⁶tn Or “cool.”
tn This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See Lindars, 144.
³⁷tn Heb “word of (i.e., from) God.”
³⁸tn Or “throne.”
³⁹tn Heb “his.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “he.”
⁴¹tn The Hebrew text has “and he went out to the ???.” The meaning of the Hebrew word hndvrp, which occurs only here in the Bible, is uncertain. The noun has the article prefixed and directive suffix. The word may be a technical architectural term, indicating the area into which Ehud moved as he left the king and began his escape. In this case Ehud is the subject of the verb “went out.” The translation omits the clause, understanding it as an ancient varient of the first clause in v. 23. Some take the noun as “back,” understand “sword” (from the preceding clause) as the subject, and translate “the sword came out his [i.e., Eglon’s] back.” But this rendering is unlikely since the Hebrew word for “sword” (brj) is feminine and the verb form (cf. “came out,” Heb axyw) is masculine. (One expects agreement in gender when the subject is supplied from the preceding clause. See Ezek 33:4, 6.) See Lindars, 146-48, for discussion of the options.
⁴²tn Again the precise meaning of the Hebrew word, used only here in the Bible, is uncertain. Since it is preceded by the verb “went out” and the next clause refers to Ehud closing doors, the noun is probably an architechtural term referring to the room (perhaps a vestibule, see KB, 604) immediately outside the king's upper chamber. As v. 24 indicates, this vestibule separated the upper room from an outer room where the king's servants were waiting.
⁴³tn Heb “his.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).
⁴⁵tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.
⁴⁶tn The words “the doors” are supplied.
⁴⁷tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “When he arrived.”
⁴⁹tn That is, “mustered an army.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “now he was before them.”
⁵¹tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the LORD speaks of it as a “done deal.”
⁵²tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.
⁵³tn Heb “They struck Moab that day—about 10,000 men.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “him.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “was.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “also he.”
¹tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the LORD.”
²tn Heb “the LORD sold them into the hands of.”
³tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations.”
⁴tn Heb “he.”
⁵tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, Warfare, 255 and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989), 15-23.
⁶tn Heb “with strength.”
⁷tn Heb “ a woman, a prophetess.” In Hebrew idiom the generic “woman” sometimes precedes the more specific designation. See GKC, 423, para. 135b.
⁸tn Heb “she was.” The pronoun points back to the nominative absolute “Deborah.” Hebrew style sometimes employs such resumptive pronouns when lengthy qualifiers separate the subject from the verb.
⁹tn Or “judging.”
¹⁰tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”
¹¹tn Heb “for judgment.”
¹²tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
¹³tn Heb “horde, multitude.”
¹⁴tn Or “honor.”
¹⁵tn The text reads lit., “on (account of?) the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.
¹⁶tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the LORD will sell Sisera.”
¹⁷tn Heb “went up at his feet.”
¹⁸tn Or “separated.”
¹⁹tn Heb “pitched his tent.”
²⁰tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”
²¹tn Heb “Sisera.”
²²tn Or “summoned.”
²³tn Heb “Arise!”
²⁴tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the LORD speaks of it as a “done deal.”
²⁵tn Heb “Has the LORD not gone out before you?”
²⁶tn Or “caused to panic.”
²⁷tn The Hebrew text also includes “before Barak.”
²⁸tn Heb “got down from.”
²⁹tn Heb “fell.”
³⁰tn Heb “was left.”
³¹tn Heb “for there was peace between....”
³²tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).
³³tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁴tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”
³⁵tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”
³⁶tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, one might translate, “and he breathed his last.”
³⁷tn Heb “he went to her.”
³⁸tn Heb “fallen, dead.”
³⁹tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “cut off.”
¹tn The words “this victory song” are supplied.
²tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression (twurp urpb) is uncertain. The proposals offered by commentators are too numerous to list here. For a survey of opinions, see Lindars, 223-27. The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (Heb. yqqwj) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term twurp (v. 2a) is synonymous with yqqwj of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).
³tn Heb “I, to the LORD, I, I will sing!” The first singular personal pronoun is used twice, even though a first person finite verbal form is employed.
⁴tn Or “make music.”
⁵tn Or “went out.”
⁶tn Heb “water.”
⁷tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form WLz)n`, from the root llz, “quake” (see KB, 272). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb lzn, “flow” (with torrents of rain water).
⁸tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating the LORD rules from Sinai.
⁹tn This translation assumes the form tojr+a(, rather than tojr`a(, “roadways” because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.
¹⁰tn Or “ceased.”
¹¹tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”
¹²tn The meaning of the Heb. noun (/wzrp) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see Lindars, 237-38.
¹³tn Or “ceased.”
¹⁴tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose.”
¹⁵tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (Lindars, 239).
¹⁶tn Or “warriors.” The text reads lit., “He chose God/gods new.” Some take Israel as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The translation above takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the translation chosen, see Lindars, 239-40.
¹⁷tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word (<j#l*) appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then […] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see Lindars, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a qal participle <j@O (from the verbal root <jl, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the qal of <jl, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)
¹⁸tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that Heb. <a introduces an oath of denial (see GKC, 472, para. 149e).
¹⁹tn Traditionally 40,000, but this may be an instance where Heb. [la refers to a military unit.
²⁰tn The words “went out” are supplied.
²¹tn The meaning of the Hebrew word (/ydm) is uncertain.
²²tn “Hear” is supplied for clarification.
²³tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (KB, 344). For other options see Lindars, 246-47.
²⁴tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
²⁵tn See note 12.
²⁶tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Heb. uses a cognate accusative here.)
²⁷tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression. (See Lindars, 250.)
²⁸tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of dry, “go down.” (The form as pointed in MT appears to be from hdr, “rule.” See GKC, 188, para. 69g).
²⁹sn This probably refers to the leaders of the army.
³⁰tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of dry, “go down.” (The form as pointed in MT appears to be from hdr, “rule.” See GKC, 188, para. 69g).
³¹sn Deborah may be speaking here.
³²tn The translation assumes the preposition beth prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC, 379, §119i.
³³tn The words “they came” are supplied. The text reads literally, “From Ephraim their root in Amalek.” Because of the difficulty of the text, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For proposals see Lindars, 252-53. The translation proposed here repoints <vrv (traditionally “their root”) as a piel verb form with enclitic mem. The preposition b on qlmu introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).
³⁴tn The words “They follow” are added for clarification.
³⁵tn “Came” is supplied.
³⁶tn Or possibly “who carry.”
³⁷tn The words “the men of” are supplied for clarification.
³⁸tn Or “was true to.”
³⁹tn Heb “at his feet.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “great was.”
