Judges 9:22

God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse

9:22 Abimelech commanded¹ Israel for three years.

Judges 7:16

7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units.² He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.³

Judges 8:4

Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings

8:4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.⁴

Judges 10:2

10:2 He led⁵ Israel for twenty-three years, then died and was buried in Shamir.

Judges 1:20

1:20 Caleb received⁶ Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites.

Judges 7:6

7:6 Three hundred men lapped;⁷ the rest of the men⁸ kneeled to drink water.

Judges 7:20

7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right.⁹ Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Judges 9:43

9:43 he took his men¹⁰ and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city,¹¹ he attacked and struck them down.¹²

Judges 14:14

14:14 He said to them,

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

out of the strong one came something sweet.”

They could not solve the riddle for three days.

Judges 16:27

16:27 Now the temple¹³ was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.

Judges 19:4

19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.

Judges 7:7-8

7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army¹⁴ and I will hand Midian over to you.¹⁵ The rest of the men should go home.”¹⁶ 7:8 The men¹⁷ who were chosen¹⁸ took supplies¹⁹ and their trumpets. Gideon²⁰ sent all the men of Israel back to their homes;²¹ he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites²² were camped down below²³ in the valley.

Judges 7:22

7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords²⁴ throughout²⁵ the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went²⁶ to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Judges 11:26

11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

Judges 15:4

15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals²⁷ and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.²⁸

Judges 15:11

15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”

Judges 16:15

16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me?²⁹ Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

¹tn The Hebrew verb translated “commanded” (שָׂרַר, sarar), which appears only here in Judges, differs from the ones employed earlier in this chapter (מָשַׁל [mashal] and מָלַךְ [malakh]).

²tn Heb “heads.”

³tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)

⁴tn Traditionally, “judged.”

⁵tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”

⁶tc The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place.

⁷tn Heb “the people.”

⁷tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁸tn Heb “his people.”

⁹tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

¹⁰tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

⁹tn Heb “house.”

¹⁰tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

¹¹tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

¹²tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

¹¹tn Heb “The people.”

¹²tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹³tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

¹⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵tn Heb “tents.”

¹⁶tn Heb “Midian.”

¹⁷tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

¹²tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

¹³tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

¹⁴tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹³tn Traditionally, “foxes.”

¹⁴tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”

¹⁴tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”