Judges 1:1--21:25

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  1:2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead. ³  Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.” ⁴  1:3 The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon, ⁵  “Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites. ⁶  Then we ⁷  will go with you into your allotted land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

1:4 The men of Judah attacked, ⁸  and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek. 1:5 They met ⁹  Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 1:6 When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ¹⁰  food scraps ¹¹  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ¹²  They brought him to Jerusalem, ¹³  where he died. 1:8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

1:9 Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. ¹⁴  1:10 The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 1:11 From there they attacked the people of Debir. ¹⁵  (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 1:12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife.” 1:13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, ¹⁶  captured it, Caleb ¹⁷  gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife.

1:14 One time Acsah ¹⁸  came and charmed her father ¹⁹  so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 1:15 She answered, “Please give me a special present. ²⁰  Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. ²¹ 

1:16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, ²²  located in the Negev. ²³  They went and lived with the people of Judah. ²⁴ 

1:17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ²⁵  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ²⁶  So people now call the city Hormah. ²⁷  1:18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. ²⁸ 

1:19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered ²⁹  the hill country, but they could not ³⁰  conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels. ³¹  1:20 Caleb received ³²  Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. 1:21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. ³³  The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. ³⁴ 

Partial Success

1:22 When the men ³⁵  of Joseph attacked ³⁶  Bethel, ³⁷  the Lord was with them. 1:23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), 1:24 the spies spotted ³⁸  a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 1:25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. 1:26 He ³⁹  moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

1:27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo ⁴⁰  or their surrounding towns. ⁴¹  The Canaanites managed ⁴²  to remain in those areas. ⁴³  1:28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

1:29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ⁴⁴  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, ⁴⁵  nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. ⁴⁶  1:32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. ⁴⁷  They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites ⁴⁸  living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

1:34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in ⁴⁹  the coastal plain. 1:35 The Amorites managed ⁵⁰  to remain in Har Heres, ⁵¹  Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, ⁵²  the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. 1:36 The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent ⁵³  to Sela and on up. ⁵⁴ 

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger ⁵⁵  went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. ⁵⁶  I said, ‘I will never break my agreement ⁵⁷  with you, 2:2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ ⁵⁸  But you have disobeyed me. ⁵⁹  Why would you do such a thing? ⁶⁰  2:3 At that time I also warned you, ⁶¹  ‘If you disobey, ⁶²  I will not drive out the Canaanites ⁶³  before you. They will ensnare you ⁶⁴  and their gods will lure you away.’” ⁶⁵ 

2:4 When the Lord’s messenger finished speaking these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ⁶⁶  2:5 They named that place Bokim ⁶⁷  and offered sacrifices to the Lord there.

The End of an Era

2:6 When Joshua dismissed ⁶⁸  the people, the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory, ⁶⁹  intending to take possession of the land. 2:7 The people worshiped ⁷⁰  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ⁷¹  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ⁷²  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁷³  2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 2:9 The people ⁷⁴  buried him in his allotted land ⁷⁵  in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 2:10 That entire generation passed away; ⁷⁶  a new generation grew up ⁷⁷  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ⁷⁸ 

A Monotonous Cycle

2:11 The Israelites did evil before ⁷⁹  the Lord by worshiping ⁸⁰  the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ⁸¹  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ⁸²  them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. ⁸³ 

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁸⁴  and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. ⁸⁵  He turned them over to ⁸⁶  their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. ⁸⁷  2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ⁸⁸  the Lord did them harm, ⁸⁹  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ⁹⁰  They suffered greatly. ⁹¹ 

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ⁹²  who delivered them from these robbers. ⁹³  2:17 But they did not obey ⁹⁴  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ⁹⁵  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ⁹⁶  their ancestors ⁹⁷  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁹⁸  2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ⁹⁹  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ¹⁰⁰  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ¹⁰¹  2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹⁰²  would again ¹⁰³  act more wickedly than the previous one. ¹⁰⁴  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ¹⁰⁵  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ¹⁰⁶  their practices or their stubborn ways.

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ¹⁰⁷  He said, “This nation ¹⁰⁸  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ¹⁰⁹  by disobeying me. ¹¹⁰  2:21 So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 2:22 Joshua left those nations ¹¹¹  to test ¹¹²  Israel. I wanted to see ¹¹³  whether or not the people ¹¹⁴  would carefully walk in the path ¹¹⁵  marked out by ¹¹⁶  the Lord, as their ancestors ¹¹⁷  were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why ¹¹⁸  the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; ¹¹⁹  he did not hand them over to Joshua.

3:1 These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel – he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites. ¹²⁰  3:2 He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war. ¹²¹  3:3 These were the nations: ¹²²  the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath. ¹²³  3:4 They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses. ¹²⁴ 

3:5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3:6 They took the Canaanites’ daughters as wives and gave their daughters to the Canaanites; ¹²⁵  they worshiped ¹²⁶  their gods as well.

Othniel: A Model Leader

3:7 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹²⁷  They forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ¹²⁸  3:8 The Lord was furious with Israel ¹²⁹  and turned them over to ¹³⁰  King Cushan-Rishathaim ¹³¹  of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects ¹³²  for eight years. 3:9 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹³³  raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued ¹³⁴  them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹³⁵  3:10 The Lord’s spirit empowered him ¹³⁶  and he led Israel. When he went to do battle, the Lord handed over to him King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram and he overpowered him. ¹³⁷  3:11 The land had rest for forty years; then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance

3:12 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹³⁸  The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel ¹³⁹  because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight. 3:13 Eglon formed alliances with ¹⁴⁰  the Ammonites and Amalekites. He came and defeated Israel, and they seized the City of Date Palm Trees. 3:14 The Israelites were subject to ¹⁴¹  King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹⁴²  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ¹⁴³  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ¹⁴⁴  3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹⁴⁵  He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh. 3:17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

3:18 After Ehud brought the tribute payment, he dismissed the people who had carried it. ¹⁴⁶  3:19 But he went back ¹⁴⁷  once he reached ¹⁴⁸  the carved images ¹⁴⁹  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ¹⁵⁰  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ¹⁵¹  said, “Be quiet!” ¹⁵²  All his attendants left. 3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ¹⁵³  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ¹⁵⁴  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ¹⁵⁵  3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s ¹⁵⁶  belly. 3:22 The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud ¹⁵⁷  did not pull the sword out of his belly. ¹⁵⁸  3:23 As Ehud went out into the vestibule, ¹⁵⁹  he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ¹⁶⁰  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ¹⁶¹  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ¹⁶²  3:25 They waited so long they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. Finally they took the key and opened the doors. ¹⁶³  Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor! ¹⁶⁴  3:26 Now Ehud had escaped while they were delaying. When he passed the carved images, he escaped to Seirah.

3:27 When he reached Seirah, ¹⁶⁵  he blew a trumpet ¹⁶⁶  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead. ¹⁶⁷  3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ¹⁶⁸  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ¹⁶⁹  opposite Moab, ¹⁷⁰  and did not let anyone cross. 3:29 That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites ¹⁷¹  – all strong, capable warriors; not one escaped. 3:30 Israel humiliated Moab that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.

3:31 After Ehud ¹⁷²  came ¹⁷³  Shamgar son of Anath; he killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad and, like Ehud, ¹⁷⁴  delivered Israel.

Deborah Summons Barak

4:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight ¹⁷⁵  after Ehud’s death. 4:2 The Lord turned them over to ¹⁷⁶  King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. ¹⁷⁷  The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ¹⁷⁸  4:3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera ¹⁷⁹  had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, ¹⁸⁰  and he cruelly ¹⁸¹  oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, ¹⁸²  wife of Lappidoth, was ¹⁸³  leading ¹⁸⁴  Israel at that time. 4:5 She would sit ¹⁸⁵  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ¹⁸⁶  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ¹⁸⁷ 

4:6 She summoned ¹⁸⁸  Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. ¹⁸⁹  I will hand him over to you.” 4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame ¹⁹⁰  on the expedition you are undertaking, ¹⁹¹  for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” ¹⁹²  Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; ¹⁹³  Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away ¹⁹⁴  from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived ¹⁹⁵  near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:12 When Sisera heard ¹⁹⁶  that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he ¹⁹⁷  ordered ¹⁹⁸  all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, ¹⁹⁹  for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! ²⁰⁰  Has the Lord not taken the lead?” ²⁰¹  Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed ²⁰²  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ²⁰³  Sisera jumped out of ²⁰⁴  his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died ²⁰⁵  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ²⁰⁶ 

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ²⁰⁷  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ²⁰⁸  4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, ²⁰⁹  my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera ²¹⁰  stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 4:20 He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say ‘No.’” 4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ²¹¹  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ²¹²  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ²¹³  and he died. 4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ²¹⁴  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ²¹⁵  with the tent peg in his temple.

4:23 That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 4:24 Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ²¹⁶  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ²¹⁷  him. ²¹⁸ 

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: ²¹⁹ 

5:2 “When the leaders took the lead ²²⁰  in Israel,

When the people answered the call to war –

Praise the Lord!

5:3 Hear, O kings!

Pay attention, O rulers!

I will sing to the Lord! ²²¹ 

I will sing ²²²  to the Lord God of Israel!

5:4 O Lord, when you departed ²²³  from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,

the earth shook, the heavens poured down,

the clouds poured down rain. ²²⁴ 

5:5 The mountains trembled ²²⁵  before the Lord, the God of Sinai; ²²⁶ 

before the Lord God of Israel.

5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans ²²⁷  disappeared; ²²⁸ 

travelers ²²⁹  had to go on winding side roads.

5:7 Warriors ²³⁰  were scarce, ²³¹ 

they were scarce in Israel,

until you ²³²  arose, Deborah,

until you arose as a motherly protector ²³³  in Israel.

5:8 God chose new leaders, ²³⁴ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ²³⁵ 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ²³⁶ 

among forty military units ²³⁷  in Israel.

5:9 My heart went out ²³⁸  to Israel’s leaders,

to the people who answered the call to war.

Praise the Lord!

5:10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets, ²³⁹ 

you who walk on the road, pay attention!

5:11 Hear ²⁴⁰  the sound of those who divide the sheep ²⁴¹  among the watering places;

there they tell of ²⁴²  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ²⁴³  in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

Get up, Barak!

Capture your prisoners of war, ²⁴⁴  son of Abinoam!

5:13 Then the survivors ²⁴⁵  came down ²⁴⁶  to the mighty ones; ²⁴⁷ 

the Lord’s people came down to me ²⁴⁸  as ²⁴⁹  warriors.

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ²⁵⁰ 

they follow ²⁵¹  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ²⁵²  the ones who march carrying ²⁵³  an officer’s staff.

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ²⁵⁴  supported ²⁵⁵  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ²⁵⁶ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ²⁵⁷  heart searching. ²⁵⁸ 

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ²⁵⁹ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ²⁶⁰  for their flocks? ²⁶¹ 

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

5:17 Gilead stayed put ²⁶²  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ²⁶³ 

Asher remained ²⁶⁴  on the seacoast,

he stayed ²⁶⁵  by his harbors. ²⁶⁶ 

5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; ²⁶⁷ 

Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. ²⁶⁸ 

5:19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought,

at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, ²⁶⁹ 

but ²⁷⁰  they took no silver as plunder.

5:20 From the sky ²⁷¹  the stars ²⁷²  fought,

from their paths in the heavens ²⁷³  they fought against Sisera.

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them ²⁷⁴  – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong! ²⁷⁵ 

5:22 The horses’ ²⁷⁶  hooves pounded the ground; ²⁷⁷ 

the stallions galloped madly. ²⁷⁸ 

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ²⁷⁹  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ²⁸⁰  messenger;

‘Be sure ²⁸¹  to call judgment down on ²⁸²  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ²⁸³ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ²⁸⁴ 

5:24 The most rewarded ²⁸⁵  of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!

She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

5:25 He asked for water,

and she gave him milk;

in a bowl fit for a king, ²⁸⁶ 

she served him curds.

5:26 Her left ²⁸⁷  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ²⁸⁸  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ²⁸⁹ 

she smashed his head, ²⁹⁰ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ²⁹¹ 

5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,

he fell limp ²⁹²  and was lifeless; ²⁹³ 

between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,

in the spot where he collapsed,

there he fell limp – violently murdered! ²⁹⁴ 

5:28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:

‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?

Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses ²⁹⁵  delayed?’

5:29 The wisest of her ladies ²⁹⁶  answer;

indeed she even thinks to herself,

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ²⁹⁷  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ²⁹⁸ 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ²⁹⁹ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ³⁰⁰ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ³⁰¹ 

5:31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!

But may those who love you shine

like the rising sun at its brightest!” ³⁰² 

And the land had rest for forty years.

