Judges 1:1

Judah Takes the Lead

1:1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked ¹  the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?” ² 

Judges 1:17

1:17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ³  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ⁴  So people now call the city Hormah. ⁵ 

Judges 1:21

1:21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. ⁶  The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. ⁷ 

Judges 1:30-31

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ⁸  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

1:31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, ⁹  nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. ¹⁰ 

Judges 1:35

1:35 The Amorites managed ¹¹  to remain in Har Heres, ¹²  Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, ¹³  the Amorites were forced to do hard labor.

Judges 5:16

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ¹⁴ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ¹⁵  for their flocks? ¹⁶ 

As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.

Judges 6:15

6:15 Gideon ¹⁷  said to him, “But Lord, ¹⁸  how ¹⁹  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ²⁰ 

Judges 8:2

8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ²¹  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ²² 

Judges 18:22

18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ²³  gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

Judges 20:3

20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!”

Judges 21:16

21:16 The leaders ²⁴  of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? ²⁵  After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.

[1:1]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, sha’al) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”

[1:17]  ³ tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

[1:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ⁵ sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

[1:21]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:21]  ⁶ sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).

[1:30]  ⁷ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

[1:31]  ⁹ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[1:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”

[1:35]  ¹¹ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:35]  ¹² tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.

[1:35]  ¹³ tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”

[5:16]  ¹³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ¹⁴ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[6:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ¹⁶ 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.

[6:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[8:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ¹⁸ sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[18:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[21:16]  ²¹ tn Or “elders.”

[21:16]  ²² tn Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”