⁴¹tn The great majority of Hebrew manuscripts have “resolves of heart,” but a few manuscripts read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.
⁴²tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some read “campfires.”
⁴³tn Or “whistling.”
⁴⁴tn The line reads literally, “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”
⁴⁵tn Literally “lived, settled down.”
sn Apparently they remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.
⁴⁶tn Heb “Dan why did he live as a resident alien ships.” The verb rwg usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see Lindars, 262.
⁴⁷tn Heb “lived.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “lived, settled down.”
⁴⁹tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”
⁵¹tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”
⁵²tn “But” is interpretive.
⁵³tn MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the athnach and read the colon as indicated in the translation above.
⁵⁴tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb with pronominal object suffix (<mdq).
⁵⁵tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The translation offered here (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands vpn in its well-attested sense of “throat, neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod on vpn as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets zu, “strength,” as an attributive genitive (the phrase literally reads, “necks of strength,” or “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see Lindars, 270-71.
⁵⁶tn The Hebrew text as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem from the beginning of the next word to the end of sws, the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.
⁵⁷tn The words “the ground” are added for clarification.
⁵⁸tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more efficiently indicated in English with an adverb.
⁵⁹tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”
⁶⁰tn “Angelic” is interpretive.
⁶¹tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, reading literally, “Curse, cursing.”
⁶²tn Heb “(to) curse.”
⁶³tn Heb “to the help of the LORD.” Another option is to read “to aid the LORD’s cause.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “to the help of the LORD.” Another option is to read “to aid the LORD’s cause.”
⁶⁵tn Or “along with the other warriors.”
⁶⁶tn Or “blessed.”
⁶⁷tn Or “mighty ones.”
⁶⁸tn “Left” is interpretive. Note that the next line pictures her holding the hammer with her right hand.
⁶⁹tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
⁷⁰tn Or “head.”
⁷¹tn “His head” is added for clarification.
⁷²tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
⁷³tn Heb “he fell.”
⁷⁴tn Heb “and he lay.
⁷⁵tn Heb “he fell.”
⁷⁶tn Heb “he fell.”
⁷⁷tn Or “dead, murdered.”
⁷⁸tn Heb “chariots.”
⁷⁹tn Or “princesses.”
⁸⁰tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”
⁸¹tn The words “to rape” are interpretive. The noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. <jr), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. Sisera’s mother’s obscene language alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.
⁸²tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”
⁸³tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”
⁸⁴tn This translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”
⁸⁵tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”
³tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
⁴tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”
⁵tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.
⁶tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”
⁷tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation above assumes that wluw is dittographic (note the following wylu).
⁸tn Heb “They encamped against them.”
⁹tn Heb “destroyed.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the crops of the land.”
¹¹tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”
¹²tn The words “they took away” are supplied.
¹³tn Heb “came up.”
¹⁴tn Heb “numerous.”
¹⁵tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”
¹⁶tn Heb “destroy.”
¹⁷tn Heb “the LORD.”
¹⁸tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
¹⁹tn Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” Jram could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarchton. (Note the following <yrxmm.)
²⁰tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).
²¹tn Heb “Do not fear.”
²²tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”
²³tn See Judg 2:1.
²⁴tn Heb “Now Gideon his son...” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern waw + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.
²⁵tn Heb “beating out.”
²⁶sn One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
²⁷tn Heb “Midian.”
²⁸tn Heb “But my lord.”
²⁹tn Heb “all this.”
³⁰tn Heb “saying.”
³¹sn Some equate the LORD and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the LORD and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).
³²tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”
³³tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
³⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁵tn Note the switch to yn`doa&, “Lord.” Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than and superior to the messenger, whom he addressed as yn]doa&, “my lord” (v. 13).
³⁶tn Heb “with what.”
³⁷tn Heb “in my father’s house.”
³⁸tn Or “certainly.”
³⁹tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴¹tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”
⁴²tn Heb “perform for me.”
⁴³tn The Hebrew text has “to you.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word (hjnm) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrifical connotation.
⁴⁵tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”
⁴⁶tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text.
⁴⁷tn Heb “Take the meat... and put (it) on this rock.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “and he did so.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
⁵¹tn Heb “saw.”
⁵²tn Heb “Gideon.”
⁵³tn Or “Ah!”
⁵⁴tn The Hebrew has hwhy yn`doa&, literally, “Lord (the same title used in v. 15), LORD.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.
⁵⁶tn Heb “The LORD is peace.” Gideon’s name for the altar plays on the LORD’s reassuring words to him, “Peace to you.”
⁵⁷tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.
⁵⁸tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in its construction.
⁵⁹tn Heb “men from among his servants.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “house.”
⁶¹tn Heb “so he did it at night.”
⁶²tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.
⁶³tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “this thing.”
⁶⁵tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.
⁶⁶tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, one could translate, “they were told.”
⁶⁷tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with waw after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
⁶⁸tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”
⁶⁹tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”
⁷⁰tn Heb “fights for him.”
⁷¹sn This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.
⁷²tn Heb “fight for himself.”
⁷³tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).
⁷⁴tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”
⁷⁵tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”
⁷⁶tn The words “the Jordan River” are added for clarification.
⁷⁷tn Heb “clothed.”
⁷⁸tn That is, “mustered an army.”
⁷⁹tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”
⁸⁰tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”
⁸¹tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”
⁸²tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are added for clarification.
⁸³tn Heb “all the ground.”
⁸⁴tn Or “know.”
⁸⁵tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”
⁸⁶tn Heb “And it was so.”
⁸⁷tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece—a bowl full of water.”
⁸⁸tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”
⁸⁹tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “God did so that night.”
¹tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”
²tn The word means, ironically, “trembling.”
³tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX has “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).
⁴tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”
⁵tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”
⁶tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”
⁷tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”
⁸tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”
⁹tn Many interpreters reject the reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner).
¹⁰tn Heb “people.”
¹¹tn Or “turned around, back.”
¹²tn Heb “too many people.”
¹³tn Heb “test them for you there.”
¹⁴tn Heb “he should go with you.”
¹⁵tn Heb also has “to you.”
¹⁶tn Heb “he should not go.”
¹⁷tn Heb “the people.”
¹⁸tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”
¹⁹tn The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to the their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place.
²⁰tn Heb “the people.”
²¹tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.
²²tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.
²³tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”
²⁴tn Heb “The people.”
²⁵tn The words “who were chosen” are added for clarification.
²⁶tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”
²⁷tn Heb “he.”
²⁸tn Heb “tents.”
²⁹tn Heb “Midian.”
³⁰tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).
³¹tn Heb “him.”
³²tn Heb “Go down against.”
³³tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.