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ³⁰³  so the Lord turned them over to ³⁰⁴  Midian for seven years. 6:2 The Midianites ³⁰⁵  overwhelmed Israel. ³⁰⁶  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ³⁰⁷  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ³⁰⁸  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ³⁰⁹  6:4 They invaded the land ³¹⁰  and devoured ³¹¹  its crops ³¹²  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ³¹³  and they took away ³¹⁴  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 6:5 When they invaded ³¹⁵  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ³¹⁶  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ³¹⁷  They came to devour ³¹⁸  the land. 6:6 Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

6:7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian, 6:8 he ³¹⁹  sent a prophet ³²⁰  to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt ³²¹  and took you out of that place of slavery. ³²²  6:9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power ³²³  and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. 6:10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship ³²⁴  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ³²⁵ 

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ³²⁶  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ³²⁷  was threshing ³²⁸  wheat in a winepress ³²⁹  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ³³⁰  6:12 The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” 6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, ³³¹  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ³³²  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ³³³  ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 6:14 Then the Lord himself ³³⁴  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ³³⁵  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ³³⁶  Have I not sent you?” 6:15 Gideon ³³⁷  said to him, “But Lord, ³³⁸  how ³³⁹  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ³⁴⁰  6:16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but ³⁴¹  I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” ³⁴²  6:17 Gideon ³⁴³  said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, ³⁴⁴  then give me ³⁴⁵  a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back ³⁴⁶  with a gift ³⁴⁷  and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”

6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, ³⁴⁸  along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food ³⁴⁹  to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 6:20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, ³⁵⁰  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ³⁵¹  6:21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. ³⁵²  Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared. ³⁵³ 

6:22 When Gideon realized ³⁵⁴  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ³⁵⁵  said, “Oh no! ³⁵⁶  Master, Lord! ³⁵⁷  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 6:23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! ³⁵⁸  Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!” 6:24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” ³⁵⁹  To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. ³⁶⁰  Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ³⁶¹  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants ³⁶²  and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family ³⁶³  and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. ³⁶⁴ 

6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw ³⁶⁵  the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar. 6:29 They said to one another, ³⁶⁶  “Who did this?” ³⁶⁷  They investigated the matter thoroughly ³⁶⁸  and concluded ³⁶⁹  that Gideon son of Joash had done it. 6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! ³⁷⁰  He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.” 6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ³⁷¹  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ³⁷²  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³⁷³  will die by morning! ³⁷⁴  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ³⁷⁵  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ³⁷⁶  6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, ³⁷⁷  because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”

Gideon Summons an Army and Seeks Confirmation

6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east ³⁷⁸  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ³⁷⁹  and camped in the Jezreel Valley. 6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of ³⁸⁰  Gideon. He blew a trumpet, ³⁸¹  summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁸²  6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. ³⁸³  He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

6:36 Gideon said to God, “If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, ³⁸⁴  as you promised, then give me a sign as proof. ³⁸⁵  6:37 Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ³⁸⁶  is dry, then I will be sure ³⁸⁷  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ³⁸⁸  as you promised.” 6:38 The Lord did as he asked. ³⁸⁹  When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. ³⁹⁰  6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. ³⁹¹  Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.” ³⁹²  6:40 That night God did as he asked. ³⁹³  Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew.

Gideon Reduces the Ranks

7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men ³⁹⁴  got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. ³⁹⁵  The Midianites ³⁹⁶  were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley. 7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ³⁹⁷  Israel might brag, ³⁹⁸  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ³⁹⁹  7:3 Now, announce to the men, ⁴⁰⁰  ‘Whoever is shaking with fear ⁴⁰¹  may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” ⁴⁰²  Twenty-two thousand men ⁴⁰³  went home; ⁴⁰⁴  ten thousand remained. 7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. ⁴⁰⁵  Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. ⁴⁰⁶  When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; ⁴⁰⁷  when I say, ⁴⁰⁸  ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” ⁴⁰⁹  7:5 So he brought the men ⁴¹⁰  down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” ⁴¹¹  7:6 Three hundred men lapped; ⁴¹²  the rest of the men ⁴¹³  kneeled to drink water. 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ⁴¹⁴  and I will hand Midian over to you. ⁴¹⁵  The rest of the men should go home.” ⁴¹⁶  7:8 The men ⁴¹⁷  who were chosen ⁴¹⁸  took supplies ⁴¹⁹  and their trumpets. Gideon ⁴²⁰  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ⁴²¹  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ⁴²²  were camped down below ⁴²³  in the valley.

Gideon Reassured of Victory

7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, ⁴²⁴  “Get up! Attack ⁴²⁵  the camp, for I am handing it over to you. ⁴²⁶  7:10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant 7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave ⁴²⁷  and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. ⁴²⁸  7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. ⁴²⁹  Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ⁴³⁰  The man ⁴³¹  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ⁴³²  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ⁴³³  7:14 The other man said, ⁴³⁴  “Without a doubt this symbolizes ⁴³⁵  the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ⁴³⁶  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. ⁴³⁷  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ⁴³⁸  7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! ⁴³⁹  I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ⁴⁴⁰  at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. ⁴⁴¹  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. ⁴⁴²  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order ⁴⁴³  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ⁴⁴⁴  7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ⁴⁴⁵  throughout ⁴⁴⁶  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ⁴⁴⁷  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ⁴⁴⁸ 

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. ⁴⁴⁹  Take control of the fords of the streams ⁴⁵⁰  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” ⁴⁵¹  When all the Ephraimites had assembled, ⁴⁵²  they took control of the fords ⁴⁵³  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ⁴⁵⁴  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ⁴⁵⁵  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ⁴⁵⁶  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁴⁵⁷ 

8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ⁴⁵⁸  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him. 8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ⁴⁵⁹  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ⁴⁶⁰  8:3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” ⁴⁶¹  When he said this, they calmed down. ⁴⁶² 

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. ⁴⁶³  8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give ⁴⁶⁴  some loaves of bread to the men ⁴⁶⁵  who are following me, ⁴⁶⁶  because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 8:6 The officials of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give ⁴⁶⁷  bread to your army?” ⁴⁶⁸  8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, ⁴⁶⁹  after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh ⁴⁷⁰  your skin ⁴⁷¹  with ⁴⁷²  desert thorns and briers.” 8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ⁴⁷³  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ⁴⁷⁴  8:9 He also threatened ⁴⁷⁵  the men of Penuel, warning, ⁴⁷⁶  “When I return victoriously, ⁴⁷⁷  I will tear down this tower.”

8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. ⁴⁷⁸  8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads ⁴⁷⁹  east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. ⁴⁸⁰  8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon ⁴⁸¹  chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised ⁴⁸²  their entire army.

8:13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass ⁴⁸³  of Heres. 8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth ⁴⁸⁴  and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. ⁴⁸⁵  8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ⁴⁸⁶  Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ⁴⁸⁷  8:16 He seized the leaders ⁴⁸⁸  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ⁴⁸⁹  8:17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ⁴⁹⁰  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ⁴⁹¹  8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, ⁴⁹²  as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 8:20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! ⁴⁹³  Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, ⁴⁹⁴  because he was still young. 8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ⁴⁹⁵  “Come on, ⁴⁹⁶  you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” ⁴⁹⁷  So Gideon killed ⁴⁹⁸  Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod

8:22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.” ⁴⁹⁹  8:23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 8:24 Gideon continued, ⁵⁰⁰  “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” ⁵⁰¹  (The Midianites ⁵⁰²  had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 8:25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” ⁵⁰³  So they ⁵⁰⁴  spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 8:26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. ⁵⁰⁵  This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, ⁵⁰⁶  purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. ⁵⁰⁷  8:27 Gideon used all this to make ⁵⁰⁸  an ephod, ⁵⁰⁹  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ⁵¹⁰  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁵¹¹  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Story Ends

8:28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. ⁵¹²  The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time. ⁵¹³  8:29 Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. ⁵¹⁴  8:30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. ⁵¹⁵  8:31 His concubine, ⁵¹⁶  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ⁵¹⁷  8:32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very ⁵¹⁸  old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Israel Returns to Baal-Worship

8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith ⁵¹⁹  their god. 8:34 The Israelites did not remain true ⁵²⁰  to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat ⁵²¹  the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

Abimelech Murders His Brothers

9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ⁵²²  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ⁵²³  9:2 “Tell ⁵²⁴  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ⁵²⁵  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ⁵²⁶  9:3 His mother’s relatives ⁵²⁷  spoke on his behalf to ⁵²⁸  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ⁵²⁹  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ⁵³⁰  they said, “He is our close relative.” ⁵³¹  9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous ⁵³²  men as his followers. ⁵³³  9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ⁵³⁴  the seventy legitimate ⁵³⁵  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ⁵³⁶  because he hid. 9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar ⁵³⁷  in Shechem.

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁵³⁸  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ⁵³⁹  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

9:8 “The trees were determined to go out ⁵⁴⁰  and choose a king for themselves. ⁵⁴¹  They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ ⁵⁴²  9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴³ 

9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁴  9:11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴⁵ 

9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁶  9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴⁷ 

9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁸  9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ⁵⁴⁹  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ⁵⁵⁰  Otherwise ⁵⁵¹  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, ⁵⁵²  if you have properly repaid him ⁵⁵³  – 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life ⁵⁵⁴  and delivered you from Midian’s power. ⁵⁵⁵  9:18 But you have attacked ⁵⁵⁶  my father’s family ⁵⁵⁷  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ⁵⁵⁸  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ⁵⁵⁹  9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family ⁵⁶⁰  today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! ⁵⁶¹  9:20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!” 9:21 Then Jotham ran away ⁵⁶²  to Beer and lived there to escape from ⁵⁶³  Abimelech his half-brother. ⁵⁶⁴ 

God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse

9:22 Abimelech commanded ⁵⁶⁵  Israel for three years. 9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility ⁵⁶⁶  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal ⁵⁶⁷  to Abimelech. 9:24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother ⁵⁶⁸  who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. ⁵⁶⁹  9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting ⁵⁷⁰  bandits in ⁵⁷¹  the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. ⁵⁷² 

9:26 Gaal son of Ebed ⁵⁷³  came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. ⁵⁷⁴  9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ⁵⁷⁵  squeezed out the juice, ⁵⁷⁶  and celebrated. They came to the temple ⁵⁷⁷  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. 9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ⁵⁷⁸  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ⁵⁷⁹  9:29 If only these men ⁵⁸⁰  were under my command, ⁵⁸¹  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁵⁸²  “Muster ⁵⁸³  your army and come out for battle!” ⁵⁸⁴ 

9:30 When Zebul, the city commissioner, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was furious. ⁵⁸⁵  9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ⁵⁸⁶  reporting, “Beware! ⁵⁸⁷  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ⁵⁸⁸  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁵⁸⁹  9:32 Now, come up ⁵⁹⁰  at night with your men ⁵⁹¹  and set an ambush in the field outside the city. ⁵⁹²  9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city. When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.” ⁵⁹³ 

9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up ⁵⁹⁴  at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into ⁵⁹⁵  four units. 9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places. 9:36 Gaal saw the men ⁵⁹⁶  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ⁵⁹⁷  9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ⁵⁹⁸  of the land. A unit ⁵⁹⁹  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ⁶⁰⁰  9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, ⁶⁰¹  ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men ⁶⁰²  you insulted? ⁶⁰³  Go out now and fight them!” 9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out ⁶⁰⁴  and fought Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ⁶⁰⁵  ran from him. Many Shechemites ⁶⁰⁶  fell wounded at the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech went back ⁶⁰⁷  to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. ⁶⁰⁸ 

9:42 The next day the Shechemites ⁶⁰⁹  came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it, ⁶¹⁰  9:43 he took his men ⁶¹¹  and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, ⁶¹²  he attacked and struck them down. ⁶¹³  9:44 Abimelech and his units ⁶¹⁴  attacked and blocked ⁶¹⁵  the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down. 9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled ⁶¹⁶  the city and spread salt over it. ⁶¹⁷ 

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem ⁶¹⁸  heard the news, they went to the stronghold ⁶¹⁹  of the temple of El-Berith. ⁶²⁰  9:47 Abimelech heard ⁶²¹  that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. ⁶²²  9:48 He and all his men ⁶²³  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁶²⁴  took an ax ⁶²⁵  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁶²⁶  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁶²⁷  9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ⁶²⁸  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ⁶²⁹  All the people ⁶³⁰  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

9:50 Abimelech moved on ⁶³¹  to Thebez; he besieged and captured it. ⁶³²  9:51 There was a fortified ⁶³³  tower ⁶³⁴  in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower. 9:52 Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 9:53 a woman threw an upper millstone ⁶³⁵  down on his ⁶³⁶  head and shattered his skull. 9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ⁶³⁷  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ⁶³⁸  ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died. 9:55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. ⁶³⁹ 

9:56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half-brothers. ⁶⁴⁰  9:57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell ⁶⁴¹  on them.

Stability Restored

10:1 After Abimelech’s death, ⁶⁴²  Tola son of Puah, grandson ⁶⁴³  of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, ⁶⁴⁴  rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country. 10:2 He led ⁶⁴⁵  Israel for twenty-three years, then died and was buried in Shamir.

