Judges 3:3

3:3 These were the nations: ¹  the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath. ² 

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 ³  their god.

Judges 9:4

9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous ⁴  men as his followers. ⁵ 

Judges 19:23

19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!

Judges 19:22

19:22 They were having a good time, ⁶  when suddenly ⁷  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ⁸  surrounded the house and kept beating ⁹  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ¹⁰ 

¹ tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”

³ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

⁶ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

⁷ tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”

⁸ tn Heb “and look.”

⁹ tn 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.

¹⁰ tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.

¹¹ tn 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).