Judges 2:22

2:22 Joshua left those nations ¹  to test ²  Israel. I wanted to see ³  whether or not the people ⁴  would carefully walk in the path ⁵  marked out by ⁶  the Lord, as their ancestors ⁷  were careful to do.”

Judges 13:4

13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁸ 

Judges 13:13

13:13 The Lord’s messenger told ⁹  Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. ¹⁰ 

Judges 1:24

1:24 the spies spotted ¹¹  a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.”

Judges 7:19

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ¹²  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. ¹³ 

Judges 13:14

13:14 She should not drink ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.”

[2:22]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ⁷ tn Or “fathers.”

[13:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “said to.”

[13:13]  ¹⁶ 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.

[1:24]  ²² tn Heb “saw.”

[7:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[13:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “eat.”

[13:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”