Judges 19:18

19:18 The Levite ¹  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ²  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ³  But no one has invited me into their home.

Judges 17:8-9

17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ⁴  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ⁵ 

Judges 19:2

19:2 However, she ⁶  got angry at him ⁷  and went home ⁸  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

³ tn 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.”

⁴ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

⁷ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹¹ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

¹² tn Heb “went from him.”