10:3 Jair the Gileadite rose up after him; he led Israel for twenty-two years. 10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair ⁶⁴⁶  – they are in the land of Gilead. ⁶⁴⁷  10:5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

The Lord’s Patience Runs Short

10:6 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ⁶⁴⁸  They worshiped ⁶⁴⁹  the Baals and the Ashtars, ⁶⁵⁰  as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, ⁶⁵¹  Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. ⁶⁵²  They abandoned the Lord and did not worship ⁶⁵³  him. 10:7 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁶⁵⁴  and turned them over to ⁶⁵⁵  the Philistines and Ammonites. 10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ⁶⁵⁶  the Israelites that eighteenth year ⁶⁵⁷  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. ⁶⁵⁸  Israel suffered greatly. ⁶⁵⁹ 

10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped ⁶⁶⁰  the Baals.” 10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 10:12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian ⁶⁶¹  when they oppressed you? ⁶⁶²  You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. ⁶⁶³  10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped ⁶⁶⁴  other gods, I will not deliver you again. 10:14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!” ⁶⁶⁵  10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, ⁶⁶⁶  but deliver us today!” ⁶⁶⁷  10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned ⁶⁶⁸  and worshiped ⁶⁶⁹  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ⁶⁷⁰ 

An Outcast Becomes a General

10:17 The Ammonites assembled ⁶⁷¹  and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 10:18 The leaders ⁶⁷²  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ⁶⁷³  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. ⁶⁷⁴  11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave ⁶⁷⁵  him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, ⁶⁷⁶  because you are another woman’s son.” 11:3 So Jephthah left ⁶⁷⁷  his half-brothers ⁶⁷⁸  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁶⁷⁹ 

11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 11:5 When the Ammonites attacked, ⁶⁸⁰  the leaders ⁶⁸¹  of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back ⁶⁸²  from the land of Tob. 11:6 They said, ⁶⁸³  “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave ⁶⁸⁴  my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ⁶⁸⁵  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁶⁸⁶  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ⁶⁸⁷  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁶⁸⁸  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁶⁸⁹  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁶⁹⁰  I will be your leader.” ⁶⁹¹  11:10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, ⁶⁹²  if we do not do as you say.” ⁶⁹³  11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ⁶⁹⁴  before the Lord in Mizpah.

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ⁶⁹⁵  you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ⁶⁹⁶  my land when they ⁶⁹⁷  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ⁶⁹⁸  Now return it ⁶⁹⁹  peaceably!”

11:14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 11:15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal ⁷⁰⁰  the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 11:16 When they left ⁷⁰¹  Egypt, Israel traveled ⁷⁰²  through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 11:17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us ⁷⁰³  to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. ⁷⁰⁴  Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. ⁷⁰⁵  So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 11:18 Then Israel ⁷⁰⁶  went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; ⁷⁰⁷  they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” ⁷⁰⁸  11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He ⁷⁰⁹  assembled his whole army, ⁷¹⁰  camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 11:21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took ⁷¹¹  all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 11:22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. ⁷¹²  11:23 Since ⁷¹³  the Lord God of Israel has driven out ⁷¹⁴  the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? ⁷¹⁵  11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. ⁷¹⁶  11:25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? ⁷¹⁷  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? 11:27 I have not done you wrong, ⁷¹⁸  but you are doing wrong ⁷¹⁹  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 11:28 But the Ammonite king disregarded ⁷²⁰  the message sent by Jephthah. ⁷²¹ 

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁷²²  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ⁷²³  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ⁷²⁴  11:30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 11:31 then whoever is the first to come through ⁷²⁵  the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he ⁷²⁶  will belong to the Lord and ⁷²⁷  I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 11:32 Jephthah approached ⁷²⁸  the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him. 11:33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! ⁷²⁹  The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. ⁷³⁰ 

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ⁷³¹  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ⁷³²  She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. 11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ⁷³³  You have brought me disaster! ⁷³⁴  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁷³⁵  11:36 She said to him, “My father, since ⁷³⁶  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ⁷³⁷  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ⁷³⁸  your enemies, the Ammonites.” 11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish. ⁷³⁹  For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” ⁷⁴⁰  11:38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave ⁷⁴¹  for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. ⁷⁴²  11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ⁷⁴³  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ⁷⁴⁴  11:40 Every year ⁷⁴⁵  Israelite women commemorate ⁷⁴⁶  the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. ⁷⁴⁷ 

Civil Strife Mars the Victory

12:1 The Ephraimites assembled ⁷⁴⁸  and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ⁷⁴⁹  with the Ammonites without asking ⁷⁵⁰  us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ⁷⁵¹ 

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ⁷⁵²  I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ⁷⁵³  12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ⁷⁵⁴  I risked my life ⁷⁵⁵  and advanced against ⁷⁵⁶  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ⁷⁵⁷  to fight with me today?” 12:4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, ⁷⁵⁸  “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ⁷⁵⁹  12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁷⁶⁰  opposite Ephraim. ⁷⁶¹  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ⁷⁶²  said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ⁷⁶³  him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 12:6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” ⁷⁶⁴  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word ⁷⁶⁵  correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead. 12:7 Jephthah led ⁷⁶⁶  Israel for six years; then he ⁷⁶⁷  died and was buried in his city in Gilead. ⁷⁶⁸ 

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ⁷⁶⁹  led ⁷⁷⁰  Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ⁷⁷¹  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ⁷⁷²  Ibzan ⁷⁷³  led ⁷⁷⁴  Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he ⁷⁷⁵  died and was buried in Bethlehem.

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led ⁷⁷⁶  Israel for ten years. ⁷⁷⁷  12:12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

12:13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led ⁷⁷⁸  Israel. 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 12:15 Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Samson’s Birth

13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, ⁷⁷⁹  so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. ⁷⁸⁰  13:3 The Lord’s angelic ⁷⁸¹  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ⁷⁸²  are infertile and childless, ⁷⁸³  but you will conceive and have a son. 13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁷⁸⁴  13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁷⁸⁵  You must never cut his hair, ⁷⁸⁶  for the child will be dedicated to God ⁷⁸⁷  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁷⁸⁸  of the Philistines.”

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ⁷⁸⁹  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ⁷⁹⁰  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁷⁹¹  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁷⁹²  For the child will be dedicated ⁷⁹³  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁷⁹⁴  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁷⁹⁵  to visit ⁷⁹⁶  us again, so he can teach ⁷⁹⁷  us how we should raise ⁷⁹⁸  the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. ⁷⁹⁹  God’s angelic messenger visited ⁸⁰⁰  the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, ⁸⁰¹  “Come quickly, ⁸⁰²  the man who visited ⁸⁰³  me the other day has appeared to me!” 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met ⁸⁰⁴  the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” ⁸⁰⁵  He said, “Yes.” ⁸⁰⁶  13:12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true, ⁸⁰⁷  how should the child be raised and what should he do?” ⁸⁰⁸  13:13 The Lord’s messenger told ⁸⁰⁹  Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. ⁸¹⁰  13:14 She should not drink ⁸¹¹  anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. ⁸¹²  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 13:15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, ⁸¹³  so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” ⁸¹⁴  13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ⁸¹⁵  I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) ⁸¹⁶  13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” ⁸¹⁷  13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” ⁸¹⁸  13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. ⁸¹⁹  13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it ⁸²⁰  while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown ⁸²¹  to the ground.

13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. ⁸²²  13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” ⁸²³  13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. ⁸²⁴  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

13:24 Manoah’s wife ⁸²⁵  gave birth to a son and named him Samson. ⁸²⁶  The child grew and the Lord empowered ⁸²⁷  him. 13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him ⁸²⁸  in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. ⁸²⁹  14:2 When he got home, ⁸³⁰  he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. ⁸³¹  Now get her for my wife.” 14:3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our ⁸³²  people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” ⁸³³  But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, ⁸³⁴  because she is the right one for me.” ⁸³⁵  14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ⁸³⁶  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ⁸³⁷  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ⁸³⁸  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ⁸³⁹  14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁸⁴⁰  him and he tore the lion ⁸⁴¹  in two with his bare hands ⁸⁴²  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah ⁸⁴³  and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. ⁸⁴⁴  14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ⁸⁴⁵  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ⁸⁴⁶  a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned ⁸⁴⁷  to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. ⁸⁴⁸ 

14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. ⁸⁴⁹  Samson hosted a party ⁸⁵⁰  there, for this was customary for bridegrooms ⁸⁵¹  to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ⁸⁵²  14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, ⁸⁵³  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ⁸⁵⁴  of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, ⁸⁵⁵  you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” ⁸⁵⁶  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.

14:15 On the fourth ⁸⁵⁷  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ⁸⁵⁸  If you refuse, ⁸⁵⁹  we will burn up ⁸⁶⁰  you and your father’s family. ⁸⁶¹  Did you invite us here ⁸⁶²  to make us poor?” ⁸⁶³  14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ⁸⁶⁴  and said, “You must ⁸⁶⁵  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ⁸⁶⁶  a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” ⁸⁶⁷  14:17 She cried on his shoulder ⁸⁶⁸  until the party was almost over. ⁸⁶⁹  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ⁸⁷⁰  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ⁸⁷¹  14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ⁸⁷² 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes ⁸⁷³  and gave them ⁸⁷⁴  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ⁸⁷⁵  14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ⁸⁷⁶ 

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, ⁸⁷⁷  Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. ⁸⁷⁸  He said to her father, ⁸⁷⁹  “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” ⁸⁸⁰  But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ⁸⁸¹  you absolutely despised ⁸⁸²  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁸⁸³  15:3 Samson said to them, ⁸⁸⁴  “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!” ⁸⁸⁵  15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals ⁸⁸⁶  and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair. ⁸⁸⁷  15:5 He lit the torches ⁸⁸⁸  and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 15:6 The Philistines asked, ⁸⁸⁹  “Who did this?” They were told, ⁸⁹⁰  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁸⁹¹  took Samson’s ⁸⁹²  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ⁸⁹³  15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ⁸⁹⁴  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ⁸⁹⁵  15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. ⁸⁹⁶  Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

15:9 The Philistines went up and invaded ⁸⁹⁷  Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle ⁸⁹⁸  in Lehi. 15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking ⁸⁹⁹  us?” The Philistines ⁹⁰⁰  said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 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.” 15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ⁹⁰¹  you will not kill ⁹⁰²  me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise! ⁹⁰³  We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ⁹⁰⁴  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁹⁰⁵  fire, and they ⁹⁰⁶  melted away from his hands. 15:15 He happened to see ⁹⁰⁷  a solid ⁹⁰⁸  jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it ⁹⁰⁹  and struck down ⁹¹⁰  a thousand men. 15:16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey

I have left them in heaps; ⁹¹¹ 

with the jawbone of a donkey

I have struck down a thousand men!”

15:17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down ⁹¹²  and named that place Ramath Lehi. ⁹¹³ 

15:18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant ⁹¹⁴  this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines?” ⁹¹⁵  15:19 So God split open the basin ⁹¹⁶  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁹¹⁷  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁹¹⁸  En Hakkore. ⁹¹⁹  It remains in Lehi to this very day. 15:20 Samson led ⁹²⁰  Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. ⁹²¹ 

Samson’s Downfall

16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. ⁹²²  16:2 The Gazites were told, ⁹²³  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ⁹²⁴  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ⁹²⁵  They relaxed ⁹²⁶  all night, thinking, ⁹²⁷  “He will not leave ⁹²⁸  until morning comes; ⁹²⁹  then we will kill him!” 16:3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. ⁹³⁰  He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. ⁹³¹  He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. ⁹³² 

16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 16:5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ⁹³³  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” ⁹³⁴  16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh ⁹³⁵  bowstrings ⁹³⁶  that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them. 16:9 They hid ⁹³⁷  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹³⁸  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ⁹³⁹  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁹⁴⁰ 

16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived ⁹⁴¹  me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.” 16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, ⁹⁴²  I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁴³  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ⁹⁴⁴  But he tore the ropes ⁹⁴⁵  from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ⁹⁴⁶  into the fabric on the loom ⁹⁴⁷  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁴⁸  Samson!” ⁹⁴⁹  He woke up ⁹⁵⁰  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ⁹⁵¹  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16:16 She nagged him ⁹⁵²  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ⁹⁵³  16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁹⁵⁴  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁹⁵⁵  for I have been dedicated to God ⁹⁵⁶  from the time I was conceived. ⁹⁵⁷  If my head ⁹⁵⁸  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ⁹⁵⁹  she sent for ⁹⁶⁰  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ⁹⁶¹  his secret.” ⁹⁶²  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ⁹⁶³  and then called a man in to shave off ⁹⁶⁴  the seven braids of his hair. ⁹⁶⁵  She made him vulnerable ⁹⁶⁶  and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁶⁷  Samson!” He woke up ⁹⁶⁸  and thought, ⁹⁶⁹  “I will do as I did before ⁹⁷⁰  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison. 16:22 His hair ⁹⁷¹  began to grow back after it had been shaved off.

Samson’s Death and Burial

16:23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 16:24 When the people saw him, ⁹⁷²  they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” ⁹⁷³ 

16:25 When they really started celebrating, ⁹⁷⁴  they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. ⁹⁷⁵  They made him stand between two pillars. 16:26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. ⁹⁷⁶  Then I can lean on them.” 16:27 Now the temple ⁹⁷⁷  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. 16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, ⁹⁷⁸  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ⁹⁷⁹  against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple ⁹⁸⁰  and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ⁹⁸¹  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ⁹⁸²  16:31 His brothers and all his family ⁹⁸³  went down and brought him back. ⁹⁸⁴  They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led ⁹⁸⁵  Israel for twenty years.

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. 17:2 He said to his mother, “You know ⁹⁸⁶  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ⁹⁸⁷  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ⁹⁸⁸  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ⁹⁸⁹  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ⁹⁹⁰  you, my son!” 17:3 When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate ⁹⁹¹  this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” ⁹⁹²  17:4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she ⁹⁹³  took two hundred pieces of silver ⁹⁹⁴  to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. ⁹⁹⁵  17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ⁹⁹⁶  He made an ephod ⁹⁹⁷  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ⁹⁹⁸  17:6 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. ⁹⁹⁹ 

Micah Hires a Professional

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem ¹⁰⁰⁰  in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. ¹⁰⁰¹  17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ¹⁰⁰²  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ¹⁰⁰³  17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹⁰⁰⁴  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ¹⁰⁰⁵  17:11 So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. ¹⁰⁰⁶  17:12 Micah paid ¹⁰⁰⁷  the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. 17:13 Micah said, “Now I know God will make me rich, ¹⁰⁰⁸  because I have this Levite as my priest.”