³⁴tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”
³⁵tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”
³⁶tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”
³⁷tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”
³⁸tn Heb “he.”
³⁹tn Heb “Look!”
⁴⁰tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”
⁴¹tn Heb “answered and said.”
⁴²tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”
⁴³tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “heads.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “the jars.”
sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.
⁴⁶tn Or “look.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “that were in their hands.”
⁴⁹tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow (them).”
⁵⁰tn Heb “each in his place.”
⁵¹tn Or “fled.”
⁵²tn Heb “the LORD set the sword of each one against his friend.”
⁵³tn MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Cf. the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.
⁵⁴tn The words “they went” are supplied.
⁵⁵tn Heb “Midian.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “to meet Midian.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “they captured the waters.”
⁶⁰sn The names, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf,” respectively, are appropriate for the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.
⁶¹tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.”
⁶²tn Heb “Midian.”
⁶³tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.”
¹tn Heb “by not summoning us.”
²tn Heb “gleanings.”
³sn Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.
⁴tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”
⁵tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”
⁶tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
⁷tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
⁸tn Heb “people.”
⁹tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
¹⁰tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
¹¹tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses. (See Boling, Judges, 155.)
sn The officials of Succoth are hesitant to give (or sell) food to Gideon’s forces because they are not sure of the outcome of the battle. Perhaps they had made an alliance with the Midianites which demanded their loyalty.
¹²tn Heb “Therefore.”
¹³sn “I will thresh…” The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.
¹⁴tn Or “flesh.”
¹⁵tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the preposition ta (note the use of b in v. 16). Some, however, argue that ta more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See Burney, Judges, 229-30.
¹⁶tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”
¹⁷tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”
¹⁸tn Heb “said to.”
¹⁹tn Heb “saying.”
²⁰tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”
²¹tn Heb “About 15,000 (in number) were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were 120,000 (in number), men drawing the sword.”
²²tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”
²³tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” jfb, “secure,” probably means the army was undefended (see Boling, 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.
²⁴tn Heb “he.”
²⁵mn/ Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”
²⁶tn Or “ascent.”
²⁷tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”
²⁸tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
²⁹tn Heb “Look!”
³⁰tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”
sn Note that Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying “exhausted men” rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensivity of the men of Succoth.
³¹tn Heb “elders.”
³²tn The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vg) in assuming the form vdyw, from the verb vwd, “thresh,” as in v. 7. The Hebrew text has instead the form udyw, a hiphil form of udy, “make known.” In this case one could translate, “he used them (the thorns and briers) to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”
³³tn Heb “Where are?”
³⁴tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
³⁵tn The words “I swear” are added for clarification.
³⁶tn Or “Arise!”
³⁷tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”
³⁸tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied for clarification.
³⁹tn Or “Arise.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”
⁴¹tn Heb “arose and killed.”
⁴²tn Heb “hand.”
⁴³tn Heb “said to them.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “Give to me, each one an earring from his plunder.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴⁶tn Heb “We will indeed give.”
⁴⁷tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Midianites.
⁴⁸tn Or “pendants.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “made it into.”
⁵¹sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 2:349-52.
⁵²tn Heb “Israel.”
⁵³tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “Gideon had seventy sons who went out from his thigh, for he had many wives.” “Thigh” (Heb Ery) is a euphemism here for the penis.
⁵⁷tn Or “concubine,” perhaps a secondary wife.
⁵⁸tn The name means, “my father is king.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “good.”
⁶⁰sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.
⁶¹tn Heb “remember.”
⁶²tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully towards.”
¹tn Heb “brothers.”
²tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”
³tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”
⁴tn Heb “What good is it to you?”
⁵tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”
⁶tn Heb “brothers.”
⁷tn Heb “into the ears of.”
⁸tn Heb “and all these words.”
⁹tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”
¹⁰tn Heb “our brother.”
¹¹tn Heb “empty and reckless.”
¹²tn Heb “and they followed him.”
¹³tn Heb “his brothers.”
¹⁴tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
¹⁵tn Heb “remained.”
¹⁶tn The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (bxm) is a corruption of an original hbxm, “pillar.” The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).
¹⁷tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
¹⁸tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”
¹⁹tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”
²⁰tn Heb “to anoint (with oil) over them a king.”
²¹tn Or “Rule over us!”
²²tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
²³tn Or “and rule over us!”
²⁴tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
²⁵tn Or “and rule over us!”
²⁶tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
²⁷tn Or “and rule over us!”
²⁸tn Heb “are about to anoint (with oil).”
²⁹tn Heb “in my shade.”
³⁰tn Heb “If not.”
³¹tn Heb “house.”
³²tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
³³tn Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” MT minneged (“from before”) should probably be read as minnegdo (“from before him”); haplography of waw has likely occurred here in MT.
³⁴tn Heb “hand.”
³⁵tn Heb “have risen up against.”
³⁶tn Heb “house.”
³⁷tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
³⁸tn Heb “your brother.”
³⁹tn Heb “house.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”
⁴¹tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”
⁴²tn Heb “from before.”
⁴³tn Heb “his brother.”
⁴⁴tn The verb translated “commanded” (rrc), which appears only here in Judges, differs from the ones employed earlier in this chapter (lvm and Jlm).
sn Abimelech commanded Israel. Perhaps while ruling as king over the city-state of Shechem, Abimelech also became a leader of the Israelite tribal alliance (see Boling, Judges, 175).
⁴⁵tn Heb “an evil spirit.”
sn A non-physical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. Hebrew hur can have a non-ethical/moral sense, “harmful, dangerous, calamitous.” When modifying jwr, “spirit,” it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. Moore (Judges, 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are added for clarification.
⁴⁷tn Heb “their brother.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “set against him bandits.”
sn This piracy certainly interrupted or discouraged trade, and probably deprived Abimelech of tariffs or tribute. See Burney, Judges, 277; Moore, Judges, 253.
⁵⁰tn Heb “on the tops of.”
⁵¹tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”
⁵²sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then we could translate, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.
⁵³tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).
⁵⁴tn Heb “vineyards.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see Borowski, Agriculture, 110-14.
⁵⁶tn Heb “house.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “him.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “people.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “in my hand.”
sn One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.
⁶¹tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition (l) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative. See Boling, Judges, 178. If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”
⁶²tn Heb “Make numerous.”
⁶³tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.
⁶⁴tn Heb “his anger burned.”
⁶⁵tn The form in the Hebrew text (hmrtb), which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from hmr, “to deceive.” Some object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The translation above assumes an emendation to “ in Arumah” (Hebrew hmrab), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of aleph and taw in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.
⁶⁶tn Heb “Look!”
