Judges 3:1

3:1 These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel – he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites. ¹ 

Judges 1:1--20:48

Judah Takes the Lead

1:1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked ²  the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?” ³  1:2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead. ⁴  Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.” ⁵  1:3 The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon, ⁶  “Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites. ⁷  Then we ⁸  will go with you into your allotted land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

1:4 The men of Judah attacked, ⁹  and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek. 1:5 They met ¹⁰  Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 1:6 When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ¹¹  food scraps ¹²  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ¹³  They brought him to Jerusalem, ¹⁴  where he died. 1:8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

1:9 Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. ¹⁵  1:10 The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 1:11 From there they attacked the people of Debir. ¹⁶  (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 1:12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife.” 1:13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, ¹⁷  captured it, Caleb ¹⁸  gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife.

1:14 One time Acsah ¹⁹  came and charmed her father ²⁰  so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 1:15 She answered, “Please give me a special present. ²¹  Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. ²² 

1:16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, ²³  located in the Negev. ²⁴  They went and lived with the people of Judah. ²⁵ 

1:17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ²⁶  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ²⁷  So people now call the city Hormah. ²⁸  1:18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. ²⁹ 

1:19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered ³⁰  the hill country, but they could not ³¹  conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels. ³²  1:20 Caleb received ³³  Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. 1:21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. ³⁴  The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. ³⁵ 

Partial Success

1:22 When the men ³⁶  of Joseph attacked ³⁷  Bethel, ³⁸  the Lord was with them. 1:23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), 1:24 the spies spotted ³⁹  a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 1:25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. 1:26 He ⁴⁰  moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

1:27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo ⁴¹  or their surrounding towns. ⁴²  The Canaanites managed ⁴³  to remain in those areas. ⁴⁴  1:28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

1:29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ⁴⁵  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

1:31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, ⁴⁶  nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. ⁴⁷  1:32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. ⁴⁸  They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites ⁴⁹  living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

1:34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in ⁵⁰  the coastal plain. 1:35 The Amorites managed ⁵¹  to remain in Har Heres, ⁵²  Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, ⁵³  the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. 1:36 The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent ⁵⁴  to Sela and on up. ⁵⁵ 

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger ⁵⁶  went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. ⁵⁷  I said, ‘I will never break my agreement ⁵⁸  with you, 2:2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ ⁵⁹  But you have disobeyed me. ⁶⁰  Why would you do such a thing? ⁶¹  2:3 At that time I also warned you, ⁶²  ‘If you disobey, ⁶³  I will not drive out the Canaanites ⁶⁴  before you. They will ensnare you ⁶⁵  and their gods will lure you away.’” ⁶⁶ 

2:4 When the Lord’s messenger finished speaking these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ⁶⁷  2:5 They named that place Bokim ⁶⁸  and offered sacrifices to the Lord there.

The End of an Era

2:6 When Joshua dismissed ⁶⁹  the people, the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory, ⁷⁰  intending to take possession of the land. 2:7 The people worshiped ⁷¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ⁷²  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ⁷³  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁷⁴  2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 2:9 The people ⁷⁵  buried him in his allotted land ⁷⁶  in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 2:10 That entire generation passed away; ⁷⁷  a new generation grew up ⁷⁸  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ⁷⁹ 

A Monotonous Cycle

2:11 The Israelites did evil before ⁸⁰  the Lord by worshiping ⁸¹  the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ⁸²  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ⁸³  them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. ⁸⁴ 

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁸⁵  and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. ⁸⁶  He turned them over to ⁸⁷  their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. ⁸⁸  2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ⁸⁹  the Lord did them harm, ⁹⁰  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ⁹¹  They suffered greatly. ⁹² 

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ⁹³  who delivered them from these robbers. ⁹⁴  2:17 But they did not obey ⁹⁵  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ⁹⁶  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ⁹⁷  their ancestors ⁹⁸  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁹⁹  2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ¹⁰⁰  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ¹⁰¹  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ¹⁰²  2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹⁰³  would again ¹⁰⁴  act more wickedly than the previous one. ¹⁰⁵  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ¹⁰⁶  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ¹⁰⁷  their practices or their stubborn ways.

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ¹⁰⁸  He said, “This nation ¹⁰⁹  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ¹¹⁰  by disobeying me. ¹¹¹  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 nations ¹¹²  to test ¹¹³  Israel. I wanted to see ¹¹⁴  whether or not the people ¹¹⁵  would carefully walk in the path ¹¹⁶  marked out by ¹¹⁷  the Lord, as their ancestors ¹¹⁸  were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why ¹¹⁹  the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; ¹²⁰  he did not hand them over to Joshua.

3:1 These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel – he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites. ¹²¹  3:2 He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war. ¹²²  3:3 These were the nations: ¹²³  the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath. ¹²⁴  3:4 They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses. ¹²⁵ 

3:5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3:6 They took the Canaanites’ daughters as wives and gave their daughters to the Canaanites; ¹²⁶  they worshiped ¹²⁷  their gods as well.

