Judges 12:8-10

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ¹  led ²  Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ³  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ⁴  Ibzan ⁵  led ⁶  Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he ⁷  died and was buried in Bethlehem.

[12:8]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ² tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:9]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

[12:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:10]  ⁷ 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.