⁶⁷tn The participle, as used here, suggests they are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, when told Abimelech might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.
⁶⁸tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb (rwx) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “instigate, incite, provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19, and Boling, Judges, 178).
⁶⁹tn Heb “arise.”
⁷⁰tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”
⁷¹tn The words “outside the city” are added for clarification.
⁷²tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds (to do).”
⁷³tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”
⁷⁴tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are added for clarification.
⁷⁵tn Heb “the people.”
⁷⁶tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”
⁷⁷tn Heb “navel.”
sn On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see Boling, Judges, 178-79.
⁷⁸tn Heb “head.”
⁷⁹tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”
⁸⁰tn Heb “the people.”
⁸¹tn Or “despised.”
⁸²tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”
⁸³tn Heb “he.”
⁸⁴tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
⁸⁵tn Heb “stayed.” Some scholars vowel this verb differently from MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.
⁸⁶tn Heb “drove... out from dwelling in Shechem.”
⁸⁷tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁸⁸tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”
⁸⁹tn Heb “his people.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”
⁹¹tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”
⁹²tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”
⁹³tn Heb “stood (at).”
⁹⁴tn Or “destroyed.”
⁹⁵tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”
sn The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any future habitation. The practice is referred to outside the Bible as well. For example, one of the curses in the Aramaic Sefire treaty states concerning Arpad: “May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again!” See J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire, 15, 53. Deut 29:23, Jer 17:6, and Zeph 2:9 associate salt flats or salty regions with infertility and divine judgment.
⁹⁶sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
⁹⁷tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
⁹⁸tn The name means, “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
⁹⁹tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”
¹⁰⁰tn Heb “were assembled.”
¹⁰¹tn Heb “his people.”
¹⁰²tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“He”) due to considerations of English style.
¹⁰³tn The Hebrew text has the plural.
¹⁰⁴tn Heb “he lifted it and put (it).”
¹⁰⁵tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”
¹⁰⁶tn The words “the branches” are supplied for clarification.
¹⁰⁷tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”
¹⁰⁸tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.
¹⁰⁹tn Or “went.”
¹¹⁰tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”
¹¹¹tn Or “strong.”
¹¹²tn Or “fortress.”
¹¹³tn Or “fortress.”
¹¹⁴tn Or “fortress.”
¹¹⁵tn Or “fortress.”
¹¹⁶sn A handmill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds. See Moore, Judges, 268; Burney, Judges, 288.
¹¹⁷tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.
¹¹⁸tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.”
¹¹⁹tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.”
¹²⁰tn Heb “each to his own place.”
¹²¹tn Heb “seventy brothers.”
¹²²tn Heb “came.”
¹tn “Death” is supplied.
²tn Heb “son.”
³tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”
⁴tn Traditionally, “judged.”
⁵tn The name means “tent villages of Jair.”
⁶tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day—which are in the land of Gilead.”
⁷tn Or “served, followed.”
⁸tn Local manifestations of the goddess `Ashtar (i.e., Astarte).
⁹tn Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”
¹⁰tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”
¹¹tn Or “the LORD’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”
¹²tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
¹³tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (Jur and Jxr) is for emphasis. Jxr appears in the polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
¹⁴tn The phrase hnv hrcu hnmv could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and Boling, Judges, 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
¹⁵tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”
¹⁶tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”
¹⁷tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
¹⁸tc The LXX has this reading; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”
¹⁹tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply has, “Is it not from Egypt... when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the LORD’s frustration.
²⁰tn Heb “hand.”
²¹tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
²²tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”
²³tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”
²⁴sn The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”
²⁵tn Heb “from their midst.”
²⁶tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
²⁷tn Heb “And his spirit grew short (i.e., impatient) with the suffering of Israel.” vpn also appears as the subject of the verb rxq in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).
²⁸tn Or “were summoned, mustered.”
²⁹tn Heb “the people, the officers.”
³⁰tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”
¹tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”
²tn Heb “bore.”
³tn Heb “in the house of our father.”
⁴tn Or “fled from.”
⁵tn Heb “brothers.”
⁶tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”
⁷tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”
⁸tn Or “elders.”
⁹tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”
¹⁰tn Heb “to Jephthah.”
¹¹tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”
¹²tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” The LXX has an opposite reading. For MT lahen (“therefore”) LXX has “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words lo’ ken.
¹³tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of la bwv in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.
¹⁴sn They now use the word var, “head, leader,” the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah simply invite him to be their /yxq, “commander” (v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward—rulership over the region. See Boling, Judges, 198.
¹⁵tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”
¹⁶tn “Alright” is added for clarification.
¹⁷tn Heb “places them before me.”
¹⁸tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.
¹⁹tn Heb “The LORD will be the one who hears between us.” For the idiom /yb umv, see Deut 1:16.
²⁰sn Their statement takes the form of a legally binding oath, which obligates them to the terms of the agreement.
²¹tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the LORD’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the LORD in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the LORD’s authority and made his decisions before the LORD.
²²tn Heb “What to me and to you that...?”
²³tn Or “took, seized.”
²⁴tn Heb “he.”
²⁵tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.”
²⁶The translation assumes a singular suffix (hta); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix, which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.
²⁷tn Or “take, seize.”
²⁸tn Heb “For when they went up from.”
²⁹tn Or “went.”
³⁰tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)
³¹tn Heb “did not listen.”
³²tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”
³³tn Heb “he.”
³⁴tn Heb “to my place.”
³⁵tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“He”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.
³⁶tn Heb “all his people.”
³⁷tn Heb “all his people.”
³⁸tn That is, as its own possession.
³⁹tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “Now.”
⁴¹tn Or “dispossessed.”
⁴²tn Heb “will you dispossess him (i.e., Israel)?” (or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory) There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.
⁴³tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the LORD our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the LORD God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that he is polytheistic or that he recognizes the LORD as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milkom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region. (See Boling, Judges, 203-04.) Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the LORD had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for 300 years.
⁴⁴tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express.
sn Jephthah argues that the Ammonite king should follow the example of Balak, who, once thwarted in his attempt to bring a curse on Israel, refused to attack Israel and returned home (Num 22-24).
⁴⁵tn Or “sinned against you.”
⁴⁶tn Or “evil.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “did not listen to.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “was on.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “passed through.”
⁵¹tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through (to) the Ammonites.”
⁵²tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle ax@oYh^ is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see Boling, Judges, 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.
⁵³tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.
⁵⁴tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then he will commit him/her to the LORD’s service, but if an animal comes through the doors, he will offer it up as a sacrifice. However, it is far more likely that the Hebrew construction (waw + perfect) specifies how the the subject will become the LORD’s, that is, by being offered up as a sacrifice. For similar constructions, where the apodosis of a conditional sentence has at least two perfects (each with waw) in sequence, see Gen 34:15-16; Exod 18:16.
