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 6:32

6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, ³  because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”

Judges 9:1

Abimelech Murders His Brothers

9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ⁴  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ⁵ 

Judges 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ⁶  reporting, “Beware! ⁷  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ⁸  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁹ 

Judges 10:10

10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped ¹⁰  the Baals.”

Judges 11:12

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ¹¹  you come against me to attack my land?”

Judges 20:8

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ¹²  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ¹³  Not one of us will return ¹⁴  to his house!

Judges 20:12

20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe ¹⁵  of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place? ¹⁶ 

Judges 21:18

21:18 But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, ¹⁷  for the Israelites took an oath, saying, ‘Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!’ ¹⁸ 

[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?”

[6:32]  ³ tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”

[9:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”

[9:31]  ⁷ tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.

[9:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ⁹ tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.

[9:31]  ¹⁰ tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).

[10:10]  ⁹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[11:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”

[20:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ¹⁵ tn Or “turn aside.”

[20:12]  ¹⁵ tc The MT reads the plural, but surely the singular (which is supported by the LXX and Vulgate) is preferable here.

[20:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “What is this wicked thing which happened among you?”

[21:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “But we are not able to give to them wives from our daughters.”

[21:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “is cursed.”