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ¹⁰⁰⁹  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ¹⁰¹⁰  18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ¹⁰¹¹  capable men ¹⁰¹²  from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house. ¹⁰¹³  18:3 As they approached ¹⁰¹⁴  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ¹⁰¹⁵  of the young Levite. So they stopped ¹⁰¹⁶  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ¹⁰¹⁷  18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ¹⁰¹⁸  “He hired me and I became his priest.” 18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ¹⁰¹⁹  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ¹⁰²⁰  18:6 The priest said to them, “Go with confidence. ¹⁰²¹  The Lord will be with you on your mission.” ¹⁰²² 

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ¹⁰²³  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ¹⁰²⁴  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ¹⁰²⁵  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ¹⁰²⁶  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ¹⁰²⁷  18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe ¹⁰²⁸  in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen ¹⁰²⁹  asked them, “How did it go?” ¹⁰³⁰  18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ¹⁰³¹  for ¹⁰³²  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ¹⁰³³  but don’t hesitate ¹⁰³⁴  to invade and conquer ¹⁰³⁵  the land. 18:10 When you invade, ¹⁰³⁶  you will encounter ¹⁰³⁷  unsuspecting people. The land is wide! ¹⁰³⁸  God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!” ¹⁰³⁹ 

18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹⁰⁴⁰  18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. ¹⁰⁴¹  It is west ¹⁰⁴²  of Kiriath Jearim.) 18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish ¹⁰⁴³  said to their kinsmen, ¹⁰⁴⁴  “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.” 18:15 They stopped ¹⁰⁴⁵  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ¹⁰⁴⁶  and asked him how he was doing. ¹⁰⁴⁷  18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ¹⁰⁴⁸  18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ¹⁰⁴⁹  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. ¹⁰⁵⁰  18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ¹⁰⁵¹  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser ¹⁰⁵²  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ¹⁰⁵³  18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ¹⁰⁵⁴ 

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ¹⁰⁵⁵  18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ¹⁰⁵⁶  gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ¹⁰⁵⁷  turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?” 18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ¹⁰⁵⁸  18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ¹⁰⁵⁹  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ¹⁰⁶⁰  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹⁰⁶¹  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁰⁶²  he turned around and went home.

18:27 Now the Danites ¹⁰⁶³  took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. ¹⁰⁶⁴  18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ¹⁰⁶⁵  was far from Sidon ¹⁰⁶⁶  and they had no dealings with anyone. ¹⁰⁶⁷  The city ¹⁰⁶⁸  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ¹⁰⁶⁹  rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. ¹⁰⁷⁰  But the city’s name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped ¹⁰⁷¹  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ¹⁰⁷²  of Gershom, son of Moses, ¹⁰⁷³  and his descendants ¹⁰⁷⁴  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped ¹⁰⁷⁵  Micah’s carved image ¹⁰⁷⁶  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ¹⁰⁷⁷  was in Shiloh.

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹⁰⁷⁸  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ¹⁰⁷⁹  from Bethlehem ¹⁰⁸⁰  in Judah. 19:2 However, she ¹⁰⁸¹  got angry at him ¹⁰⁸²  and went home ¹⁰⁸³  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came ¹⁰⁸⁴  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ¹⁰⁸⁵  He brought with him his servant ¹⁰⁸⁶  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ¹⁰⁸⁷  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. 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹⁰⁸⁸  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹⁰⁸⁹  then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. ¹⁰⁹⁰  Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” ¹⁰⁹¹  19:7 When the man got ready to leave, ¹⁰⁹²  his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. ¹⁰⁹³  19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy. ¹⁰⁹⁴  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ¹⁰⁹⁵  So they ate a meal together. 19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹⁰⁹⁶  with his concubine and his servant, ¹⁰⁹⁷  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ¹⁰⁹⁸  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ¹⁰⁹⁹  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ¹¹⁰⁰  19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ¹¹⁰¹  and traveled as far as ¹¹⁰²  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ¹¹⁰³  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹⁰⁴ 

19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late ¹¹⁰⁵  and the servant ¹¹⁰⁶  said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at ¹¹⁰⁷  this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. ¹¹⁰⁸  We will travel on to Gibeah.” 19:13 He said to his servant, ¹¹⁰⁹  “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns ¹¹¹⁰  and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 19:14 So they traveled on, ¹¹¹¹  and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ¹¹¹²  19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night ¹¹¹³  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ¹¹¹⁴ 

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹¹¹⁵  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ¹¹¹⁶  19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ¹¹¹⁷  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 19:18 The Levite ¹¹¹⁸  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ¹¹¹⁹  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ¹¹²⁰  But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, ¹¹²¹  and the young man who is with your servants. ¹¹²²  We lack nothing.” 19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ¹¹²³  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. ¹¹²⁴ 

19:22 They were having a good time, ¹¹²⁵  when suddenly ¹¹²⁶  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ¹¹²⁷  surrounded the house and kept beating ¹¹²⁸  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ¹¹²⁹  19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing! 19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹¹³⁰  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ¹¹³¹  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ¹¹³²  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ¹¹³³  They raped ¹¹³⁴  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. 19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master ¹¹³⁵  was staying until it became light. ¹¹³⁶  19:27 When her master ¹¹³⁷  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 He said to her, “Get up, let’s leave!” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home. ¹¹³⁸  19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ¹¹³⁹  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ¹¹⁴⁰  19:30 Everyone who saw the sight ¹¹⁴¹  said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since ¹¹⁴²  the Israelites left the land of Egypt! ¹¹⁴³  Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

Civil War Breaks Out

20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ¹¹⁴⁴  and from the land of Gilead ¹¹⁴⁵  left their homes ¹¹⁴⁶  and assembled together ¹¹⁴⁷  before the Lord at Mizpah. 20:2 The leaders ¹¹⁴⁸  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ¹¹⁴⁹  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers. 20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” 20:4 The Levite, ¹¹⁵⁰  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ¹¹⁵¹  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹¹⁵²  to spend the night. 20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. ¹¹⁵³  They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces ¹¹⁵⁴  throughout the territory occupied by Israel, ¹¹⁵⁵  because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity ¹¹⁵⁶  in Israel. 20:7 All you Israelites, ¹¹⁵⁷  make a decision here!” ¹¹⁵⁸ 

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ¹¹⁵⁹  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ¹¹⁶⁰  Not one of us will return ¹¹⁶¹  to his house! 20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. ¹¹⁶²  20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. ¹¹⁶³  When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.” ¹¹⁶⁴  20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. ¹¹⁶⁵ 

20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe ¹¹⁶⁶  of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place? ¹¹⁶⁷  20:13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings ¹¹⁶⁸  in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” ¹¹⁶⁹  But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. 20:14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah ¹¹⁷⁰  to make war against the Israelites. 20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. ¹¹⁷¹  20:16 Among this army ¹¹⁷²  were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. ¹¹⁷³  Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. ¹¹⁷⁴  20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ¹¹⁷⁵ 

20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel ¹¹⁷⁶  and asked God, ¹¹⁷⁷  “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” ¹¹⁷⁸  The Lord said, “Judah should lead.” 20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved ¹¹⁷⁹  against Gibeah. 20:20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they ¹¹⁸⁰  arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. 20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹¹⁸¹ 

20:22 The Israelite army ¹¹⁸²  took heart ¹¹⁸³  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. 20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we ¹¹⁸⁴  again march out to fight ¹¹⁸⁵  the Benjaminites, our brothers?” ¹¹⁸⁶  The Lord said, “Attack them!” ¹¹⁸⁷  20:24 So the Israelites marched toward ¹¹⁸⁸  the Benjaminites the next day. 20:25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers. ¹¹⁸⁹ 

20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, ¹¹⁹⁰  went up to ¹¹⁹¹  Bethel. ¹¹⁹²  They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything ¹¹⁹³  that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace ¹¹⁹⁴  to the Lord. 20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days; 20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ¹¹⁹⁵  in those days), “Should we ¹¹⁹⁶  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ¹¹⁹⁷  or should we ¹¹⁹⁸  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ¹¹⁹⁹  over to you.”

20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; ¹²⁰⁰  they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. 20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ¹²⁰¹  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ¹²⁰²  They began to strike down their enemy ¹²⁰³  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ¹²⁰⁴  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ¹²⁰⁵  about thirty Israelites. 20:32 Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat ¹²⁰⁶  and lure them ¹²⁰⁷  away from the city into the main roads.” 20:33 ¹²⁰⁸  All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. 20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ¹²⁰⁹  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ¹²¹⁰  20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ¹²¹¹  20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ¹²¹²  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash ¹²¹³  to Gibeah. They ¹²¹⁴  attacked ¹²¹⁵  and put the sword to the entire city. 20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush ¹²¹⁶  sent up a smoke signal from the city, 20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ¹²¹⁷  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ¹²¹⁸  they struck down ¹²¹⁹  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.” 20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ¹²²⁰  20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ¹²²¹  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ¹²²²  20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ¹²²³  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ¹²²⁴  20:43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, ¹²²⁵  and annihilated ¹²²⁶  them all the way to a spot east of Geba. ¹²²⁷  20:44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. 20:45 The rest ¹²²⁸  turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites ¹²²⁹  caught ¹²³⁰  five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels ¹²³¹  all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 20:46 That day twenty-five thousand ¹²³²  sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. ¹²³³  20:47 Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. 20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ¹²³⁴  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ¹²³⁵  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ¹²³⁶ 

600 Brides for 600 Brothers

21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.” 21:2 So the people came to Bethel ¹²³⁷  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ¹²³⁸  21:3 They said, “Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?” An entire ¹²³⁹  tribe has disappeared from Israel today!”

21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. ¹²⁴⁰  21:5 The Israelites asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?” They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed. ¹²⁴¹  21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to ¹²⁴²  their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire ¹²⁴³  tribe from Israel! 21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? ¹²⁴⁴  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.” 21:8 So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. ¹²⁴⁵  21:9 When they took roll call, ¹²⁴⁶  they noticed ¹²⁴⁷  none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there. 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ¹²⁴⁸  against Jabesh Gilead. ¹²⁴⁹  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ¹²⁵⁰  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children. 21:11 Do this: ¹²⁵¹  exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. ¹²⁵²  But spare the lives of any virgins.” So they did as instructed. ¹²⁵³  21:12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins – they had never had sexual relations with a male. ¹²⁵⁴  They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. ¹²⁵⁵  21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites ¹²⁵⁶  gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around. ¹²⁵⁷ 

21:15 The people regretted what had happened to ¹²⁵⁸  Benjamin because the Lord had weakened ¹²⁵⁹  the Israelite tribes. 21:16 The leaders ¹²⁶⁰  of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? ¹²⁶¹  After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out. 21:17 The ¹²⁶²  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ¹²⁶³  21:18 But we can’t allow our daughters to marry them, ¹²⁶⁴  for the Israelites took an oath, saying, ‘Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!’ ¹²⁶⁵  21:19 However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel ¹²⁶⁶  (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah.” 21:20 So they commanded the Benjaminites, “Go hide in the vineyards, 21:21 and keep your eyes open. ¹²⁶⁷  When you see ¹²⁶⁸  the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, ¹²⁶⁹  jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin. 21:22 When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, ¹²⁷⁰  we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, ¹²⁷¹  for we could not get each one a wife through battle. ¹²⁷²  Don’t worry about breaking your oath! ¹²⁷³  You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” ¹²⁷⁴ 

21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. ¹²⁷⁵  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ¹²⁷⁶  They went home ¹²⁷⁷  to their own territory, ¹²⁷⁸  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ¹²⁷⁹  21:24 Then the Israelites dispersed from there to their respective tribal and clan territories. Each went from there to his own property. ¹²⁸⁰  21:25 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. ¹²⁸¹ 

[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?”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

[1:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”

[1:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.

[1:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Judah went up.”

[1:5]  ⁹ tn Or “found.”

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[1:7]  ¹² tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

[1:7]  ¹³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[1:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayya’al) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.

[1:13]  ¹⁶ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).

[1:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

[1:15]  ²⁰ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).

[1:15]  ²¹ tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).

[1:16]  ²² tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”

[1:16]  ²³ tn Heb “[to] the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”

[1:16]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).

[1:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

[1:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ²⁷ sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

[1:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”

[1:19]  ²⁹ tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”

[1:19]  ³⁰ tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.

[1:19]  ³¹ tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

[1:20]  ³² tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”

[1:21]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:21]  ³⁴ 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).

[1:22]  ³⁵ tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.

[1:22]  ³⁶ tn Heb “went up.”

[1:22]  ³⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[1:24]  ³⁸ tn Heb “saw.”

[1:26]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the man.”

[1:27]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[1:27]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”

[1:27]  ⁴² tn Or “were determined.”

[1:27]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in this land.”

[1:30]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

[1:31]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[1:31]  ⁴⁶ 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.”

[1:33]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”

[1:33]  ⁴⁸ tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[1:34]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “come down into.”

[1:35]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:35]  ⁵¹ tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.

[1:35]  ⁵² tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”

[1:36]  ⁵³ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

[1:36]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”

[2:1]  ⁵⁵ sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.