⁵⁵tn Heb “passed over to.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “The Amonites were humbled before the Israelites.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
⁶¹tn Heb “You are among (or like) those who trouble me.”
⁶²tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the LORD and I am not able to return.”
⁶³tn “Since” is supplied for clarification.
⁶⁴tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the LORD, do to me according to (what) went out from your mouth.”
⁶⁵tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”
⁶⁷tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity—I and my friends.”
⁶⁸tn Heb “he sent her.”
⁶⁹tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.
⁷⁰tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the waw + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition when at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See Moore, Judges, 302-03; Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.
⁷¹tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”
⁷²tn Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”
⁷³tn Heb “go to commemorate.” The rare Hebrew verb hnt, “tell, repeat,” occurs only here and in 5:11.
⁷⁴tn The Hebrew text adds, “in the year.”
¹tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned,” or “were mustered.”
²tn Heb “cross over to fight.”
³tn Or “calling, summoning.”
⁴tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”
⁵tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”
⁶tn Heb “hand.”
⁷tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex A of the LXX has “no one was helping.”
⁸tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”
⁹tn Heb “crossed over to.”
¹⁰tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here.
¹¹tn Heb “the men of Gilead.”
¹²tn Heb “The men of Gilead.”
¹³tn Heb “because they said.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words <yrpa yfylp wrma yk may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. <yrpa yfylp wrmay yk) and the following words (“you, O Gilead... Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See Moore, Judges, 307-08, and Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The translation above assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”
¹⁵tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.
¹⁶tn The Hebrew text has a plural form.
¹⁷tn Heb “the men of Gilead.”
¹⁸tn Heb “say to.”
¹⁹sn The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.
²⁰tn Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of /yky is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful (to say it correctly); others emend to lky, “was not able (to say it correctly),” or /yby, “did not understand (that he should say it correctly).
²¹tn Traditionally, “judged.”
²²tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.”
²³tn The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The translation above has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.
²⁴tn Traditionally, “judged.”
²⁵tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters...” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.
²⁶tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”
²⁷tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.
²⁸tn Traditionally, “judged.”
²⁹tn Heb “Ibzan.” The pronoun “he” is used in the translation in keeping with English style, which tends to use a proper name first in a sentence followed by a pronoun rather than vice versa.
³⁰tn Traditionally, “judged.”
³¹tn Heb “... led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”
³²tn Traditionally, “judged.”
¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “and had not given birth.”
³tn “Angelic” is an interpretive clarification.
⁴tn The angel actually introduces his statement with “look.”
⁵tn Heb “and have not given birth.”
⁶tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean.” See Lev 11. Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
⁷tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her—actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant. (See Boling’s translation in Judges, 217.) Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective hrh elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.
⁸tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”
⁹tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally Hebrew ryzn has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb rzn, “to dedicate, consecrate, set apart.”
¹⁰tn Heb “hand.”
¹¹tn Heb “The man of God.”
¹²tn “Angelic” is an interpretive clarification.
¹³tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”
¹⁴tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.
¹⁵tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean.” See Lev 11. Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
¹⁶tn The Hebrew text has, “and said.”
¹⁷tn Heb “the man of God.”
¹⁸tn Heb “come to.”
¹⁹tn LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew verb to be’wr (“to give light”) rather than MT yrh (“to teach”).
²⁰tn Heb “what we should do for.”
²¹tn Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”
²²tn “angelic” is an interpretive clarification.
²³tn Heb “came to.”
²⁴tn The Hebrew text has, “and said to him.”
²⁵tn Heb “Look.”
²⁶tn Heb “came to.”
²⁷tn Heb “came to.”
²⁸tn Or “my wife.”
²⁹tn Heb “I (am).”
³⁰tn Heb “Now, (when) your word comes (to pass).”
³¹tn Heb “what will be the the child’s rule (i.e., way of life) and his work?”
³²tn Or “said to.”
³³tn Heb “To everything I said to the woman she should pay attention.” The Hebrew word order emphasizes “to everything,” probably because Manoah’s wife did not tell her husband everything the angel had said to her (cf. vv. 3-5 with v. 7). If she had, Manoah probably would not have been so confused about the child’s mission.
³⁴tn Heb “eat.”
³⁵tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean.” See Lev 11. Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
³⁶tn Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”
³⁷tn Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”
³⁸tn Heb “If you detain me.”
³⁹tn The words “he said this” are supplied for clarification. Manoah should know from these words that the messenger represented the LORD. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the LORD’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife do not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (<yhla), not the LORD (hwhy). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (ynwda) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).
⁴⁰tn Heb “Who your name? For (when) your word comes (to pass), we will honor you.” Manoah gets tongue tied and uses the wrong pronoun (“who” instead of “what”). He starts to say, “Who are you?” But then he switches to “your name” as if he began the sentence with “what.” See Boling, Judges, 222.
⁴¹tn Heb “Why do you ask for my name, for it is incomprehensible?” Hebrew alp, “wonderful, incomprehensible,” refers to what is in a category of its own and is beyond full human understanding. Note its use in Ps 139:6, where God’s knowledge is described as incomprehensible and unattainable.
⁴²tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that “the LORD’s messenger” was lost by homoioteleuton. If the text originally read hwhy Jalm hwhyl, the scribe’s eye could have jumped from the first hwhy to the second, accidentally omitting two of the three words. Later the conjunction would have been added to the following alpm for syntactical reasons. Another possibility is that a pronominal subject (Heb. hu’) has been lost in MT due to haplography.
⁴³tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “on their faces.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the LORD’s messenger.”
⁴⁶tn Or “God.” Some take Hebrew <yhla as the divine name here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the LORD’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one chosen in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. <yhla is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the LORD (see BDB 43 s.v. 2a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.
⁴⁷tn Heb “our hand.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “the woman.”
⁴⁹tn The name appears to mean “sun-like, solar.”
⁵⁰tn Traditionally, “blessed.”
⁵¹Or “move him to action, stir him.”
¹tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
²tn Heb “and he went up.”
³tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
⁴tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may be the original reading.
⁵tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”
⁶tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. He wants this Philistine girl, no one else. See Burney, Judges, 357.
⁷tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”
⁸tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”
⁹tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”
¹⁰tn The Hebrew text says, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached...” V. 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.
¹¹tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”
¹²tn Heb “rushed on.”
¹³tn Heb “him, it.”
¹⁴tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”
¹⁵tn Heb “He went down.”