Othniel: A Model Leader

3:7 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹²⁸  They forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ¹²⁹  3:8 The Lord was furious with Israel ¹³⁰  and turned them over to ¹³¹  King Cushan-Rishathaim ¹³²  of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects ¹³³  for eight years. 3:9 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹³⁴  raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued ¹³⁵  them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹³⁶  3:10 The Lord’s spirit empowered him ¹³⁷  and he led Israel. When he went to do battle, the Lord handed over to him King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram and he overpowered him. ¹³⁸  3:11 The land had rest for forty years; then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance

3:12 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹³⁹  The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel ¹⁴⁰  because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight. 3:13 Eglon formed alliances with ¹⁴¹  the Ammonites and Amalekites. He came and defeated Israel, and they seized the City of Date Palm Trees. 3:14 The Israelites were subject to ¹⁴²  King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹⁴³  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ¹⁴⁴  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ¹⁴⁵  3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹⁴⁶  He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh. 3:17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

3:18 After Ehud brought the tribute payment, he dismissed the people who had carried it. ¹⁴⁷  3:19 But he went back ¹⁴⁸  once he reached ¹⁴⁹  the carved images ¹⁵⁰  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ¹⁵¹  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ¹⁵²  said, “Be quiet!” ¹⁵³  All his attendants left. 3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ¹⁵⁴  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ¹⁵⁵  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ¹⁵⁶  3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s ¹⁵⁷  belly. 3:22 The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud ¹⁵⁸  did not pull the sword out of his belly. ¹⁵⁹  3:23 As Ehud went out into the vestibule, ¹⁶⁰  he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ¹⁶¹  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ¹⁶²  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ¹⁶³  3:25 They waited so long they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. Finally they took the key and opened the doors. ¹⁶⁴  Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor! ¹⁶⁵  3:26 Now Ehud had escaped while they were delaying. When he passed the carved images, he escaped to Seirah.

3:27 When he reached Seirah, ¹⁶⁶  he blew a trumpet ¹⁶⁷  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead. ¹⁶⁸  3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ¹⁶⁹  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ¹⁷⁰  opposite Moab, ¹⁷¹  and did not let anyone cross. 3:29 That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites ¹⁷²  – all strong, capable warriors; not one escaped. 3:30 Israel humiliated Moab that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.

3:31 After Ehud ¹⁷³  came ¹⁷⁴  Shamgar son of Anath; he killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad and, like Ehud, ¹⁷⁵  delivered Israel.

Deborah Summons Barak

4:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight ¹⁷⁶  after Ehud’s death. 4:2 The Lord turned them over to ¹⁷⁷  King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. ¹⁷⁸  The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ¹⁷⁹  4:3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera ¹⁸⁰  had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, ¹⁸¹  and he cruelly ¹⁸²  oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, ¹⁸³  wife of Lappidoth, was ¹⁸⁴  leading ¹⁸⁵  Israel at that time. 4:5 She would sit ¹⁸⁶  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ¹⁸⁷  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ¹⁸⁸ 

4:6 She summoned ¹⁸⁹  Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. ¹⁹⁰  I will hand him over to you.” 4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame ¹⁹¹  on the expedition you are undertaking, ¹⁹²  for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” ¹⁹³  Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; ¹⁹⁴  Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away ¹⁹⁵  from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived ¹⁹⁶  near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:12 When Sisera heard ¹⁹⁷  that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he ¹⁹⁸  ordered ¹⁹⁹  all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, ²⁰⁰  for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! ²⁰¹  Has the Lord not taken the lead?” ²⁰²  Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed ²⁰³  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ²⁰⁴  Sisera jumped out of ²⁰⁵  his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died ²⁰⁶  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ²⁰⁷ 

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ²⁰⁸  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ²⁰⁹  4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, ²¹⁰  my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera ²¹¹  stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 4:20 He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say ‘No.’” 4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ²¹²  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ²¹³  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ²¹⁴  and he died. 4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ²¹⁵  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ²¹⁶  with the tent peg in his temple.

4:23 That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 4:24 Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ²¹⁷  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ²¹⁸  him. ²¹⁹ 

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: ²²⁰ 

5:2 “When the leaders took the lead ²²¹  in Israel,

When the people answered the call to war –

Praise the Lord!

5:3 Hear, O kings!

Pay attention, O rulers!

I will sing to the Lord! ²²² 

I will sing ²²³  to the Lord God of Israel!

5:4 O Lord, when you departed ²²⁴  from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,

the earth shook, the heavens poured down,

the clouds poured down rain. ²²⁵ 

5:5 The mountains trembled ²²⁶  before the Lord, the God of Sinai; ²²⁷ 

before the Lord God of Israel.

5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans ²²⁸  disappeared; ²²⁹ 

travelers ²³⁰  had to go on winding side roads.

5:7 Warriors ²³¹  were scarce, ²³² 

they were scarce in Israel,

until you ²³³  arose, Deborah,

until you arose as a motherly protector ²³⁴  in Israel.

5:8 God chose new leaders, ²³⁵ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ²³⁶ 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ²³⁷ 

among forty military units ²³⁸  in Israel.

5:9 My heart went out ²³⁹  to Israel’s leaders,

to the people who answered the call to war.

Praise the Lord!

5:10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,

who sit on saddle blankets, ²⁴⁰ 

you who walk on the road, pay attention!

5:11 Hear ²⁴¹  the sound of those who divide the sheep ²⁴²  among the watering places;

there they tell of ²⁴³  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ²⁴⁴  in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!

Wake up, wake up, sing a song!

Get up, Barak!

Capture your prisoners of war, ²⁴⁵  son of Abinoam!

5:13 Then the survivors ²⁴⁶  came down ²⁴⁷  to the mighty ones; ²⁴⁸ 

the Lord’s people came down to me ²⁴⁹  as ²⁵⁰  warriors.

