Judges 2:11-23

Context

A Monotonous Cycle

2:11 The Israelites did evil before¹ the Lord by worshiping² the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors³ who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped⁴ them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars.⁵

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel⁶ and handed them over to robbers who plundered them.⁷ He turned them over to⁸ their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks.⁹ 2:15 Whenever they went out to fight,¹⁰ the Lord did them harm,¹¹ just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.¹² They suffered greatly.¹³

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders¹⁴ who delivered them from these robbers.¹⁵ 2:17 But they did not obey¹⁶ their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped¹⁷ them. They quickly turned aside from the path¹⁸ their ancestors¹⁹ had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.²⁰ 2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people²¹ from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them²² when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them.²³ 2:19 When a leader died, the next generation²⁴ would again²⁵ act more wickedly than the previous one.²⁶ They would follow after other gods, worshiping them²⁷ and bowing down to them. They did not give up²⁸ their practices or their stubborn ways.

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel.²⁹ He said, “This nation³⁰ has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors³¹ by disobeying me.³² 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 nations³³ to test³⁴ Israel. I wanted to see³⁵ whether or not the people³⁶ would carefully walk in the path³⁷ marked out by³⁸ the Lord, as their ancestors³⁹ were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why⁴⁰ the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately;⁴¹ he did not hand them over to Joshua.

[2:11] ¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

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

[2:12] ³tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12] ⁴tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:13] ⁵tn 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] ⁶tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14] ⁷tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14] ⁸tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14] ⁹tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:15] ¹⁰tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15] ¹¹tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15] ¹²tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15] ¹³tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:16] ¹⁴tn 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] ¹⁵tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17] ¹⁶tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17] ¹⁷tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17] ¹⁸tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17] ¹⁹tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17] ²⁰tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

[2:18] ²¹tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18] ²²tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18] ²³tn 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] ²⁴tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19] ²⁵tn 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] ²⁶tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19] ²⁷tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19] ²⁸tn Or “drop.”

[2:20] ²⁹tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20] ³⁰tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20] ³¹tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20] ³²tn 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] ³³tn 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] ³⁴tn 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] ³⁵tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22] ³⁶tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22] ³⁷tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22] ³⁸tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22] ³⁹tn Or “fathers.”

[2:23] ⁴⁰tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

[2:23] ⁴¹tn Or “quickly.”