¹⁶tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”
¹⁷tn Heb “get.”
¹⁸tn Heb “look.”
¹⁹tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
²⁰sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated his Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.
²¹tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”
²²tn Or “(wedding) feast.”
²³tn Heb “the young men.”
²⁴tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of <twark, “when they saw,” some ancient witnesses (e.g., LXX) assume the reading <taryb, “because they feared.”
²⁵tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me (during) the seven days of the feast and you find (its answer).”
²⁶tn Heb “changes.”
²⁷tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”
²⁸tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”
²⁹tn The Hebrew text has “seventh.” In Hebrew there is only one letter’s difference between the words “fourth” (yuybr) and “seventh” (yuybv). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change “three” (tvlv) at the end of v. 14 to “six” (tvv), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride has been hounding Samson for more than one day.
³⁰tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”
³¹tn Heb “lest.”
³²tn The Hebrew text has “with fire.”
³³tn Heb “house.”
³⁴tn The translation assumes Hebrew <lh, “here” (attested in five Hebrew manuscripts and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable alh (negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.
³⁵tn For discussion of this difficult form, see Burney, Judges, 364.
³⁶tn Heb “on him.”
³⁷tn Heb “only, simply.”
³⁸tn Heb “the sons of my people.”
³⁹tn Heb “Should I tell you?”
⁴⁰tn Heb “on him.”
⁴¹tn Heb “the seven days (during) which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
⁴²tn Heb “because she forced him.”
⁴³tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
⁴⁴sn This statement emphasizes that they had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
⁴⁵tn Heb “equipment, gear.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “changes (of clothes).”
⁴⁷tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”
¹sn Wheat was harvested during the month of May. See Borowski, Agriculture, 37, 88.
²tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”
³tn The words “to her father” are supplied (see the end of the verse).
⁴tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The idiom la awb, “go to,” often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (see above) or request (“let me go”).
⁵tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of rma, “say,” sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
⁶tn Heb “hating, you hated.” tn Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
⁷tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her (the younger sister) be yours instead of her (Samson’s ‘bride’).”
⁸tn Codex A of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”
⁹tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”
¹⁰tn Traditionally, “foxes.”
¹¹tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”
¹²tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”
¹³tn Or “said.”
¹⁴tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
¹⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
¹⁶tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
¹⁷tn The Hebrew text adds, “with fire.” Some textual witnesses have “her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
¹⁸tn The niphal of <qn, “avenge,” followed by the preposition b has the force, “get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.
¹⁹tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”
²⁰tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, (with) a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.
²¹tn Or “camped in.”
²²tn Or “spread out.” The niphal of vfn has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.
²³tn Or “come up against.”
²⁴tn Heb “they.”
²⁵tn Or “swear to me.”
²⁶tn Heb “meet (with hostility), harm.” “Kill” is an appropriate translation in light of v. 13.
²⁷tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.
²⁸tn Heb “rushed on.”
²⁹tn Heb “burned with.”
³⁰tn Heb “his bonds.”
³¹tn Heb “he found.”
³²tn Heb “fresh,” not decayed and brittle.
³³tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”
³⁴tn The Hebrew text adds, “with it.”
³⁵tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (<ytrmj rwmj) is uncertain. The translation above assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (see Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”), (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see KB3, 330, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support), (c) “I have stormed mightily against them” (which assumes the verb rmj, “ferment, foam, boil up.”).
³⁶tn Heb “from his hand.”
³⁷sn The name Ramath Lehi means, “Height of the Jawbone.”
³⁸tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”
³⁹tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.
⁴⁰tn The word refers to a circular shaped depression in the land’s surface.
⁴¹tn Heb “spirit.”
⁴²sn The name En Hakkore means, “spring of the one who cries out.”
⁴³tn Traditionally, “judged.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”
¹tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom la awb often has sexual connotations.
²tn Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the Hebrew text. Some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”
³tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though they knew he was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.
⁴tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”
⁵tn Heb “were silent.”
⁶tn Heb “saying.”
⁷tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied for clarification.
⁸tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”
⁹tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”
¹⁰tn Heb “with the bar.”
¹¹tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”
¹²tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”
¹³tn Heb “you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”
¹⁴tn Or “moist.”
¹⁵tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
¹⁶tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form bra is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group. So also in v. 16.
¹⁷tn Heb “are upon you.”
¹⁸tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
¹⁹tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
²⁰tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:25 (HT; 8:29 ET); Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this word (llt).
²¹tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
²²tn Heb “are upon you.”
²³tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”
²⁴tn Heb “them.”
²⁵tn See Gen 31:7; Ex 8:25 (Eng 29); Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this word (llt).
²⁶tn Heb “head.”
²⁷tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see Burney, Judges, 381, and Moore, Judges, 353-54.
²⁸tn Heb “are upon you.”
²⁹tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See Moore, Judges, 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.
³⁰tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.”
³¹tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”
³²tn Heb “forced him with her words.”
³³tn Heb “and his spirit was short (i.e., impatient) to the point of death.”
³⁴tn Heb “all his heart.”
³⁵tn Heb “a razor has not come up on my head.”
³⁶tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally Hebrew ryzn has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb rzn, “to dedicate, consecrate, set apart.”
³⁷tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
³⁸tn Heb “I.”
³⁹tn Heb “all his heart.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”
⁴¹tn Read with the qere, li (“to me”) rather than the kethib, lah (“to her”).
⁴²tn Heb “all his heart.”
⁴³tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See KB³, 161.
⁴⁴tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See Soggin, Judges, 254.
⁴⁵tn Heb “head.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.
⁴⁷tn Heb “are upon you.”
⁴⁸tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and said.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “I will go out as before.”
⁵¹tn Heb “the hair of his head.”
⁵²tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.
⁵³tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “When their heart was good.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “before them.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “house.”
⁵⁸tn The Hebrew has hwhy yn`oda&.
⁵⁹tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”
⁶¹tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”
⁶²tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”
⁶³tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”
⁶⁵tn Traditionally, “judged.”
¹tn The words “You know” are supplied.
²tn Heb “taken.”
³tn Heb “took.”
⁴tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.
⁵tn Traditionally, “bless.”
⁶tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.
⁷tn Heb “... LORD from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Vv. 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the beginning of the next verse is singular (yhyw, “and it was”).
⁸tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
⁹tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
¹¹tn Heb “house of God.”
¹²tn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).
¹³tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his brothers and he became his priest.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his (own) eyes.”
¹⁵tn This verse reads literally, “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”
¹⁶tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”
¹⁷tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”
¹⁸tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See Boling, Judges, 257. See Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).
¹⁹tn The Hebrew text adds, “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.