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ²⁵¹ 

they follow ²⁵²  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ²⁵³  the ones who march carrying ²⁵⁴  an officer’s staff.

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ²⁵⁵  supported ²⁵⁶  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ²⁵⁷ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ²⁵⁸  heart searching. ²⁵⁹ 

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ²⁶⁰ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ²⁶¹  for their flocks? ²⁶² 

As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.

5:17 Gilead stayed put ²⁶³  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ²⁶⁴ 

Asher remained ²⁶⁵  on the seacoast,

he stayed ²⁶⁶  by his harbors. ²⁶⁷ 

5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; ²⁶⁸ 

Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. ²⁶⁹ 

5:19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought,

at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, ²⁷⁰ 

but ²⁷¹  they took no silver as plunder.

5:20 From the sky ²⁷²  the stars ²⁷³  fought,

from their paths in the heavens ²⁷⁴  they fought against Sisera.

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them ²⁷⁵  – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong! ²⁷⁶ 

5:22 The horses’ ²⁷⁷  hooves pounded the ground; ²⁷⁸ 

the stallions galloped madly. ²⁷⁹ 

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ²⁸⁰  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ²⁸¹  messenger;

‘Be sure ²⁸²  to call judgment down on ²⁸³  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ²⁸⁴ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ²⁸⁵ 

5:24 The most rewarded ²⁸⁶  of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!

She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

5:25 He asked for water,

and she gave him milk;

in a bowl fit for a king, ²⁸⁷ 

she served him curds.

5:26 Her left ²⁸⁸  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ²⁸⁹  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ²⁹⁰ 

she smashed his head, ²⁹¹ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ²⁹² 

5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,

he fell limp ²⁹³  and was lifeless; ²⁹⁴ 

between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,

in the spot where he collapsed,

there he fell limp – violently murdered! ²⁹⁵ 

5:28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:

‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?

Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses ²⁹⁶  delayed?’

5:29 The wisest of her ladies ²⁹⁷  answer;

indeed she even thinks to herself,

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ²⁹⁸  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ²⁹⁹ 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ³⁰⁰ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ³⁰¹ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ³⁰² 

5:31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!

But may those who love you shine

like the rising sun at its brightest!” ³⁰³ 

And the land had rest for forty years.

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ³⁰⁴  so the Lord turned them over to ³⁰⁵  Midian for seven years. 6:2 The Midianites ³⁰⁶  overwhelmed Israel. ³⁰⁷  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ³⁰⁸  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ³⁰⁹  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ³¹⁰  6:4 They invaded the land ³¹¹  and devoured ³¹²  its crops ³¹³  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ³¹⁴  and they took away ³¹⁵  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 6:5 When they invaded ³¹⁶  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ³¹⁷  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ³¹⁸  They came to devour ³¹⁹  the land. 6:6 Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

6:7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian, 6:8 he ³²⁰  sent a prophet ³²¹  to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt ³²²  and took you out of that place of slavery. ³²³  6:9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power ³²⁴  and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. 6:10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship ³²⁵  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ³²⁶ 

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ³²⁷  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ³²⁸  was threshing ³²⁹  wheat in a winepress ³³⁰  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ³³¹  6:12 The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” 6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, ³³²  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ³³³  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ³³⁴  ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 6:14 Then the Lord himself ³³⁵  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ³³⁶  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ³³⁷  Have I not sent you?” 6:15 Gideon ³³⁸  said to him, “But Lord, ³³⁹  how ³⁴⁰  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ³⁴¹  6:16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but ³⁴²  I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” ³⁴³  6:17 Gideon ³⁴⁴  said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, ³⁴⁵  then give me ³⁴⁶  a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back ³⁴⁷  with a gift ³⁴⁸  and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”

6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, ³⁴⁹  along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food ³⁵⁰  to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 6:20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, ³⁵¹  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ³⁵²  6:21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. ³⁵³  Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared. ³⁵⁴ 

6:22 When Gideon realized ³⁵⁵  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ³⁵⁶  said, “Oh no! ³⁵⁷  Master, Lord! ³⁵⁸  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 6:23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! ³⁵⁹  Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!” 6:24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” ³⁶⁰  To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. ³⁶¹  Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ³⁶²  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants ³⁶³  and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family ³⁶⁴  and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. ³⁶⁵ 

6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw ³⁶⁶  the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar. 6:29 They said to one another, ³⁶⁷  “Who did this?” ³⁶⁸  They investigated the matter thoroughly ³⁶⁹  and concluded ³⁷⁰  that Gideon son of Joash had done it. 6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! ³⁷¹  He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.” 6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ³⁷²  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ³⁷³  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³⁷⁴  will die by morning! ³⁷⁵  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ³⁷⁶  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ³⁷⁷  6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, ³⁷⁸  because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”

Gideon Summons an Army and Seeks Confirmation

6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east ³⁷⁹  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ³⁸⁰  and camped in the Jezreel Valley. 6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of ³⁸¹  Gideon. He blew a trumpet, ³⁸²  summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁸³  6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. ³⁸⁴  He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

6:36 Gideon said to God, “If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, ³⁸⁵  as you promised, then give me a sign as proof. ³⁸⁶  6:37 Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ³⁸⁷  is dry, then I will be sure ³⁸⁸  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ³⁸⁹  as you promised.” 6:38 The Lord did as he asked. ³⁹⁰  When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. ³⁹¹  6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. ³⁹²  Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.” ³⁹³  6:40 That night God did as he asked. ³⁹⁴  Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew.