[2:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

[2:1]  ⁵⁷ tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

[2:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “their altars.”

[2:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[2:2]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “What is this you have done?”

[2:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.

[2:3]  ⁶² tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.

[2:3]  ⁶³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁶⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[2:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”

[2:4]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”

[2:5]  ⁶⁷ sn Bokim means “weeping ones” and is derived from the Hebrew verb בָּכָא (bakha’, “to weep”).

[2:6]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “sent away.”

[2:6]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “the Israelites went each to his inheritance.”

[2:7]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[2:7]  ⁷¹ tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

[2:7]  ⁷² tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

[2:7]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[2:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

[2:10]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

[2:10]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “arose after them.”

[2:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

[2:11]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[2:11]  ⁸⁰ tn Or “serving”; or “following.”

[2:12]  ⁸¹ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12]  ⁸² tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:13]  ⁸³ tn Some English translations simply transliterate the plural Hebrew term (“Ashtaroth,” cf. NAB, NASB), pluralize the transliterated Hebrew singular form (“Ashtoreths,” cf. NIV), or use a variation of the name (“Astartes,” cf. NRSV).

[2:14]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14]  ⁸⁷ tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:15]  ⁸⁸ tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15]  ⁹¹ tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:16]  ⁹² tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”

[2:16]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17]  ⁹⁴ tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

[2:18]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ¹⁰⁰ tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.

[2:19]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ¹⁰³ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

[2:19]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Or “drop.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

[2:22]  ¹¹¹ tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

[2:22]  ¹¹² tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:22]  ¹¹³ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ¹¹⁶ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:23]  ¹¹⁸ tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

[2:23]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or “quickly.”

[3:1]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “did not know the wars of Canaan.”

[3:2]  ¹²¹ tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war – only those who formerly did not know them.”

[3:3]  ¹²² tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹²³ tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”

[3:4]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

[3:6]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “to their sons.”

[3:6]  ¹²⁶ tn Or “served”; or “followed” (this term occurs in the following verse as well).

[3:7]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[3:7]  ¹²⁸ sn The Asherahs were local manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Asherah.

[3:8]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”

[3:8]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[3:8]  ¹³¹ tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”

[3:8]  ¹³² tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:9]  ¹³³ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[3:9]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “delivered.”

[3:9]  ¹³⁵ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).

[3:10]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “was on him.”

[3:10]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:12]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord” (also later in this verse).

[3:12]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “strengthened Eglon…against Israel.”

[3:13]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”

[3:14]  ¹⁴¹ tn Or “the Israelites served Eglon.”

[3:15]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15]  ¹⁴³ tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.

[3:15]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

[3:16]  ¹⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew term גֹּמֶד (gomed) denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger – approximately 18 inches [45 cm]). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist – approximately 13 inches [33 cm]) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand – approximately 9 inches [23 cm]). See BDB 167 s.v.; HALOT 196 s.v.; B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 142.

[3:18]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “the tribute payment.”

[3:19]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ¹⁵⁰ tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ¹⁵² tn Or “Hush!”

[3:20]  ¹⁵³ tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

[3:20]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

[3:20]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Or “throne.”

[3:21]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ¹⁵⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “and he went out to the [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew word פַּרְשְׁדֹנָה (parshÿdonah) which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. The noun has the article prefixed and directive suffix. The word may be a technical architectural term, indicating the area into which Ehud moved as he left the king and began his escape. In this case Ehud is the subject of the verb “went out.” The present translation omits the clause, understanding it as an ancient variant of the first clause in v. 23. Some take the noun as “back,” understand “sword” (from the preceding clause) as the subject, and translate “the sword came out his [i.e., Eglon’s] back.” But this rendering is unlikely since the Hebrew word for “sword” (חֶרֶב, kherev) is feminine and the verb form translated “came out” (וַיֵּצֵא, vayyetse’) is masculine. (One expects agreement in gender when the subject is supplied from the preceding clause. See Ezek 33:4, 6.) See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 146-48, for discussion of the options.

[3:23]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Again the precise meaning of the Hebrew word, used only here in the OT, is uncertain. Since it is preceded by the verb “went out” and the next clause refers to Ehud closing doors, the noun is probably an architectural term referring to the room (perhaps a vestibule; see HALOT 604 s.v. מִסְדְּרוֹן) immediately outside the king’s upper chamber. As v. 24 indicates, this vestibule separated the upper room from an outer room where the king's servants were waiting.

[3:24]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ¹⁶² tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.

[3:25]  ¹⁶³ tn The words “the doors” are supplied.

[3:25]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”

[3:27]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “When he arrived.”

[3:27]  ¹⁶⁶ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[3:27]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “now he was before them.”

[3:28]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[3:28]  ¹⁶⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[3:29]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “They struck Moab that day – about ten thousand men.”

[3:31]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:31]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “was.”

[3:31]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “also he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[4:2]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “the Lord sold them into the hands of.”

[4:2]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Or “King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite ruler.”

[4:2]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations”; cf. KJV “Harosheth of the Gentiles.”

[4:3]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

[4:3]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “with strength.”

[4:4]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “ a woman, a prophetess.” In Hebrew idiom the generic “woman” sometimes precedes the more specific designation. See GKC 437-38 §135.b.

[4:4]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “she was.” The pronoun refers back to the nominative absolute “Deborah.” Hebrew style sometimes employs such resumptive pronouns when lengthy qualifiers separate the subject from the verb.

[4:4]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Or “judging.”

[4:5]  ¹⁸⁵ tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ¹⁸⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[4:6]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[4:7]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[4:9]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Or “honor.”

[4:9]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.

[4:9]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”

[4:10]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

[4:11]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Or “separated.”

[4:11]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

[4:12]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”

[4:13]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:13]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Or “summoned.”

[4:14]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “Arise!”

[4:14]  ²⁰⁰ tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[4:14]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”

[4:15]  ²⁰² tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ²⁰³ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “got down from.”

[4:16]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “fell.”

[4:16]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “was left.”

[4:17]  ²⁰⁷ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[4:18]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

[4:18]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:21]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ²¹² tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ²¹³ tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”

[4:22]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ²¹⁵ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”

[4:24]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”

[4:24]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “cut off.”

[4:24]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:1]  ²¹⁹ tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:2]  ²²⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroa’ pÿra’ot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoqÿqey) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (pÿra’ot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoqÿqey) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).

[5:3]  ²²¹ tn Heb “I, to the Lord, I, I will sing!” The first singular personal pronoun is used twice, even though a first person finite verbal form is employed.

[5:3]  ²²² tn Or “make music.”

[5:4]  ²²³ tn Or “went out.”

[5:4]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “water.”

[5:5]  ²²⁵ tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazul, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).

[5:5]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.

[5:6]  ²²⁷ tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (’orÿkhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (’orakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.

[5:6]  ²²⁸ tn Or “ceased.”

[5:6]  ²²⁹ tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”

[5:7]  ²³⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (fÿrazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.

[5:7]  ²³¹ tn Or “ceased.”

[5:7]  ²³² tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).

[5:7]  ²³³ tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).

[5:8]  ²³⁴ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

[5:8]  ²³⁵ tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

[5:8]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

[5:8]  ²³⁷ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

[5:9]  ²³⁸ tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ²³⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.

[5:11]  ²⁴⁰ tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ²⁴¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.

[5:11]  ²⁴² tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ²⁴³ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

[5:12]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)

[5:13]  ²⁴⁵ tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).

[5:13]  ²⁴⁶ tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.

[5:13]  ²⁴⁷ sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.

[5:13]  ²⁴⁸ sn The speaker may be Deborah here.

[5:13]  ²⁴⁹ tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.

[5:14]  ²⁵⁰ tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).

[5:14]  ²⁵¹ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ²⁵² tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ²⁵³ tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[5:15]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ²⁵⁵ tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ²⁵⁸ tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.

[5:16]  ²⁵⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ²⁶⁰ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ²⁶¹ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[5:17]  ²⁶² tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.

[5:17]  ²⁶⁴ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ²⁶⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[5:18]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”

[5:18]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”

[5:19]  ²⁶⁹ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[5:19]  ²⁷⁰ tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.

[5:20]  ²⁷¹ tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[5:20]  ²⁷² tn The MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the atnach and read the colon as indicated in the translation.

[5:20]  ²⁷³ tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[5:21]  ²⁷⁴ tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.

[5:21]  ²⁷⁵ tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (’oz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.

[5:22]  ²⁷⁶ tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.

[5:22]  ²⁷⁷ tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ²⁷⁸ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[5:23]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

[5:23]  ²⁸⁰ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[5:23]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

[5:23]  ²⁸² tn Heb “[to] curse.”

[5:23]  ²⁸³ tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”

[5:23]  ²⁸⁴ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

[5:24]  ²⁸⁵ tn Or “blessed.”

[5:25]  ²⁸⁶ tn Or “for mighty ones.”

[5:26]  ²⁸⁷ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ²⁸⁸ tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ²⁸⁹ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ²⁹⁰ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[5:27]  ²⁹² tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.

[5:27]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “and he lay.

[5:27]  ²⁹⁴ tn Or “dead, murdered.”

[5:28]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “chariots.”

[5:29]  ²⁹⁶ tn Or “princesses.”

[5:30]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.

[5:30]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ³⁰⁰ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ³⁰¹ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”

[5:31]  ³⁰² tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”

[6:1]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[6:2]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ³⁰⁷ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:3]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”

[6:3]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that וְעָלוּ (vÿ’alu) is dittographic (note the following עָלָיו, ’alayv).

[6:4]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “They encamped against them.”

[6:4]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “destroyed.”

[6:4]  ³¹² tn Heb “the crops of the land.”

[6:4]  ³¹³ tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”

[6:4]  ³¹⁴ tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:5]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ³¹⁷ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

[6:8]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:8]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.

[6:8]  ³²¹ 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”]).

[6:8]  ³²² tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[6:9]  ³²³ tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).

[6:10]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “Do not fear.”

[6:10]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[6:11]  ³²⁶ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.

[6:11]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ³²⁹ sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[6:11]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “Midian.”

[6:13]  ³³¹ tn Heb “But my lord.”

[6:13]  ³³² tn Heb “all this.”

[6:13]  ³³³ tn Heb “saying.”

[6:14]  ³³⁴ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:15]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ³³⁸ 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]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[6:16]  ³⁴¹ tn Or “certainly.”

[6:16]  ³⁴² tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”

[6:17]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

[6:17]  ³⁴⁵ tn Heb “perform for me.”

[6:18]  ³⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:18]  ³⁴⁷ 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.

[6:19]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

[6:19]  ³⁴⁹ tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”

[6:20]  ³⁵¹ tn Heb “and he did so.”

[6:21]  ³⁵² tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”

[6:21]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “went from his eyes.”

[6:22]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ³⁵⁶ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ³⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:23]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.

[6:24]  ³⁵⁹ tn Heb “The Lord is peace.” Gideon’s name for the altar plays on the Lord’s reassuring words to him, “Peace to you.”

[6:25]  ³⁶⁰ tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

[6:26]  ³⁶¹ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[6:27]  ³⁶² tn Heb “men from among his servants.”

[6:27]  ³⁶³ tn Heb “house.”

[6:27]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “so he did it at night.”

[6:28]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.

[6:29]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”

[6:29]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “this thing.”

[6:29]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.

[6:29]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”

[6:30]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.

[6:31]  ³⁷¹ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ³⁷² tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ³⁷⁴ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

[6:31]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

[6:32]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”

[6:33]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

[6:33]  ³⁷⁹ tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:34]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “clothed.”

[6:34]  ³⁸¹ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[6:34]  ³⁸² tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”

[6:35]  ³⁸³ tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”

[6:36]  ³⁸⁴ tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:36]  ³⁸⁵ tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:37]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ³⁸⁷ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:38]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “And it was so.”

[6:38]  ³⁹⁰ tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece – a bowl full of water.”

[6:39]  ³⁹¹ tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”

[6:39]  ³⁹² tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”

[6:40]  ³⁹³ tn Heb “God did so that night.”

[7:1]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”

[7:1]  ³⁹⁵ sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”

[7:1]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

[7:2]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ³⁹⁹ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[7:3]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”

[7:3]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”

[7:3]  ⁴⁰² tc Many interpreters reject the MT reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner).

[7:3]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because warriors are in view, and in ancient Israelite culture these would be only males. (This is also the case in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)

[7:3]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Or “turned around, back.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “too many people.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “test them for you there.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “he should go with you.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb also has “to you.”

[7:4]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “he should not go.”

[7:5]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:5]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”

[7:6]  ⁴¹² tc 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.

[7:6]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:7]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ⁴¹⁵ tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:8]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ⁴¹⁸ tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ⁴¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ⁴²² tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ⁴²³ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:9]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:9]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “Go down against.”

[7:9]  ⁴²⁶ tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.

[7:11]  ⁴²⁷ tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”

[7:11]  ⁴²⁸ tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”

[7:12]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

[7:13]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

[7:13]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:13]  ⁴³² tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

[7:13]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

[7:14]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[7:14]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

[7:15]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[7:16]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:17]  ⁴³⁹ tn Or “look.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[7:20]  ⁴⁴² tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:21]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Or “fled.”

[7:22]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ⁴⁴⁶ tc 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.

[7:22]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:23]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:24]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

[7:24]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”

[7:24]  ⁴⁵¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).

