Exodus 18:21

18:21 But you choose ¹  from the people capable men, ²  God-fearing, ³  men of truth, ⁴  those who hate bribes, ⁵  and put them over the people ⁶  as rulers ⁷  of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Deuteronomy 1:15

1:15 So I chose ⁸  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials.

Deuteronomy 1:1

The Covenant Setting

1:1 This is what ⁹  Moses said to the assembly of Israel ¹⁰  in the Transjordanian ¹¹  wastelands, the arid country opposite ¹²  Suph, ¹³  between ¹⁴  Paran ¹⁵  and Tophel, ¹⁶  Laban, ¹⁷  Hazeroth, ¹⁸  and Di Zahab ¹⁹ 

Deuteronomy 8:12

8:12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses,

[18:21]  ¹ tn The construction uses the independent pronoun for emphasis, and then the imperfect tense “see” (חָזָה, khazah) – “and you will see from all….” Both in Hebrew and Ugaritic expressions of “seeing” are used in the sense of choosing (Gen 41:33). See U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220.

[18:21]  ² tn The expression is אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל (’anshe khayil, “capable men”). The attributive genitive is the word used in expressions like “mighty man of valor.” The word describes these men as respected, influential, powerful people, those looked up to by the community as leaders, and those who will have the needs of the community in mind.

[18:21]  ³ tn The description “fearers of God” uses an objective genitive. It describes them as devout, worshipful, obedient servants of God.

[18:21]  ⁴ tn The expression “men of truth” (אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, ’anshe ’emet) indicates that these men must be seekers of truth, who know that the task of a judge is to give true judgment (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 220). The word “truth” includes the ideas of faithfulness or reliability, as well as factuality itself. It could be understood to mean “truthful men,” men whose word is reliable and true.

[18:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “haters of bribes.” Here is another objective genitive, one that refers to unjust gain. To hate unjust gain is to reject and refuse it. Their decisions will not be swayed by greed.

[18:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “over them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:21]  ⁷ sn It is not clear how this structure would work in a judicial setting. The language of “captains of thousands,” etc., is used more for military ranks. There must have been more detailed instruction involved here, for each Israelite would have come under four leaders with this arrangement, and perhaps difficult cases would be sent to the next level. But since the task of these men would also involve instruction and guidance, the breakdown would be very useful. Deut 1:9, 13 suggest that the choice of these people was not simply Moses’ alone.

[1:15]  ⁸ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “These are the words.”

[1:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[1:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “on the other side of the Jordan.” This would appear to favor authorship by someone living on the west side of the Jordan, that is, in Canaan, whereas the biblical tradition locates Moses on the east side (cf. v. 5). However the Hebrew phrase בְּעֵבֶר הַיּרְדֵּן (bÿ’ever hayyrÿden) is a frozen form meaning “Transjordan,” a name appropriate from any geographical vantage point. To this day, one standing east of the Jordan can describe himself as being in Transjordan.

[1:1]  ¹² tn The Hebrew term מוֹל (mol) may also mean “in front of” or “near” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ¹³ sn This place is otherwise unattested and its location is unknown. Perhaps it is Khirbet Sufah, 4 mi (6 km) SSE of Madaba, Jordan.

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term בֵּין (ben) may suggest “in the area of.”

[1:1]  ¹⁵ sn Paran is the well-known desert area between Mount Sinai and Kadesh Barnea (cf. Num 10:12; 12:16).

[1:1]  ¹⁶ sn Tophel refers possibly to et£-T£afîleh, 15 mi (25 km) SE of the Dead Sea, or to Da‚bîlu, another name for Paran. See H. Cazelles, “Tophel (Deut. 1:1),” VT 9 (1959): 412-15.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ sn Laban. Perhaps this refers to Libnah (Num 33:20).

[1:1]  ¹⁸ sn Hazeroth. This probably refers to àAin Khadra. See Y. Aharoni, The Land of the Bible, 199-200.

[1:1]  ¹⁹ sn Di Zahab. Perhaps this refers to Mina al-Dhahab on the eastern Sinai coast.