Gideon Reduces the Ranks

7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men ³⁹⁵  got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. ³⁹⁶  The Midianites ³⁹⁷  were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley. 7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ³⁹⁸  Israel might brag, ³⁹⁹  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ⁴⁰⁰  7:3 Now, announce to the men, ⁴⁰¹  ‘Whoever is shaking with fear ⁴⁰²  may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” ⁴⁰³  Twenty-two thousand men ⁴⁰⁴  went home; ⁴⁰⁵  ten thousand remained. 7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. ⁴⁰⁶  Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. ⁴⁰⁷  When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; ⁴⁰⁸  when I say, ⁴⁰⁹  ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” ⁴¹⁰  7:5 So he brought the men ⁴¹¹  down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” ⁴¹²  7:6 Three hundred men lapped; ⁴¹³  the rest of the men ⁴¹⁴  kneeled to drink water. 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ⁴¹⁵  and I will hand Midian over to you. ⁴¹⁶  The rest of the men should go home.” ⁴¹⁷  7:8 The men ⁴¹⁸  who were chosen ⁴¹⁹  took supplies ⁴²⁰  and their trumpets. Gideon ⁴²¹  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ⁴²²  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ⁴²³  were camped down below ⁴²⁴  in the valley.

Gideon Reassured of Victory

7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, ⁴²⁵  “Get up! Attack ⁴²⁶  the camp, for I am handing it over to you. ⁴²⁷  7:10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant 7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave ⁴²⁸  and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. ⁴²⁹  7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. ⁴³⁰  Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ⁴³¹  The man ⁴³²  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ⁴³³  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ⁴³⁴  7:14 The other man said, ⁴³⁵  “Without a doubt this symbolizes ⁴³⁶  the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ⁴³⁷  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. ⁴³⁸  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ⁴³⁹  7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! ⁴⁴⁰  I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ⁴⁴¹  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. ⁴⁴²  7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. ⁴⁴³  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order ⁴⁴⁴  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ⁴⁴⁵  7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ⁴⁴⁶  throughout ⁴⁴⁷  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ⁴⁴⁸  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ⁴⁴⁹ 

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. ⁴⁵⁰  Take control of the fords of the streams ⁴⁵¹  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” ⁴⁵²  When all the Ephraimites had assembled, ⁴⁵³  they took control of the fords ⁴⁵⁴  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ⁴⁵⁵  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ⁴⁵⁶  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ⁴⁵⁷  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁴⁵⁸ 

8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ⁴⁵⁹  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him. 8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ⁴⁶⁰  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ⁴⁶¹  8:3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” ⁴⁶²  When he said this, they calmed down. ⁴⁶³ 

Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings

8:4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites. ⁴⁶⁴  8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give ⁴⁶⁵  some loaves of bread to the men ⁴⁶⁶  who are following me, ⁴⁶⁷  because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 8:6 The officials of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give ⁴⁶⁸  bread to your army?” ⁴⁶⁹  8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, ⁴⁷⁰  after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh ⁴⁷¹  your skin ⁴⁷²  with ⁴⁷³  desert thorns and briers.” 8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ⁴⁷⁴  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ⁴⁷⁵  8:9 He also threatened ⁴⁷⁶  the men of Penuel, warning, ⁴⁷⁷  “When I return victoriously, ⁴⁷⁸  I will tear down this tower.”

8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. ⁴⁷⁹  8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads ⁴⁸⁰  east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. ⁴⁸¹  8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon ⁴⁸²  chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised ⁴⁸³  their entire army.

8:13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass ⁴⁸⁴  of Heres. 8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth ⁴⁸⁵  and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. ⁴⁸⁶  8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ⁴⁸⁷  Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ⁴⁸⁸  8:16 He seized the leaders ⁴⁸⁹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ⁴⁹⁰  8:17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ⁴⁹¹  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ⁴⁹²  8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, ⁴⁹³  as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 8:20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! ⁴⁹⁴  Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, ⁴⁹⁵  because he was still young. 8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ⁴⁹⁶  “Come on, ⁴⁹⁷  you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” ⁴⁹⁸  So Gideon killed ⁴⁹⁹  Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod

8:22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.” ⁵⁰⁰  8:23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 8:24 Gideon continued, ⁵⁰¹  “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” ⁵⁰²  (The Midianites ⁵⁰³  had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 8:25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” ⁵⁰⁴  So they ⁵⁰⁵  spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 8:26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. ⁵⁰⁶  This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, ⁵⁰⁷  purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. ⁵⁰⁸  8:27 Gideon used all this to make ⁵⁰⁹  an ephod, ⁵¹⁰  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ⁵¹¹  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁵¹²  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Story Ends

8:28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. ⁵¹³  The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time. ⁵¹⁴  8:29 Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. ⁵¹⁵  8:30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. ⁵¹⁶  8:31 His concubine, ⁵¹⁷  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ⁵¹⁸  8:32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very ⁵¹⁹  old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Israel Returns to Baal-Worship

8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith ⁵²⁰  their god. 8:34 The Israelites did not remain true ⁵²¹  to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat ⁵²²  the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

Abimelech Murders His Brothers

9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. ⁵²³  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ⁵²⁴  9:2 “Tell ⁵²⁵  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ⁵²⁶  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ⁵²⁷  9:3 His mother’s relatives ⁵²⁸  spoke on his behalf to ⁵²⁹  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ⁵³⁰  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ⁵³¹  they said, “He is our close relative.” ⁵³²  9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous ⁵³³  men as his followers. ⁵³⁴  9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ⁵³⁵  the seventy legitimate ⁵³⁶  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ⁵³⁷  because he hid. 9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar ⁵³⁸  in Shechem.