[7:24]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”

[7:24]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “they captured the waters.”

[7:25]  ⁴⁵⁴ sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.

[7:25]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:25]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:25]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).

[8:1]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “by not summoning us.”

[8:2]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ⁴⁶⁰ 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.

[8:3]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”

[8:3]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”

[8:4]  ⁴⁶³ tn 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.)

[8:5]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:5]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.

[8:5]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn Heb “who are at my feet.”

[8:6]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:6]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).

[8:7]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[8:7]  ⁴⁷⁰ sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.

[8:7]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Or “flesh.”

[8:7]  ⁴⁷² tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (’et, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.

[8:8]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

[8:8]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

[8:9]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.

[8:9]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

[8:9]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”

[8:10]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”

[8:11]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”

[8:11]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term בֶטַח (vetakh, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.

[8:12]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ⁴⁸² tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”

[8:13]  ⁴⁸³ tn Or “ascent.”

[8:14]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”

[8:14]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”

[8:15]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:15]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”

[8:16]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Heb “elders.”

[8:16]  ⁴⁸⁹ tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”

[8:18]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[8:19]  ⁴⁹² tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:20]  ⁴⁹³ tn Or “Arise!”

[8:20]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”

[8:21]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:21]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Or “Arise.”

[8:21]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”

[8:21]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Heb “arose and killed.”

[8:22]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:24]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “said to them.”

[8:24]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”

[8:24]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “We will indeed give.”

[8:25]  ⁵⁰⁴ tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.

[8:26]  ⁵⁰⁵ sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.

[8:26]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Or “pendants.”

[8:26]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”

[8:27]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “made it into.”

[8:27]  ⁵⁰⁹ sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

[8:27]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

[8:27]  ⁵¹¹ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:28]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”

[8:28]  ⁵¹³ tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”

[8:29]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”

[8:30]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “Gideon had seventy sons who went out from his thigh, for he had many wives.” The Hebrew word יָרֵךְ (yarekh, “thigh”) is a euphemism here for the penis.

[8:31]  ⁵¹⁶ sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

[8:31]  ⁵¹⁷ sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”

[8:32]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “good.”

[8:33]  ⁵¹⁹ sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.

[8:34]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “remember.”

[8:35]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”

[9:1]  ⁵²² tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:1]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”

[9:2]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[9:3]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:3]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[9:3]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “and all these words.”

[9:3]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

[9:3]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “our brother.”

[9:4]  ⁵³² tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

[9:4]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

[9:5]  ⁵³⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ⁵³⁵ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:6]  ⁵³⁷ tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).

[9:7]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[9:7]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

[9:8]  ⁵⁴² tn Or “Rule over us!”

[9:9]  ⁵⁴³ tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:10]  ⁵⁴⁴ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:11]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:12]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:13]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:14]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:15]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

[9:15]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “in my shade.”

[9:15]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Heb “If not.”

[9:16]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “house.”

[9:16]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

[9:17]  ⁵⁵⁴ tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.

[9:17]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Heb “hand.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ⁵⁵⁹ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:19]  ⁵⁶⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[9:19]  ⁵⁶¹ tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

[9:21]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”

[9:21]  ⁵⁶³ tn Heb “from before.”

[9:21]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “his brother.”

[9:22]  ⁵⁶⁵ tn 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]).

[9:23]  ⁵⁶⁶ tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

[9:23]  ⁵⁶⁷ tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:24]  ⁵⁶⁸ tn Heb “their brother.”

[9:24]  ⁵⁶⁹ tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”

[9:25]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

[9:25]  ⁵⁷¹ tn Heb “on the tops of.”

[9:25]  ⁵⁷² tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

[9:26]  ⁵⁷³ sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.

[9:26]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).

[9:27]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.

[9:27]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[9:28]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:29]  ⁵⁸⁰ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁸¹ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁸² tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ⁵⁸³ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[9:30]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[9:31]  ⁵⁸⁶ 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]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ⁵⁸⁸ 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]  ⁵⁸⁹ 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).

[9:32]  ⁵⁹⁰ tn Heb “arise.”

[9:32]  ⁵⁹¹ tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”

[9:32]  ⁵⁹² tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:33]  ⁵⁹³ tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”

[9:34]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”

[9:34]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:36]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[9:37]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

[9:37]  ⁵⁹⁹ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ⁶⁰⁰ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[9:38]  ⁶⁰¹ tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”

[9:38]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “the people.”

[9:38]  ⁶⁰³ tn Or “despised.”

[9:39]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”

[9:40]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:40]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.

[9:41]  ⁶⁰⁷ tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.

[9:41]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

[9:42]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:42]  ⁶¹⁰ tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”

[9:43]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:43]  ⁶¹² tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

[9:43]  ⁶¹³ tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

[9:44]  ⁶¹⁴ tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

[9:44]  ⁶¹⁵ tn Heb “stood [at].”

[9:45]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Or “destroyed.”

[9:45]  ⁶¹⁷ tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”

[9:46]  ⁶¹⁸ sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

[9:46]  ⁶¹⁹ tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

[9:46]  ⁶²⁰ sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

[9:47]  ⁶²¹ tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”

[9:47]  ⁶²² tn Heb “were assembled.”

[9:48]  ⁶²³ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ⁶²⁴ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ⁶²⁵ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ⁶²⁶ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ⁶²⁷ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[9:49]  ⁶²⁸ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ⁶²⁹ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ⁶³⁰ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

[9:50]  ⁶³¹ tn Or “went.”

[9:50]  ⁶³² tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”

[9:51]  ⁶³³ tn Or “strong.”

[9:51]  ⁶³⁴ tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

[9:53]  ⁶³⁵ sn A hand mill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg). See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 268; C. F. Burney, Judges, 288.

[9:53]  ⁶³⁶ tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.

[9:54]  ⁶³⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:54]  ⁶³⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:55]  ⁶³⁹ tn Heb “each to his own place.”

[9:56]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Heb “seventy brothers.”

[9:57]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Heb “came.”

[10:1]  ⁶⁴² tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[10:1]  ⁶⁴³ tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”

[10:2]  ⁶⁴⁵ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[10:4]  ⁶⁴⁶ sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.

[10:4]  ⁶⁴⁷ tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day – which are in the land of Gilead.”

[10:6]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[10:6]  ⁶⁴⁹ tn Or “served;” or “followed.”

[10:6]  ⁶⁵⁰ sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Ashtar (i.e., Astarte).

[10:6]  ⁶⁵¹ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:6]  ⁶⁵² tn Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”

[10:6]  ⁶⁵³ tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”

[10:7]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Or “the Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[10:7]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[10:8]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.

[10:8]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.

[10:9]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”

[10:9]  ⁶⁵⁹ tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”

[10:10]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:12]  ⁶⁶¹ tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”

[10:12]  ⁶⁶² tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord’s frustration.

[10:12]  ⁶⁶³ tn Heb “hand.”

[10:13]  ⁶⁶⁴ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:14]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”

[10:15]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

[10:15]  ⁶⁶⁷ sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn Heb “from their midst.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:16]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).

[10:17]  ⁶⁷¹ tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷² tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ⁶⁷³ tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[11:1]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”

[11:2]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Heb “bore.”

[11:2]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Heb “in the house of our father.”

[11:3]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[11:5]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”

[11:5]  ⁶⁸¹ tn Or “elders.”

[11:5]  ⁶⁸² tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”

[11:6]  ⁶⁸³ tn Heb “to Jephthah.”

[11:7]  ⁶⁸⁴ tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”

[11:8]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ⁶⁸⁷ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁶⁹⁰ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁶⁹¹ 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.

[11:10]  ⁶⁹² tn Heb “The Lord will be the one who hears between us.” For the idiom שָׁמַע בַּיִן (shama’ bayin, “to hear between”), see Deut 1:16.

[11:10]  ⁶⁹³ sn The Lord will judge…if we do not do as you say. The statement by the leaders of Gilead takes the form of a legally binding oath, which obligates them to the terms of the agreement.

[11:11]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord.

[11:12]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”

[11:13]  ⁶⁹⁶ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ⁶⁹⁷ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ⁶⁹⁹ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:15]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn Or “take”; or “seize.”

[11:16]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Heb “For when they went up from.”

[11:16]  ⁷⁰² tn Or “went.”

[11:17]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)

[11:17]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn Heb “did not listen.”

[11:17]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”

[11:18]  ⁷⁰⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:18]  ⁷⁰⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ⁷⁰⁸ tn Heb “to my place.”

[11:20]  ⁷⁰⁹ tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.

[11:20]  ⁷¹⁰ tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).

[11:21]  ⁷¹¹ tn That is, took as its own possession.

[11:22]  ⁷¹² tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:23]  ⁷¹³ tn Heb “Now.”

[11:23]  ⁷¹⁴ tn Or “dispossessed.”

[11:23]  ⁷¹⁵ tn Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.

[11:24]  ⁷¹⁶ tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.

[11:25]  ⁷¹⁷ tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation.

[11:27]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Or “sinned against you.”

[11:27]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Or “evil.”

[11:28]  ⁷²⁰ tn Heb “did not listen to.”

[11:28]  ⁷²¹ tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”

[11:29]  ⁷²² tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ⁷²³ tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ⁷²⁴ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[11:31]  ⁷²⁵ tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.

[11:31]  ⁷²⁶ tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.

[11:31]  ⁷²⁷ tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the Lord’s service, but if an animal comes through the doors, he will offer it up as a sacrifice. However, it is far more likely that the Hebrew construction (vav [ו] + perfect) specifies how the subject will become the Lord’s, that is, by being offered up as a sacrifice. For similar constructions, where the apodosis of a conditional sentence has at least two perfects (each with vav) in sequence, see Gen 34:15-16; Exod 18:16.

[11:32]  ⁷²⁸ tn Heb “passed over to.”

[11:33]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”

[11:33]  ⁷³⁰ tn Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”

[11:34]  ⁷³¹ tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ⁷³² tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[11:35]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[11:35]  ⁷³⁴ tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[11:36]  ⁷³⁶ tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁷³⁷ tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

[11:36]  ⁷³⁸ tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

[11:37]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

[11:37]  ⁷⁴⁰ 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.”

[11:38]  ⁷⁴¹ tn Heb “he sent her.”

[11:38]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.

[11:39]  ⁷⁴³ tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

[11:39]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[11:40]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”

[11:40]  ⁷⁴⁶ tn Heb “go to commemorate.” The rare Hebrew verb תָּנָה (tanah, “to tell; to repeat; to recount”) occurs only here and in 5:11.

[11:40]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in the year.” This is redundant (note “every year” at the beginning of the verse) and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:1]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”

[12:1]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “cross over to fight.”

[12:1]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”

[12:1]  ⁷⁵¹ tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”

[12:2]  ⁷⁵² tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

[12:2]  ⁷⁵³ tn Heb “hand.”

[12:3]  ⁷⁵⁴ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ⁷⁵⁵ tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ⁷⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:4]  ⁷⁵⁸ tn Heb “because they said.”

[12:4]  ⁷⁵⁹ tc Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru pÿlitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’mÿru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”

[12:5]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:5]  ⁷⁶¹ tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.

[12:5]  ⁷⁶² tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.

[12:5]  ⁷⁶³ tn Heb “say to.”

[12:6]  ⁷⁶⁴ sn The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.

[12:6]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין (yakhin) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל (yakhol, “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין (yavin, “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew mss.

[12:7]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:7]  ⁷⁶⁷ tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:7]  ⁷⁶⁸ tc The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.

[12:8]  ⁷⁶⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ⁷⁷⁰ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:9]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.

[12:9]  ⁷⁷² tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

[12:9]  ⁷⁷³ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

[12:9]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:10]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn Heb “Ibzan.” The pronoun “he” is used in the translation in keeping with English style, which tends to use a proper name first in a sentence followed by a pronoun rather than vice versa.

[12:11]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:11]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”

[12:13]  ⁷⁷⁸ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[13:1]  ⁷⁷⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[13:2]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn Heb “and had not given birth.”

[13:3]  ⁷⁸¹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ⁷⁸³ tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[13:4]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:5]  ⁷⁸⁵ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

[13:5]  ⁷⁸⁶ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ⁷⁸⁷ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[13:5]  ⁷⁸⁸ tn Heb “hand.”

[13:6]  ⁷⁸⁹ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[13:7]  ⁷⁹¹ tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.

[13:7]  ⁷⁹² tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:7]  ⁷⁹³ tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”

[13:8]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:8]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn Heb “the man of God.”

[13:8]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn Heb “come to.”

[13:8]  ⁷⁹⁷ tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).

[13:8]  ⁷⁹⁸ tn Heb “what we should do for.”

[13:9]  ⁷⁹⁹ tn Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”

[13:9]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:10]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁸⁰² tn Heb “Look.”

[13:10]  ⁸⁰³ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Heb “the woman.”

[13:11]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Heb “I [am].”

[13:12]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Heb “Now, [when] your word comes [to pass].”

[13:12]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “what will be the child’s rule [i.e., way of life] and his work?”

[13:13]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn Or “said to.”

[13:13]  ⁸¹⁰ tn Heb “To everything I said to the woman she should pay attention.” The Hebrew word order emphasizes “to everything,” probably because Manoah’s wife did not tell her husband everything the angel had said to her (cf. vv. 3-5 with v. 7). If she had, Manoah probably would not have been so confused about the child’s mission.

