Judges 18:21

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ¹ 

Judges 8:33

Israel Returns to Baal-Worship

8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith ²  their god.

Judges 9:25

9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting ³  bandits in ⁴  the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. ⁵ 

Judges 18:31

18:31 They worshiped ⁶  Micah’s carved image ⁷  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ⁸  was in Shiloh.

Judges 9:49

9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ⁹  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ¹⁰  All the people ¹¹  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

Judges 11:11

11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ¹²  before the Lord in Mizpah.

¹ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

² sn 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.

³ tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

⁴ tn Heb “on the tops of.”

⁵ tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

⁴ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

⁵ tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

⁶ tn Heb “the house of God.”

⁵ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁶ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

⁷ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

⁶ tn 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.