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁵³⁹  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ⁵⁴⁰  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

9:8 “The trees were determined to go out ⁵⁴¹  and choose a king for themselves. ⁵⁴²  They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ ⁵⁴³  9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴⁴ 

9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁵  9:11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴⁶ 

9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁷  9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’ ⁵⁴⁸ 

9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁵⁴⁹  9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ⁵⁵⁰  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ⁵⁵¹  Otherwise ⁵⁵²  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, ⁵⁵³  if you have properly repaid him ⁵⁵⁴  – 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life ⁵⁵⁵  and delivered you from Midian’s power. ⁵⁵⁶  9:18 But you have attacked ⁵⁵⁷  my father’s family ⁵⁵⁸  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ⁵⁵⁹  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ⁵⁶⁰  9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family ⁵⁶¹  today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! ⁵⁶²  9:20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!” 9:21 Then Jotham ran away ⁵⁶³  to Beer and lived there to escape from ⁵⁶⁴  Abimelech his half-brother. ⁵⁶⁵ 

God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse

9:22 Abimelech commanded ⁵⁶⁶  Israel for three years. 9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility ⁵⁶⁷  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal ⁵⁶⁸  to Abimelech. 9:24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother ⁵⁶⁹  who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. ⁵⁷⁰  9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting ⁵⁷¹  bandits in ⁵⁷²  the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. ⁵⁷³ 

9:26 Gaal son of Ebed ⁵⁷⁴  came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. ⁵⁷⁵  9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ⁵⁷⁶  squeezed out the juice, ⁵⁷⁷  and celebrated. They came to the temple ⁵⁷⁸  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. 9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ⁵⁷⁹  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ⁵⁸⁰  9:29 If only these men ⁵⁸¹  were under my command, ⁵⁸²  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁵⁸³  “Muster ⁵⁸⁴  your army and come out for battle!” ⁵⁸⁵ 

9:30 When Zebul, the city commissioner, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was furious. ⁵⁸⁶  9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ⁵⁸⁷  reporting, “Beware! ⁵⁸⁸  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ⁵⁸⁹  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁵⁹⁰  9:32 Now, come up ⁵⁹¹  at night with your men ⁵⁹²  and set an ambush in the field outside the city. ⁵⁹³  9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city. When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.” ⁵⁹⁴ 

9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up ⁵⁹⁵  at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into ⁵⁹⁶  four units. 9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places. 9:36 Gaal saw the men ⁵⁹⁷  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ⁵⁹⁸  9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ⁵⁹⁹  of the land. A unit ⁶⁰⁰  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ⁶⁰¹  9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, ⁶⁰²  ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men ⁶⁰³  you insulted? ⁶⁰⁴  Go out now and fight them!” 9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out ⁶⁰⁵  and fought Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ⁶⁰⁶  ran from him. Many Shechemites ⁶⁰⁷  fell wounded at the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech went back ⁶⁰⁸  to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. ⁶⁰⁹ 

9:42 The next day the Shechemites ⁶¹⁰  came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it, ⁶¹¹  9:43 he took his men ⁶¹²  and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, ⁶¹³  he attacked and struck them down. ⁶¹⁴  9:44 Abimelech and his units ⁶¹⁵  attacked and blocked ⁶¹⁶  the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down. 9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled ⁶¹⁷  the city and spread salt over it. ⁶¹⁸ 

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem ⁶¹⁹  heard the news, they went to the stronghold ⁶²⁰  of the temple of El-Berith. ⁶²¹  9:47 Abimelech heard ⁶²²  that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. ⁶²³  9:48 He and all his men ⁶²⁴  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁶²⁵  took an ax ⁶²⁶  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁶²⁷  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁶²⁸  9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ⁶²⁹  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ⁶³⁰  All the people ⁶³¹  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

9:50 Abimelech moved on ⁶³²  to Thebez; he besieged and captured it. ⁶³³  9:51 There was a fortified ⁶³⁴  tower ⁶³⁵  in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower. 9:52 Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 9:53 a woman threw an upper millstone ⁶³⁶  down on his ⁶³⁷  head and shattered his skull. 9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ⁶³⁸  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ⁶³⁹  ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died. 9:55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. ⁶⁴⁰ 

9:56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half-brothers. ⁶⁴¹  9:57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell ⁶⁴²  on them.

Stability Restored

10:1 After Abimelech’s death, ⁶⁴³  Tola son of Puah, grandson ⁶⁴⁴  of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, ⁶⁴⁵  rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country. 10:2 He led ⁶⁴⁶  Israel for twenty-three years, then died and was buried in Shamir.