[13:14]  ⁸¹¹ tn Heb “eat.”

[13:14]  ⁸¹² tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:15]  ⁸¹³ tn Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”

[13:15]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”

[13:16]  ⁸¹⁵ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ⁸¹⁶ tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim), not the Lord (יְהוַה, yÿhvah). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (אֲדוֹנָי, ’adonay) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).

[13:17]  ⁸¹⁷ tn Heb “Who your name? For [when] your word comes [to pass], we will honor you.” Manoah apparently gets tongue-tied and uses the wrong pronoun (“who” instead of “what”). He starts to say, “Who are you?” But then he switches to “your name” as if he began the sentence with “what.” See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 222.

[13:18]  ⁸¹⁸ tn Heb “Why do you ask for my name, for it is incomprehensible?” The Hebrew adjective פִּלְאִי (pile’iy, “wonderful, incomprehensible”) refers to what is in a category of its own and is beyond full human understanding. Note the use of this word in Ps 139:6, where God’s knowledge is described as incomprehensible and unattainable.

[13:19]  ⁸¹⁹ tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the Lord’s messenger” was lost by homoioteleuton. If the text originally read לַיהוָה מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (layhavah mal’akh yÿhvah), the scribe’s eye could have jumped from the first יְהוָה to the second, accidentally omitting two of the three words. Later the conjunction וּ (shureq) would have been added to the following מַפְלִא (mafli’) for syntactical reasons. Another possibility is that a pronominal subject (הוּא, hu’) has been lost in the MT due to haplography.

[13:20]  ⁸²⁰ tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”

[13:20]  ⁸²¹ tn Heb “on their faces.”

[13:21]  ⁸²² tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the Lord’s messenger.”

[13:22]  ⁸²³ tn Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the Lord’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one followed in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. The term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the Lord (see BDB 43 s.v. 2.a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.

[13:23]  ⁸²⁴ tn Heb “our hand.”

[13:24]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”

[13:24]  ⁸²⁶ tn The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”

[13:24]  ⁸²⁷ tn Traditionally, “blessed.”

[13:25]  ⁸²⁸ tn Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”

[14:1]  ⁸²⁹ tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:2]  ⁸³⁰ tn Heb “and he went up.”

[14:2]  ⁸³¹ tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:3]  ⁸³² tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.

[14:3]  ⁸³³ tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”

[14:3]  ⁸³⁴ tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 357.

[14:3]  ⁸³⁵ tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”

[14:4]  ⁸³⁶ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[14:5]  ⁸³⁸ tc The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.

[14:5]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[14:6]  ⁸⁴⁰ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ⁸⁴² tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:7]  ⁸⁴³ tn Heb “He went down.”

[14:7]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”

[14:8]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ⁸⁴⁶ tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[14:9]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.

[14:9]  ⁸⁴⁸ sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

[14:10]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”

[14:10]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Or “[wedding] feast.”

[14:10]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “the young men.”

[14:11]  ⁸⁵² tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kir’otam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (bÿyir’atam, “because they feared”).

[14:12]  ⁸⁵³ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

[14:12]  ⁸⁵⁴ tn Heb “changes.”

[14:13]  ⁸⁵⁵ tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”

[14:13]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”

[14:15]  ⁸⁵⁷ tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.

[14:15]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ⁸⁵⁹ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ⁸⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:15]  ⁸⁶¹ tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ⁸⁶² tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (halo’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.

[14:15]  ⁸⁶³ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[14:16]  ⁸⁶⁴ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ⁸⁶⁵ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ⁸⁶⁶ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ⁸⁶⁷ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[14:17]  ⁸⁶⁸ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:17]  ⁸⁶⁹ tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.

[14:17]  ⁸⁷⁰ tn Heb “because she forced him.”

[14:17]  ⁸⁷¹ tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”

[14:18]  ⁸⁷² sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[14:19]  ⁸⁷³ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ⁸⁷⁴ tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ⁸⁷⁵ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[14:20]  ⁸⁷⁶ tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”

[15:1]  ⁸⁷⁷ sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

[15:1]  ⁸⁷⁸ tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

[15:1]  ⁸⁷⁹ tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

[15:1]  ⁸⁸⁰ tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).

[15:2]  ⁸⁸¹ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁸⁸² tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁸⁸³ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

[15:3]  ⁸⁸⁴ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”

[15:3]  ⁸⁸⁵ tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”

[15:4]  ⁸⁸⁶ tn Traditionally, “foxes.”

[15:4]  ⁸⁸⁷ tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”

[15:5]  ⁸⁸⁸ tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”

[15:6]  ⁸⁸⁹ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ⁸⁹⁰ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ⁸⁹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁸⁹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁸⁹³ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.

[15:7]  ⁸⁹⁴ tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.

[15:7]  ⁸⁹⁵ tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”

[15:8]  ⁸⁹⁶ tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.

[15:9]  ⁸⁹⁷ tn Or “camped in.”

[15:9]  ⁸⁹⁸ tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.

[15:10]  ⁸⁹⁹ tn Or “come up against.”

[15:10]  ⁹⁰⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:12]  ⁹⁰¹ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ⁹⁰² tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[15:13]  ⁹⁰³ tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.

[15:14]  ⁹⁰⁴ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ⁹⁰⁵ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ⁹⁰⁶ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[15:15]  ⁹⁰⁷ tn Heb “he found.”

[15:15]  ⁹⁰⁸ tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.

[15:15]  ⁹⁰⁹ tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”

[15:15]  ⁹¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:16]  ⁹¹¹ tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).

[15:17]  ⁹¹² tn Heb “from his hand.”

[15:17]  ⁹¹³ sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”

[15:18]  ⁹¹⁴ tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”

[15:18]  ⁹¹⁵ tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.

[15:19]  ⁹¹⁶ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁹¹⁷ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁹¹⁸ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁹¹⁹ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[15:20]  ⁹²⁰ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁹²¹ tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”

[16:1]  ⁹²² tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.

[16:2]  ⁹²³ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

[16:2]  ⁹²⁴ tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.

[16:2]  ⁹²⁵ tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

[16:2]  ⁹²⁶ tn Heb “were silent.”

[16:2]  ⁹²⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

[16:2]  ⁹²⁸ tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[16:2]  ⁹²⁹ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[16:3]  ⁹³⁰ tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”

[16:3]  ⁹³¹ tn Heb “with the bar.”

[16:3]  ⁹³² tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”

[16:5]  ⁹³³ tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”

[16:6]  ⁹³⁴ tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”

[16:7]  ⁹³⁵ tn Or “moist.”

[16:7]  ⁹³⁶ tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.

[16:9]  ⁹³⁷ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).

[16:9]  ⁹³⁸ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ⁹³⁹ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ⁹⁴⁰ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[16:10]  ⁹⁴¹ tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:29 [8:25 HT]; Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל, talal), which also occurs in v. 13.

[16:11]  ⁹⁴² tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”

[16:12]  ⁹⁴³ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ⁹⁴⁴ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ⁹⁴⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:13]  ⁹⁴⁶ tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

[16:13]  ⁹⁴⁷ tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

[16:14]  ⁹⁴⁸ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:14]  ⁹⁴⁹ tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.

[16:14]  ⁹⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:15]  ⁹⁵¹ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[16:16]  ⁹⁵² tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

[16:16]  ⁹⁵³ tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

[16:17]  ⁹⁵⁴ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁹⁵⁵ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁹⁵⁶ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ⁹⁵⁷ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ⁹⁵⁸ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:18]  ⁹⁵⁹ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ⁹⁶⁰ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ⁹⁶¹ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ⁹⁶² tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:19]  ⁹⁶³ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ⁹⁶⁴ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

[16:19]  ⁹⁶⁵ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ⁹⁶⁶ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.

[16:20]  ⁹⁶⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ⁹⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ⁹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ⁹⁷⁰ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”

[16:22]  ⁹⁷¹ tn Heb “the hair of his head.”

[16:24]  ⁹⁷² tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.

[16:24]  ⁹⁷³ tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[16:25]  ⁹⁷⁴ tn Heb “When their heart was good.”

[16:25]  ⁹⁷⁵ tn Heb “before them.”

[16:26]  ⁹⁷⁶ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”

[16:27]  ⁹⁷⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[16:28]  ⁹⁷⁸ tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ⁹⁷⁹ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[16:29]  ⁹⁸⁰ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”

[16:30]  ⁹⁸¹ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ⁹⁸² tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[16:31]  ⁹⁸³ tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”

[16:31]  ⁹⁸⁴ tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”

[16:31]  ⁹⁸⁵ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[17:2]  ⁹⁸⁶ tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:2]  ⁹⁸⁷ tn Heb “taken.”

[17:2]  ⁹⁸⁸ tn Heb “took.”

[17:2]  ⁹⁸⁹ tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.

[17:2]  ⁹⁹⁰ tn Traditionally, “bless.”

[17:3]  ⁹⁹¹ tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.

[17:3]  ⁹⁹² tn Heb “to the LORD from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the end of v. 4, וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.

[17:4]  ⁹⁹³ tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.

[17:4]  ⁹⁹⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:4]  ⁹⁹⁵ tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”

[17:5]  ⁹⁹⁶ tn Heb “house of God.”

[17:5]  ⁹⁹⁷ sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).

[17:5]  ⁹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”

[17:6]  ⁹⁹⁹ tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.”

[17:7]  ¹⁰⁰⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[17:7]  ¹⁰⁰¹ tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”

[17:8]  ¹⁰⁰² tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[17:9]  ¹⁰⁰³ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[17:10]  ¹⁰⁰⁴ 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).

[17:10]  ¹⁰⁰⁵ 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.

[17:11]  ¹⁰⁰⁶ tn Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”

[17:12]  ¹⁰⁰⁷ tn Heb “filled the hand of.”

[17:13]  ¹⁰⁰⁸ tn Heb “do good for me.”

[18:1]  ¹⁰⁰⁹ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ¹⁰¹⁰ tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰¹¹ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰¹² tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[18:2]  ¹⁰¹³ tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

[18:3]  ¹⁰¹⁴ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ¹⁰¹⁵ tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).

[18:3]  ¹⁰¹⁶ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ¹⁰¹⁷ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

[18:4]  ¹⁰¹⁸ tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.

[18:5]  ¹⁰¹⁹ tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ¹⁰²⁰ tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

[18:6]  ¹⁰²¹ tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:6]  ¹⁰²² tn Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰²³ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰²⁴ tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰²⁵ tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰²⁶ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ¹⁰²⁷ tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.

[18:8]  ¹⁰²⁸ tn Heb “They came to their brothers.”

[18:8]  ¹⁰²⁹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:8]  ¹⁰³⁰ tn Heb “What you?”

[18:9]  ¹⁰³¹ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ¹⁰³² tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ¹⁰³³ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ¹⁰³⁴ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ¹⁰³⁵ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[18:10]  ¹⁰³⁶ tn Heb “When you enter.”

[18:10]  ¹⁰³⁷ tn Heb “you will come to.”

[18:10]  ¹⁰³⁸ tn Heb “broad of hands,” an idiom meaning “wide on both sides.”

[18:10]  ¹⁰³⁹ tn Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

[18:11]  ¹⁰⁴⁰ tn Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men, equipped with weapons of war.”

[18:12]  ¹⁰⁴¹ tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”

[18:12]  ¹⁰⁴² tn Heb “behind.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰⁴³ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”

[18:14]  ¹⁰⁴⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:15]  ¹⁰⁴⁵ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ¹⁰⁴⁶ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ¹⁰⁴⁷ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[18:16]  ¹⁰⁴⁸ tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

[18:17]  ¹⁰⁴⁹ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

[18:17]  ¹⁰⁵⁰ tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

[18:18]  ¹⁰⁵¹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[18:19]  ¹⁰⁵² tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

[18:19]  ¹⁰⁵³ tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

[18:20]  ¹⁰⁵⁴ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

[18:21]  ¹⁰⁵⁵ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

[18:22]  ¹⁰⁵⁶ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[18:23]  ¹⁰⁵⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:24]  ¹⁰⁵⁸ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

[18:25]  ¹⁰⁵⁹ tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

[18:25]  ¹⁰⁶⁰ tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

[18:26]  ¹⁰⁶¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ¹⁰⁶² tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[18:27]  ¹⁰⁶³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ¹⁰⁶⁴ tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

[18:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁵ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁶ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[18:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁷ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

[18:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁸ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ¹⁰⁶⁹ tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ¹⁰⁷⁰ tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”

[18:30]  ¹⁰⁷¹ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ¹⁰⁷² tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  ¹⁰⁷³ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

[18:30]  ¹⁰⁷⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[18:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁵ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

[18:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁶ tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

[18:31]  ¹⁰⁷⁷ tn Heb “the house of God.”

[19:1]  ¹⁰⁷⁸ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ¹⁰⁷⁹ sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ¹⁰⁸⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁸¹ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁸² tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ¹⁰⁸³ tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰⁸⁴ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰⁸⁵ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰⁸⁶ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ¹⁰⁸⁷ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:5]  ¹⁰⁸⁸ tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ¹⁰⁸⁹ tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

[19:6]  ¹⁰⁹⁰ tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”

[19:6]  ¹⁰⁹¹ tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”

[19:7]  ¹⁰⁹² tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”

[19:7]  ¹⁰⁹³ tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”

[19:8]  ¹⁰⁹⁴ tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

[19:8]  ¹⁰⁹⁵ tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”

[19:9]  ¹⁰⁹⁶ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ¹⁰⁹⁷ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ¹⁰⁹⁸ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ¹⁰⁹⁹ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ¹¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:10]  ¹¹⁰¹ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[19:10]  ¹¹⁰² tn Heb “to the front of.”