²⁰tn Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”
²¹tn Heb “filled the hand of.”
²²tn Heb “do good for me.”
¹tn Heb “an inheritance.”
²tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”
³tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”
⁴tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
⁵tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”
⁶tn Or “When they were near.”
⁷tn Heb “voice.” Boling, Judges, 263, explains that “his speech was Judahite (southern) like their own, not Israelite (northern).”
⁸tn Heb “turned aside.”
⁹tn Heb “What (is there) to you here?”
¹⁰tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.
¹¹tn Heb “Ask God.”
¹²tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”
¹³tn Heb “in peace.”
¹⁴tn Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”
¹⁵tn Or “went.”
¹⁶tn Heb “who were in its midst.”
¹⁷tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”
¹⁸tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession (by) force.”
¹⁹tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex A of LXX and Symmachus have “Syria” here rather than MT “men.” This reading presupposes Heb. ’aram (“Aram,” i.e. Arameans) rather than MT ’adam. This reading is possibly to be preferred over MT.
²⁰tn Heb “They came to their brothers.”
²¹tn Heb “brothers.”
²²tn Heb “What you?”
²³tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”
²⁴tn Codex A of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”
²⁵tn Heb “But you are inactive.”
²⁶tn Or “be lazy.”
²⁷tn Heb “to go, to enter, to possess.”
²⁸tn Heb “When you enter.”
²⁹tn Heb “you will come to.”
³⁰tn Heb “broad of hands,” i.e. “wide on both sides.”
³¹tn Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
³²tn Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, 600 men, equipped with weapons of war.”
³³tn Or “Mahaneh Dan.”
³⁴tn Heb “behind.”
³⁵tn Codex A of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”
³⁶tn Heb “brothers.”
³⁷tn Heb “turned aside.”
³⁸tn Heb “Micah’s house.”
³⁹tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “And the 600 men, equipped with the weapons of war... from the sons of Dan.”
⁴¹tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”
⁴²tn Heb “600 men, equipped with the weapons of war.”
⁴³tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”
⁴⁴tn See the note on 17:10.
⁴⁵tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”
⁴⁶tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “they.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”
⁵¹tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” The phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.
⁵²tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”
⁵³tn Heb “saw.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “they.”
⁵⁶tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.
⁵⁸tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.
⁶⁰tn Heb “They.”
⁶¹tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”
⁶²tn Heb “erected for themselves.”
⁶³tn Heb “son.”
⁶⁴tn Several ancient textual witnesses support the reading “Moses” (hvm) here. Many Hebrew manuscripts have a nun suspended above the name between the first two letters (hvⁿm), suggesting the name Manasseh. This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see Moore, Judges, 401-02.
⁶⁵tn Heb “sons.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”
⁶⁷tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”
⁶⁸tn Heb “the house of God.”
¹tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”
²tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
³tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁴tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the verb (hnztw) as being from hnz, “be a prostitute,” but it may be derived from a root meaning, “be angry, hate,” attested in Akkadian. See KB³, 275.
⁵tn Heb “went from him.”
⁶tn Heb “arose and came.”
⁷tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”
⁸tn Or “young man.”
⁹tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”
¹⁰tn Heb “they ate and they drank and they spent the night there.”
¹¹tn Heb “and he arose to go.”
¹²tn Heb “Sustain your heart (with) a bit of food.”
¹³tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”
¹⁴tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”
¹⁵tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”
¹⁶tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”
¹⁷tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.
¹⁸tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”
¹⁹tn Heb “the man arose to go.”
²⁰tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
²¹tn Or “young man.”
²²tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”
²³tn Or “declining.”
²⁴tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”
²⁵tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
²⁶tn Heb “to the front of.”
²⁷tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”
tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
²⁸tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”
²⁹tn Or “young man.”
³⁰tn Heb “turn aside.”
³¹tn Heb “turn aside.”
³²tn Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”
³³tn Or “young man.”
³⁴tn Heb “we will enter one of the places.”
³⁵tn Heb “and they passed by and went.”
³⁶tn Heb “which belongs to.”
³⁷tn Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”
³⁸tn Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”
³⁹tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”
⁴¹tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”
⁴²tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴³tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but (to) the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”
⁴⁴tn By calling his wife the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.
⁴⁵tn Some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.
⁴⁶tn Heb “Peace to you.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “ate and drank.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and look.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.
⁵¹tn The hithpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.
⁵²tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).
⁵³tn Heb “his.”
⁵⁴tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “he.”
⁵⁷tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “and he caused (her) to go outside to them.”
⁵⁹tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.
⁶⁰tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.
⁶¹tn Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”
⁶²tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.
⁶³tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”
⁶⁵tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”
⁶⁷tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”
⁶⁸tn The words “the sight” are added for clarification.
⁶⁹tn Heb “from the day.”
⁷⁰tn Codex A of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”
¹sn That is, from Dan, located in the far north of the country, to Beersheba, located in the far south.
²sn That is, from the eastern side of the Jordan River.
³tn Heb “went out.”
⁴tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”
⁵tn Heb “the cornerstones” or “supports.” The word is used of leaders in only three other texts—1 Sam 14:38; Isa 19:13; Zech 10:4.
⁶tn The words “which numbered” are added for clarification.
⁷tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”
⁸tn Traditionally, “concubine.”
⁹tn Heb “came to.”
¹⁰tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”
¹¹tn Heb “her.”
¹²tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”
¹³tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful (thing).”
¹⁴tn Heb “Look, all of you sons of Israel.”
¹⁵tn Heb “give for yourselves a word and advice here.”
¹⁶tn Heb “as one man.”
¹⁷tn Heb “to his tent.”
¹⁸tn Or “turn aside.”
¹⁹tn Heb “against her by lot.” The verb “we will go up” (hlun) has probably been accidentally omitted before “against her” (hylu).
sn They intended to cast lots to determine which tribe would lead the battle charge (see v. 18).
²⁰tn Or “people.”
²¹tn Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba [this must be an error for Gibeah] of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful (thing) which he [collective Benjamin] did in Israel.”
²²tn Heb “gathered at the city as one man, united.”
²³tn The Hebrew has the plural, but surely the singular (which is supported by the LXX and Vg) is preferable here.
²⁴tn Heb “What is this wicked thing which happened among you?”
²⁵tn Heb “the men, sons of wickedness.”
²⁶tn Heb “and burn away wickedness from Israel.”
²⁷tn Heb “assembled from the cities at Gibeah.”
²⁸tn Heb “besides from the ones living in Gibeah they mustered 700 choice men.”
²⁹tn Heb “And from all this people.”
³⁰tn Heb “700 choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15.
³¹tn “at a single hair and not miss.”
