Text -- Judges 10:8-18 (NET)

10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites that eighteenth year– that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel suffered greatly. 10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.” 10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 10:12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian when they oppressed you? You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. 10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again. 10:14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!” 10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today!” 10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much.

An Outcast Becomes a General

10:17 The Ammonites assembled and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 10:18 The leaders of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jdg 10:8

¹ tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.

² tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) 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 R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.

NET Notes: Jdg 10:9

¹ tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”

² tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:10

¹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:12

¹ tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”

² tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord’s frustration.

³ tn Heb “hand.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:13

¹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:14

¹ tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:15

¹ tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

² sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. 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.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:16

¹ tn Heb “from their midst.”

² tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

³ tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) 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”).

NET Notes: Jdg 10:17

¹ tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”

NET Notes: Jdg 10:18

¹ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

² tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”