3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he 12 raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. 13 The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. 14
20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, 35 went up to 36 Bethel. 37 They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything 38 that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace 39 to the Lord.
1 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
2 tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”
3 tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”
4 tn Heb “the great work of the
5 tn Or “fathers.”
6 tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).
9 tn Heb “the
10 tn Or “delivered.”
11 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).
13 tn Heb “was on him.”
14 tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”
17 tn Heb “the
18 tn 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: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.
19 tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”
21 tn Heb “Arise!”
22 tn 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
23 tn Heb “Has the
25 tn Heb “the
26 tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
27 tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” מֵאֶרֶץ (me’erets, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following מִמִּצְרַיִם [mimmitsrayim, “from Egypt”]).
28 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
29 tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
30 tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
33 tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
34 tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the
35 tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”
37 tn Heb “If you detain me.”
38 tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the
41 tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).
42 tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”
45 tn Heb “I” (collective singular).
46 tn Heb “approach for battle.”
47 tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).
48 tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).
49 tn Heb “and all the people.”
50 tn Heb “went up and came [to].”
51 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
52 tn Traditionally, “fasted.”
53 tn Or “peace offerings.”
53 tn 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.’”