10:3 Jair the Gileadite rose up after him; he led Israel for twenty-two years. 10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair ⁶⁴⁷  – they are in the land of Gilead. ⁶⁴⁸  10:5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

The Lord’s Patience Runs Short

10:6 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ⁶⁴⁹  They worshiped ⁶⁵⁰  the Baals and the Ashtars, ⁶⁵¹  as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, ⁶⁵²  Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. ⁶⁵³  They abandoned the Lord and did not worship ⁶⁵⁴  him. 10:7 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁶⁵⁵  and turned them over to ⁶⁵⁶  the Philistines and Ammonites. 10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ⁶⁵⁷  the Israelites that eighteenth year ⁶⁵⁸  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. ⁶⁵⁹  Israel suffered greatly. ⁶⁶⁰ 

10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped ⁶⁶¹  the Baals.” 10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 10:12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian ⁶⁶²  when they oppressed you? ⁶⁶³  You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. ⁶⁶⁴  10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped ⁶⁶⁵  other gods, I will not deliver you again. 10:14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!” ⁶⁶⁶  10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, ⁶⁶⁷  but deliver us today!” ⁶⁶⁸  10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned ⁶⁶⁹  and worshiped ⁶⁷⁰  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ⁶⁷¹ 

An Outcast Becomes a General

10:17 The Ammonites assembled ⁶⁷²  and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 10:18 The leaders ⁶⁷³  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ⁶⁷⁴  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. ⁶⁷⁵  11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave ⁶⁷⁶  him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, ⁶⁷⁷  because you are another woman’s son.” 11:3 So Jephthah left ⁶⁷⁸  his half-brothers ⁶⁷⁹  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁶⁸⁰ 

11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 11:5 When the Ammonites attacked, ⁶⁸¹  the leaders ⁶⁸²  of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back ⁶⁸³  from the land of Tob. 11:6 They said, ⁶⁸⁴  “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave ⁶⁸⁵  my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ⁶⁸⁶  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁶⁸⁷  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ⁶⁸⁸  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁶⁸⁹  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁶⁹⁰  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁶⁹¹  I will be your leader.” ⁶⁹²  11:10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, ⁶⁹³  if we do not do as you say.” ⁶⁹⁴  11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ⁶⁹⁵  before the Lord in Mizpah.

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ⁶⁹⁶  you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ⁶⁹⁷  my land when they ⁶⁹⁸  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ⁶⁹⁹  Now return it ⁷⁰⁰  peaceably!”

11:14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 11:15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal ⁷⁰¹  the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 11:16 When they left ⁷⁰²  Egypt, Israel traveled ⁷⁰³  through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 11:17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us ⁷⁰⁴  to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. ⁷⁰⁵  Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. ⁷⁰⁶  So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 11:18 Then Israel ⁷⁰⁷  went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; ⁷⁰⁸  they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” ⁷⁰⁹  11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He ⁷¹⁰  assembled his whole army, ⁷¹¹  camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 11:21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took ⁷¹²  all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 11:22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. ⁷¹³  11:23 Since ⁷¹⁴  the Lord God of Israel has driven out ⁷¹⁵  the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? ⁷¹⁶  11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. ⁷¹⁷  11:25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? ⁷¹⁸  11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? 11:27 I have not done you wrong, ⁷¹⁹  but you are doing wrong ⁷²⁰  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 11:28 But the Ammonite king disregarded ⁷²¹  the message sent by Jephthah. ⁷²² 

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁷²³  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ⁷²⁴  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ⁷²⁵  11:30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 11:31 then whoever is the first to come through ⁷²⁶  the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he ⁷²⁷  will belong to the Lord and ⁷²⁸  I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 11:32 Jephthah approached ⁷²⁹  the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him. 11:33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! ⁷³⁰  The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. ⁷³¹ 

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ⁷³²  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ⁷³³  She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. 11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ⁷³⁴  You have brought me disaster! ⁷³⁵  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁷³⁶  11:36 She said to him, “My father, since ⁷³⁷  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ⁷³⁸  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ⁷³⁹  your enemies, the Ammonites.” 11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish. ⁷⁴⁰  For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” ⁷⁴¹  11:38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave ⁷⁴²  for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. ⁷⁴³  11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ⁷⁴⁴  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ⁷⁴⁵  11:40 Every year ⁷⁴⁶  Israelite women commemorate ⁷⁴⁷  the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. ⁷⁴⁸ 

Civil Strife Mars the Victory

12:1 The Ephraimites assembled ⁷⁴⁹  and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ⁷⁵⁰  with the Ammonites without asking ⁷⁵¹  us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ⁷⁵² 

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ⁷⁵³  I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ⁷⁵⁴  12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ⁷⁵⁵  I risked my life ⁷⁵⁶  and advanced against ⁷⁵⁷  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ⁷⁵⁸  to fight with me today?” 12:4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, ⁷⁵⁹  “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ⁷⁶⁰  12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁷⁶¹  opposite Ephraim. ⁷⁶²  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ⁷⁶³  said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ⁷⁶⁴  him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 12:6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” ⁷⁶⁵  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word ⁷⁶⁶  correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead. 12:7 Jephthah led ⁷⁶⁷  Israel for six years; then he ⁷⁶⁸  died and was buried in his city in Gilead. ⁷⁶⁹ 

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ⁷⁷⁰  led ⁷⁷¹  Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ⁷⁷²  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ⁷⁷³  Ibzan ⁷⁷⁴  led ⁷⁷⁵  Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he ⁷⁷⁶  died and was buried in Bethlehem.

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led ⁷⁷⁷  Israel for ten years. ⁷⁷⁸  12:12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

12:13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led ⁷⁷⁹  Israel. 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 12:15 Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

Samson’s Birth

13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, ⁷⁸⁰  so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. ⁷⁸¹  13:3 The Lord’s angelic ⁷⁸²  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ⁷⁸³  are infertile and childless, ⁷⁸⁴  but you will conceive and have a son. 13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁷⁸⁵  13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁷⁸⁶  You must never cut his hair, ⁷⁸⁷  for the child will be dedicated to God ⁷⁸⁸  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁷⁸⁹  of the Philistines.”

