Judges 17:1

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country.

Judges 19:1

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ²  from Bethlehem ³  in Judah.

Judges 19:18

19:18 The Levite ⁴  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ⁵  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. ⁶  But no one has invited me into their home.

Joshua 17:15-18

17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people, ⁷  go up into the forest and clear out a place to live in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites, for the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.” 17:16 The descendants of Joseph said, “The whole hill country ⁸  is inadequate for us, and the Canaanites living down in the valley in Beth Shean and its surrounding towns and in the Valley of Jezreel have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.” ⁹  17:17 Joshua said to the family ¹⁰  of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment. 17:18 The whole hill country ¹¹  will be yours; though it is a forest, you can clear it and it will be entirely yours. ¹²  You can conquer the Canaanites, though they have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels and are strong.”

[19:1]  ¹ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ² sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ⁶ 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.”

[17:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “If you are a great people.”

[17:16]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.

[17:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the land of the valley, to those who are in Beth Shean and its daughters and to those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255 and R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

[17:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[17:18]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.

[17:18]  ¹² tn Heb “and its limits will be yours.”