³²tn Heb “a man of war.”
³³tn Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”
³⁴tn Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”
³⁵tn Heb “encamped.”
³⁶tn Heb “the men of Israel.”
³⁷tn Heb “The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and they struck down in Israel that day 22,000 men to the ground.”
³⁸tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”
³⁹tn Or “encouraged one another.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “I” (collective singular).
⁴¹tn Heb “approach for battle.”
⁴²tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).
⁴³tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).
⁴⁴tn Heb “drew near to.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day, and they struck down among the sons of Israel 18,000 men to the ground, all of these were wielding the sword.”
⁴⁶tn Heb “and all the people.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “went up and came (to).”
⁴⁸tn Traditionally, “fasted.”
⁴⁹tn Or “peace offerings.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “standing before him.”
⁵¹tn Heb “I” (collective singular).
⁵²tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).
⁵³tn Heb “I” (collective singular).
⁵⁴tn Heb “him” (collective singular).
⁵⁵tn Heb “the third day.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “went out to meet.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”
⁵⁹tn The words “they struck down” are supplied for clarification.
⁶⁰tn Or “run away.”
⁶¹tn Heb “him” (collective singular).
⁶²sn Vv. 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.
⁶³tn Heb “heavy” or “severe.”
⁶⁴tn Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”
⁶⁵tn Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”
⁶⁶sn Verses 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.
⁶⁷tn Heb “gave place to.”
⁶⁸tn Heb “hurried and put off (their hiding place).”
⁶⁹tn Heb “the men hiding in ambush.”
⁷⁰tn Or “deployed.” The verb normally means “to lead, draw.”
⁷¹tn Heb “they.”
⁷²tn Heb “turned in the battle.”
⁷³tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”
⁷⁴tn The words “they struck down” are supplied for clarification.
⁷⁵tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”
⁷⁶tn Or “were terrified.”
⁷⁷tn Heb “disaster touched against them.”
⁷⁸tn Heb “clung to, stuck close”
⁷⁹tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”
⁸⁰tn This reading assumes the reading hj*oNm!, rather than MT’s “resting place.”
⁸¹tn Heb “tread down, walk on.”
⁸²tn Heb “unto the opposite of Gibeah toward the east.” Gibeah cannot be correct here, since the Benjaminites retreated from there toward the desert and Rimmon (see v. 44). A slight emendation yields the reading “Geba.”
⁸³tn Heb “they”; the referent (the rest [of the Benjaminites]) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁸⁴tn Heb “and they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁸⁵tn Heb “gleaned.” The word is an agricultural term which pictures Israelites picking off the Benjaminites as easily as one picks grapes from the vine.
⁸⁶tn Heb “stuck close after them.”
⁸⁷tn Heb “So all the ones who fell from Benjamin were 25,000 men, wielding the sword, in that day, all of these men of strength.”
sn The number given here (25,000 sword-wielding Benjaminites) is an approximate figure; v. 35 gives the more exact number (25,100). According to v. 15, the Benjaminite army numbered 26,700. The figures in vv. 35 (rounded in vv. 44-46) and 47 add up to 25,700. What happened to the other 1,000 men? The most reasonable explanation is that they were killed during the first two days of fighting. Moore (Judges, 429) and Burney (Judges, 475) reject this proposal, arguing that the narrator is too precise and concerned about details to omit such a fact. However, the account of the first two days’ fighting emphasizes Israel’s humiliating defeat. To speak of Benjaminite casualties would diminish the literary effect. In vv. 35, 44-47 the narrator’s emphasis is the devastating defeat that Benjamin experienced on this final day of battle. To mention the earlier days’ casualties at this point is irrelevant to his literary purpose. He allows readers who happen to be concerned with such details to connect the dots for themselves.
⁸⁸tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”
⁸⁹tn Reading <yt!m= ryum@. “from a city of men” (i.e., “inhabited city”), rather than codex L’s <tÄm= ryum@, “from a city of soundness.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”
¹tn Heb “and they lifted up their voice(s) and wept with great weeping.” Both the cognate accusative (ykb, “weeping”) and the attributive adjective (lwdg, “great”) emphasize their degree of sorrow.
²tn Heb “one.”
³tn Or “peace offerings.”
⁴tn Heb “A great oath there was concerning the one who did not go up before the LORD at Mizpah, saying, ‘He must surely be put to death.’”
⁵tn Or “felt sorry for.”
⁶tn Heb “cut off one.”
⁷tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”
⁸tn Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”
⁹tn Or “when the people were mustered.”
¹⁰tn Heb “and look.”
¹¹tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
¹²tn Heb “there.”
¹³tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”
¹⁴tn Heb “And this is the thing that you will do.”
¹⁵tn Heb “every woman who is familiar with the bed of a male.”
¹⁶tc Some Greek witnesses add the words, “‘But the virgins you should keep alive.’ And they did so.” These additional words, which probably represent the original Hebrew text, can be retroverted: /k wcuyw wyjt twlwtbh-taw. It is likely that a scribe’s eye jumped from the waw on taw to the initial waw of v. 11, accidentally leaving out the intervening letters.
¹⁷tn Heb “who had not known a man with respect to the bed of a male.”
¹⁸tn Heb “And all the assembly sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the cliff of Rimmon and they proclaimed to them peace.”
¹⁹tn Heb “they.”
²⁰tn Heb “but they did not find for them enough.”
²¹tn Or “felt sorry for.”
²²tn Heb “had made a gaping hole in.” The narrator compares Israel to a wall that has been breached.
²³tn Or “elders.”
²⁴tn Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”
²⁵tn The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse.
²⁶tn Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”
²⁷tn Heb “But we are not able to give to them wives from our daughters.”
²⁸tn Heb “is cursed.”
²⁹tn Heb “and look.”
³⁰tn Heb “and look, when.”
³¹tn Heb “in the dances.”
³²tn The (original) LXX and Vg have “to you.”
³³tn The words “and let them be” are added for clarification.
³⁴tn Heb “for we did not take each his wife in battle.”
sn This probably refers to the battle against Jabesh Gilead, which only produced 400 of the 600 wives needed.
³⁵tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is added here to clarify the logic of the statement.
³⁶tn Heb “You did not give to them, now you are guilty.” The Hebrew as it stands makes little sense. It is preferable to emend aO, “not,” to aWl, “if.” This particle introduces a purely hypothetical condition, “If you had given to them (but you didn’t).” See Moore, Judges, 453-54.
³⁷tn Heb “so.”
³⁸tn Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”
³⁹tn Heb “went and returned.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “inheritance.”
⁴¹tn Heb “and lived in them.”
⁴²tn Heb “his inheritance.”
⁴³tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his (own) eyes.”