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ⁷⁹⁰  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ⁷⁹¹  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁷⁹²  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁷⁹³  For the child will be dedicated ⁷⁹⁴  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁷⁹⁵  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁷⁹⁶  to visit ⁷⁹⁷  us again, so he can teach ⁷⁹⁸  us how we should raise ⁷⁹⁹  the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. ⁸⁰⁰  God’s angelic messenger visited ⁸⁰¹  the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, ⁸⁰²  “Come quickly, ⁸⁰³  the man who visited ⁸⁰⁴  me the other day has appeared to me!” 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met ⁸⁰⁵  the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” ⁸⁰⁶  He said, “Yes.” ⁸⁰⁷  13:12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true, ⁸⁰⁸  how should the child be raised and what should he do?” ⁸⁰⁹  13:13 The Lord’s messenger told ⁸¹⁰  Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. ⁸¹¹  13:14 She should not drink ⁸¹²  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. ⁸¹³  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 13:15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, ⁸¹⁴  so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” ⁸¹⁵  13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ⁸¹⁶  I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) ⁸¹⁷  13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” ⁸¹⁸  13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” ⁸¹⁹  13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. ⁸²⁰  13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it ⁸²¹  while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown ⁸²²  to the ground.

13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. ⁸²³  13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” ⁸²⁴  13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. ⁸²⁵  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

13:24 Manoah’s wife ⁸²⁶  gave birth to a son and named him Samson. ⁸²⁷  The child grew and the Lord empowered ⁸²⁸  him. 13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him ⁸²⁹  in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. ⁸³⁰  14:2 When he got home, ⁸³¹  he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. ⁸³²  Now get her for my wife.” 14:3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our ⁸³³  people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” ⁸³⁴  But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, ⁸³⁵  because she is the right one for me.” ⁸³⁶  14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ⁸³⁷  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ⁸³⁸  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ⁸³⁹  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ⁸⁴⁰  14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁸⁴¹  him and he tore the lion ⁸⁴²  in two with his bare hands ⁸⁴³  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah ⁸⁴⁴  and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. ⁸⁴⁵  14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ⁸⁴⁶  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ⁸⁴⁷  a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned ⁸⁴⁸  to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. ⁸⁴⁹ 

14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. ⁸⁵⁰  Samson hosted a party ⁸⁵¹  there, for this was customary for bridegrooms ⁸⁵²  to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ⁸⁵³  14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, ⁸⁵⁴  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ⁸⁵⁵  of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, ⁸⁵⁶  you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” ⁸⁵⁷  14:14 He said to them,

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

out of the strong one came something sweet.”

They could not solve the riddle for three days.

14:15 On the fourth ⁸⁵⁸  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ⁸⁵⁹  If you refuse, ⁸⁶⁰  we will burn up ⁸⁶¹  you and your father’s family. ⁸⁶²  Did you invite us here ⁸⁶³  to make us poor?” ⁸⁶⁴  14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ⁸⁶⁵  and said, “You must ⁸⁶⁶  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ⁸⁶⁷  a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” ⁸⁶⁸  14:17 She cried on his shoulder ⁸⁶⁹  until the party was almost over. ⁸⁷⁰  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ⁸⁷¹  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ⁸⁷²  14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ⁸⁷³ 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes ⁸⁷⁴  and gave them ⁸⁷⁵  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ⁸⁷⁶  14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ⁸⁷⁷ 

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, ⁸⁷⁸  Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. ⁸⁷⁹  He said to her father, ⁸⁸⁰  “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” ⁸⁸¹  But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ⁸⁸²  you absolutely despised ⁸⁸³  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁸⁸⁴  15:3 Samson said to them, ⁸⁸⁵  “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!” ⁸⁸⁶  15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals ⁸⁸⁷  and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair. ⁸⁸⁸  15:5 He lit the torches ⁸⁸⁹  and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 15:6 The Philistines asked, ⁸⁹⁰  “Who did this?” They were told, ⁸⁹¹  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁸⁹²  took Samson’s ⁸⁹³  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ⁸⁹⁴  15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ⁸⁹⁵  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ⁸⁹⁶  15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. ⁸⁹⁷  Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

15:9 The Philistines went up and invaded ⁸⁹⁸  Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle ⁸⁹⁹  in Lehi. 15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking ⁹⁰⁰  us?” The Philistines ⁹⁰¹  said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ⁹⁰²  you will not kill ⁹⁰³  me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise! ⁹⁰⁴  We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ⁹⁰⁵  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁹⁰⁶  fire, and they ⁹⁰⁷  melted away from his hands. 15:15 He happened to see ⁹⁰⁸  a solid ⁹⁰⁹  jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it ⁹¹⁰  and struck down ⁹¹¹  a thousand men. 15:16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey

I have left them in heaps; ⁹¹² 

with the jawbone of a donkey

I have struck down a thousand men!”