[19:10]  ¹¹⁰³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:10]  ¹¹⁰⁴ tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”

[19:11]  ¹¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”

[19:11]  ¹¹⁰⁶ tn Or “young man.”

[19:11]  ¹¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).

[19:12]  ¹¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”

[19:13]  ¹¹⁰⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:13]  ¹¹¹⁰ tn Heb “we will enter one of the places.”

[19:14]  ¹¹¹¹ tn Heb “and they passed by and went.”

[19:14]  ¹¹¹² tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[19:15]  ¹¹¹³ tn Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”

[19:15]  ¹¹¹⁴ tn Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”

[19:16]  ¹¹¹⁵ tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

[19:16]  ¹¹¹⁶ tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

[19:17]  ¹¹¹⁷ tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”

[19:18]  ¹¹¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ¹¹¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ¹¹²⁰ 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.”

[19:19]  ¹¹²¹ tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.

[19:19]  ¹¹²² tc Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.

[19:20]  ¹¹²³ tn Heb “Peace to you.”

[19:21]  ¹¹²⁴ tn Heb “ate and drank.”

[19:22]  ¹¹²⁵ tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”

[19:22]  ¹¹²⁶ tn Heb “and look.”

[19:22]  ¹¹²⁷ tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.

[19:22]  ¹¹²⁸ tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.

[19:22]  ¹¹²⁹ tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).

[19:24]  ¹¹³⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ¹¹³¹ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[19:25]  ¹¹³² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:25]  ¹¹³³ tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”

[19:25]  ¹¹³⁴ tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.

[19:26]  ¹¹³⁵ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:26]  ¹¹³⁶ tn Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”

[19:27]  ¹¹³⁷ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:28]  ¹¹³⁸ tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”

[19:29]  ¹¹³⁹ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

[19:29]  ¹¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”

[19:30]  ¹¹⁴¹ tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[19:30]  ¹¹⁴² tn Heb “from the day.”

[19:30]  ¹¹⁴³ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”

[20:1]  ¹¹⁴⁴ sn Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.

[20:1]  ¹¹⁴⁵ sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

[20:1]  ¹¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “went out.”

[20:1]  ¹¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”

[20:2]  ¹¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “the cornerstones”; or “the supports.” The word is used of leaders in only three other texts – 1 Sam 14:38; Isa 19:13; Zech 10:4.

[20:2]  ¹¹⁴⁹ tn The words “which numbered” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:4]  ¹¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”

[20:4]  ¹¹⁵¹ tn Heb “came to.”

[20:4]  ¹¹⁵² tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[20:5]  ¹¹⁵³ tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”

[20:6]  ¹¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”

[20:7]  ¹¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “Look, all of you sons of Israel.”

[20:7]  ¹¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “give for yourselves a word and advice here.”

[20:8]  ¹¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ¹¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ¹¹⁶¹ tn Or “turn aside.”

[20:9]  ¹¹⁶² tn Heb “against her by lot.” The verb “we will go up” (נַעֲלֶה, na’aleh) has probably been accidentally omitted before “against her” (עָלֶיהָ, ’aleha).

[20:10]  ¹¹⁶³ tn Or “people.”

[20:10]  ¹¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful [thing] which he [collective = “Benjamin”] did in Israel.” Here “Geba” must be an error for “Gibeah.”

[20:11]  ¹¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “gathered at the city as one man, united.”

[20:12]  ¹¹⁶⁶ tc The MT reads the plural, but surely the singular (which is supported by the LXX and Vulgate) is preferable here.

[20:12]  ¹¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “What is this wicked thing which happened among you?”

[20:13]  ¹¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “the men, sons of wickedness.”

[20:13]  ¹¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and burn away wickedness from Israel.”

[20:14]  ¹¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “assembled from the cities at Gibeah.”

[20:15]  ¹¹⁷¹ tn Heb “besides from the ones living in Gibeah they mustered seven hundred choice men.”

[20:16]  ¹¹⁷² tn Heb “And from all this people.”

[20:16]  ¹¹⁷³ tn Heb “seven hundred choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15.

[20:16]  ¹¹⁷⁴ tn “at a single hair and not miss.”

[20:17]  ¹¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “a man of war.”

[20:18]  ¹¹⁷⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:18]  ¹¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”

[20:18]  ¹¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”

[20:19]  ¹¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “encamped.”

[20:20]  ¹¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “the men of Israel.” The noun phrase has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:21]  ¹¹⁸¹ tn Heb “The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and they struck down in Israel that day twenty-two thousand men to the ground.”

[20:22]  ¹¹⁸² tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ¹¹⁸³ tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[20:23]  ¹¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ¹¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “approach for battle.”

[20:23]  ¹¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ¹¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).

[20:24]  ¹¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “drew near to.”

[20:25]  ¹¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day, and they struck down among the sons of Israel eighteen thousand men to the ground, all of these were wielding the sword.”

[20:26]  ¹¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “and all the people.”

[20:26]  ¹¹⁹¹ tn Heb “went up and came [to].”

[20:26]  ¹¹⁹² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:26]  ¹¹⁹³ tn Traditionally, “fasted.”

[20:26]  ¹¹⁹⁴ tn Or “peace offerings.”

[20:28]  ¹¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “standing before him.”

[20:28]  ¹¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “him” (collective singular).

[20:30]  ¹²⁰⁰ tn Heb “the third day.”

[20:31]  ¹²⁰¹ tn Heb “went out to meet.”

[20:31]  ¹²⁰² tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

[20:31]  ¹²⁰³ tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

[20:31]  ¹²⁰⁴ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:31]  ¹²⁰⁵ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:32]  ¹²⁰⁶ tn Or “run away.”

[20:32]  ¹²⁰⁷ tn Heb “him” (collective singular).

[20:33]  ¹²⁰⁸ sn Verses 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.

[20:34]  ¹²⁰⁹ tn Heb “heavy”; or “severe.”

[20:34]  ¹²¹⁰ tn Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”

[20:35]  ¹²¹¹ tn Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”

[20:36]  ¹²¹² tn Heb “gave place to.”

[20:37]  ¹²¹³ tn Heb “hurried and put off [their hiding place].”

[20:37]  ¹²¹⁴ tn Heb “the men hiding in ambush.”

[20:37]  ¹²¹⁵ tn Or “deployed.” The verb normally means “to lead” or “to draw.”

[20:38]  ¹²¹⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men hiding in ambush) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:39]  ¹²¹⁷ tn Heb “turned in the battle.”

[20:39]  ¹²¹⁸ tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”

[20:39]  ¹²¹⁹ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:40]  ¹²²⁰ tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”

[20:41]  ¹²²¹ tn Or “were terrified.”

[20:41]  ¹²²² tn Heb “disaster touched against them.”

[20:42]  ¹²²³ tn Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”

[20:42]  ¹²²⁴ tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”

[20:43]  ¹²²⁵ tc The translation assumes the reading מִנּוֹחָה (minnokhah, “from Nohah”; cf. 1 Chr 8:2) rather than the MT’s מְנוּחָה (mÿnukhah, “resting place”).

[20:43]  ¹²²⁶ tn Heb “tread down, walk on.”

[20:43]  ¹²²⁷ tn Heb “unto the opposite of Gibeah toward the east.” Gibeah cannot be correct here, since the Benjaminites retreated from there toward the desert and Rimmon (see v. 45). A slight emendation yields the reading “Geba.”

[20:45]  ¹²²⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the rest [of the Benjaminites]) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:45]  ¹²²⁹ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:45]  ¹²³⁰ tn Heb “gleaned.” The word is an agricultural term which pictures Israelites picking off the Benjaminites as easily as one picks grapes from the vine.

[20:45]  ¹²³¹ tn Heb “stuck close after them.”

[20:46]  ¹²³² sn The number given here (twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites) is an approximate figure; v. 35 gives the more exact number (25,100). According to v. 15, the Benjaminite army numbered 26,700 (26,000 + 700). The figures in vv. 35 (rounded in vv. 44-46) and 47 add up to 25,700. What happened to the other 1,000 men? The most reasonable explanation is that they were killed during the first two days of fighting. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 429) and C. F. Burney (Judges, 475) reject this proposal, arguing that the narrator is too precise and concerned about details to omit such a fact. However, the account of the first two days’ fighting emphasizes Israel’s humiliating defeat. To speak of Benjaminite casualties would diminish the literary effect. In vv. 35, 44-47 the narrator’s emphasis is the devastating defeat that Benjamin experienced on this final day of battle. To mention the earlier days’ casualties at this point is irrelevant to his literary purpose. He allows readers who happen to be concerned with such details to draw conclusions for themselves.

[20:46]  ¹²³³ tn Heb “So all the ones who fell from Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men, wielding the sword, in that day, all of these men of strength.

[20:48]  ¹²³⁴ tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”

[20:48]  ¹²³⁵ tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (me’ir mÿtim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (me’ir mÿtom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).

[20:48]  ¹²³⁶ tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”

[21:2]  ¹²³⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[21:2]  ¹²³⁸ tn Heb “and they lifted up their voice[s] and wept with great weeping.” Both the cognate accusative בְּכִי (bekhi, “weeping”) and the attributive adjective גָדוֹל (gadol, “great”) emphasize their degree of sorrow.

[21:3]  ¹²³⁹ tn Heb “one.”

[21:4]  ¹²⁴⁰ tn Or “peace offerings.”

[21:5]  ¹²⁴¹ tn Heb “A great oath there was concerning the one who did not go up before the Lord at Mizpah, saying, ‘He must surely be put to death.’”

[21:6]  ¹²⁴² tn Or “felt sorry for.”

[21:6]  ¹²⁴³ tn Heb “cut off one.”

[21:7]  ¹²⁴⁴ tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”

[21:8]  ¹²⁴⁵ tn Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”

[21:9]  ¹²⁴⁶ tn Or “when the people were mustered.”

[21:9]  ¹²⁴⁷ tn Heb “and look.”

[21:10]  ¹²⁴⁸ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[21:10]  ¹²⁴⁹ tn Heb “there.”

[21:10]  ¹²⁵⁰ tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”

[21:11]  ¹²⁵¹ tn Heb “And this is the thing that you will do.”

[21:11]  ¹²⁵² tn Heb “every woman who is familiar with the bed of a male.”

[21:11]  ¹²⁵³ tc Some Greek witnesses (notably Codex Vaticanus [B]) add the words, “‘But the virgins you should keep alive.’ And they did so.” These additional words, which probably represent the original Hebrew text, can be retroverted: וְאֶת־הַבְּתוּלוֹת תְּחַיּוּ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֵן (ve’et-habbÿtulot tÿkhayyu vayya’asu khen). It is likely that a scribe’s eye jumped from the vav (ו) on וְאֶת (vÿ’et) to the initial vav of v. 11, accidentally leaving out the intervening letters. The present translation is based on this reconstruction.

[21:12]  ¹²⁵⁴ tn Heb “who had not known a man with respect to the bed of a male.”

[21:13]  ¹²⁵⁵ tn Heb “And all the assembly sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the cliff of Rimmon and they proclaimed to them peace.”

[21:14]  ¹²⁵⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:14]  ¹²⁵⁷ tn Heb “but they did not find for them enough.”

[21:15]  ¹²⁵⁸ tn Or “felt sorry for.”

[21:15]  ¹²⁵⁹ tn Heb “had made a gaping hole in.” The narrator uses imagery that compares Israel to a wall that has been breached.

[21:16]  ¹²⁶⁰ tn Or “elders.”

[21:16]  ¹²⁶¹ tn Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”

[21:17]  ¹²⁶² tn The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse. For stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 17 as a continuation of the remarks of the leaders in v. 16.

[21:17]  ¹²⁶³ tn Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”

[21:18]  ¹²⁶⁴ tn Heb “But we are not able to give to them wives from our daughters.”

[21:18]  ¹²⁶⁵ tn Heb “is cursed.”

[21:19]  ¹²⁶⁶ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[21:21]  ¹²⁶⁷ tn Heb “and look.”

[21:21]  ¹²⁶⁸ tn Heb “and look, when.”

[21:21]  ¹²⁶⁹ tn Heb “in the dances.”

[21:22]  ¹²⁷⁰ tc The (original) LXX and Vulgate read “to you.”

[21:22]  ¹²⁷¹ tn The words “and let them be” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:22]  ¹²⁷² tn Heb “for we did not take each his wife in battle.”

[21:22]  ¹²⁷³ tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the logic of the statement.

[21:22]  ¹²⁷⁴ tc Heb “You did not give to them, now you are guilty.” The MT as it stands makes little sense. It is preferable to emend לֹא (lo’, “not”) to לוּא (lu’, “if”). This particle introduces a purely hypothetical condition, “If you had given to them [but you didn’t].” See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 453-54.

[21:23]  ¹²⁷⁵ tn Heb “did so.”

[21:23]  ¹²⁷⁶ tn Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”

[21:23]  ¹²⁷⁷ tn Heb “went and returned.”

[21:23]  ¹²⁷⁸ tn Heb “inheritance.”

[21:23]  ¹²⁷⁹ tn Heb “and lived in them.”

[21:24]  ¹²⁸⁰ tn Heb “his inheritance.”

[21:25]  ¹²⁸¹ tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.”