5:3 Hear, O kings!
Pay attention, O rulers!
I will sing to the Lord! 1
I will sing 2 to the Lord God of Israel!
1 tn Heb “I, to the
2 tn Or “make music.”
3 tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.
7 tn Heb “with what.”
8 tn Heb “in my father’s house.”
7 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.
9 tn Or “look.”
11 tn Heb “the
12 tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
13 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”]).
14 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
13 tn Heb “all the ground.”
14 tn Or “know.”
15 tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”
15 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
16 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
17 tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
17 tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
18 tn Heb “places them before me.”
19 tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.
19 tn Or “sinned against you.”
20 tn Or “evil.”
21 tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
22 tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”
23 tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the
23 tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”
24 tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”
25 tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).
26 tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.
27 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
29 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.”