Judges 20:2

20:2 The leaders ¹  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ²  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.

Judges 20:8

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ³  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ⁴  Not one of us will return ⁵  to his house!

Judges 20:11

20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. ⁶ 

Judges 21:5

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. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 13:12-18

Punishment of Community Idolatry

13:12 Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you as a place to live, that 13:13 some evil people ⁸  have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, ⁹  saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). ¹⁰  13:14 You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, ¹¹  13:15 you must by all means ¹²  slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate ¹³  with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock. 13:16 You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza ¹⁴  and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin ¹⁵  forever – it must never be rebuilt again. 13:17 You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. ¹⁶  Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 13:18 Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving ¹⁷  you today and doing what is right ¹⁸  before him. ¹⁹ 

Joshua 22:12

22:12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. ²⁰ 

[20:2]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The words “which numbered” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:8]  ³ tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ⁵ tn Or “turn aside.”

[20:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “gathered at the city as one man, united.”

[21:5]  ⁷ 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.’”

[13:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”

[13:13]  ⁹ tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”

[13:13]  ¹⁰ tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.

[13:14]  ¹¹ tc Theodotian adds “in Israel,” perhaps to broaden the matter beyond the local village.

[13:15]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “by all means.” Cf. KJV, NASB “surely”; NIV “certainly.”

[13:15]  ¹³ tn Or “put under divine judgment. The Hebrew word (חֵרֶם, kherem) refers to placing persons or things under God’s judgment, usually to the extent of their complete destruction.Though primarily applied against the heathen, this severe judgment could also fall upon unrepentant Israelites (cf. the story of Achan in Josh 7). See also the note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.

[13:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “street.”

[13:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “mound”; NAB “a heap of ruins.” The Hebrew word תֵּל (tel) refers to this day to a ruin represented especially by a built-up mound of dirt or debris (cf. Tel Aviv, “mound of grain”).

[13:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “anything that has been put under the divine curse”; Heb “anything of the ban” (cf. NASB). See note on the phrase “divine judgment” in Deut 2:34.

[13:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV).

[13:18]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX and Smr add “and good” to bring the phrase in line with a familiar cliché (cf. Deut 6:18; Josh 9:25; 2 Kgs 10:3; 2 Chr 14:1; etc.). This is an unnecessary and improper attempt to force a text into a preconceived mold.

[13:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord your God.” See note on the word “him” in v. 3.

[22:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to go up against them for battle.”