15:17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down ⁹¹³  and named that place Ramath Lehi. ⁹¹⁴ 

15:18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant ⁹¹⁵  this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines?” ⁹¹⁶  15:19 So God split open the basin ⁹¹⁷  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁹¹⁸  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁹¹⁹  En Hakkore. ⁹²⁰  It remains in Lehi to this very day. 15:20 Samson led ⁹²¹  Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. ⁹²² 

Samson’s Downfall

16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. ⁹²³  16:2 The Gazites were told, ⁹²⁴  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ⁹²⁵  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ⁹²⁶  They relaxed ⁹²⁷  all night, thinking, ⁹²⁸  “He will not leave ⁹²⁹  until morning comes; ⁹³⁰  then we will kill him!” 16:3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. ⁹³¹  He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. ⁹³²  He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. ⁹³³ 

16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 16:5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ⁹³⁴  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” ⁹³⁵  16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh ⁹³⁶  bowstrings ⁹³⁷  that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them. 16:9 They hid ⁹³⁸  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹³⁹  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ⁹⁴⁰  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁹⁴¹ 

16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived ⁹⁴²  me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.” 16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, ⁹⁴³  I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁴⁴  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ⁹⁴⁵  But he tore the ropes ⁹⁴⁶  from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ⁹⁴⁷  into the fabric on the loom ⁹⁴⁸  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁴⁹  Samson!” ⁹⁵⁰  He woke up ⁹⁵¹  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ⁹⁵²  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16:16 She nagged him ⁹⁵³  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ⁹⁵⁴  16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁹⁵⁵  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁹⁵⁶  for I have been dedicated to God ⁹⁵⁷  from the time I was conceived. ⁹⁵⁸  If my head ⁹⁵⁹  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ⁹⁶⁰  she sent for ⁹⁶¹  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ⁹⁶²  his secret.” ⁹⁶³  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ⁹⁶⁴  and then called a man in to shave off ⁹⁶⁵  the seven braids of his hair. ⁹⁶⁶  She made him vulnerable ⁹⁶⁷  and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ⁹⁶⁸  Samson!” He woke up ⁹⁶⁹  and thought, ⁹⁷⁰  “I will do as I did before ⁹⁷¹  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison. 16:22 His hair ⁹⁷²  began to grow back after it had been shaved off.

Samson’s Death and Burial

16:23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 16:24 When the people saw him, ⁹⁷³  they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” ⁹⁷⁴ 

16:25 When they really started celebrating, ⁹⁷⁵  they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. ⁹⁷⁶  They made him stand between two pillars. 16:26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. ⁹⁷⁷  Then I can lean on them.” 16:27 Now the temple ⁹⁷⁸  was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain. 16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, ⁹⁷⁹  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ⁹⁸⁰  against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple ⁹⁸¹  and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ⁹⁸²  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ⁹⁸³  16:31 His brothers and all his family ⁹⁸⁴  went down and brought him back. ⁹⁸⁵  They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led ⁹⁸⁶  Israel for twenty years.

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country. 17:2 He said to his mother, “You know ⁹⁸⁷  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ⁹⁸⁸  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ⁹⁸⁹  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ⁹⁹⁰  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ⁹⁹¹  you, my son!” 17:3 When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate ⁹⁹²  this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” ⁹⁹³  17:4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she ⁹⁹⁴  took two hundred pieces of silver ⁹⁹⁵  to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. ⁹⁹⁶  17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ⁹⁹⁷  He made an ephod ⁹⁹⁸  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ⁹⁹⁹  17:6 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. ¹⁰⁰⁰ 

Micah Hires a Professional

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem ¹⁰⁰¹  in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. ¹⁰⁰²  17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ¹⁰⁰³  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ¹⁰⁰⁴  17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹⁰⁰⁵  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ¹⁰⁰⁶  17:11 So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. ¹⁰⁰⁷  17:12 Micah paid ¹⁰⁰⁸  the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house. 17:13 Micah said, “Now I know God will make me rich, ¹⁰⁰⁹  because I have this Levite as my priest.”

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ¹⁰¹⁰  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ¹⁰¹¹  18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ¹⁰¹²  capable men ¹⁰¹³  from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house. ¹⁰¹⁴  18:3 As they approached ¹⁰¹⁵  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ¹⁰¹⁶  of the young Levite. So they stopped ¹⁰¹⁷  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ¹⁰¹⁸  18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ¹⁰¹⁹  “He hired me and I became his priest.” 18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ¹⁰²⁰  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ¹⁰²¹  18:6 The priest said to them, “Go with confidence. ¹⁰²²  The Lord will be with you on your mission.” ¹⁰²³ 

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ¹⁰²⁴  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ¹⁰²⁵  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ¹⁰²⁶  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ¹⁰²⁷  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ¹⁰²⁸  18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe ¹⁰²⁹  in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen ¹⁰³⁰  asked them, “How did it go?” ¹⁰³¹  18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ¹⁰³²  for ¹⁰³³  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ¹⁰³⁴  but don’t hesitate ¹⁰³⁵  to invade and conquer ¹⁰³⁶  the land. 18:10 When you invade, ¹⁰³⁷  you will encounter ¹⁰³⁸  unsuspecting people. The land is wide! ¹⁰³⁹  God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!” ¹⁰⁴⁰ 

18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ¹⁰⁴¹  18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. ¹⁰⁴²  It is west ¹⁰⁴³  of Kiriath Jearim.) 18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish ¹⁰⁴⁴  said to their kinsmen, ¹⁰⁴⁵  “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.” 18:15 They stopped ¹⁰⁴⁶  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ¹⁰⁴⁷  and asked him how he was doing. ¹⁰⁴⁸  18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ¹⁰⁴⁹  18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ¹⁰⁵⁰  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. ¹⁰⁵¹  18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ¹⁰⁵²  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser ¹⁰⁵³  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ¹⁰⁵⁴  18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ¹⁰⁵⁵ 

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ¹⁰⁵⁶  18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ¹⁰⁵⁷  gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ¹⁰⁵⁸  turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?” 18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ¹⁰⁵⁹  18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ¹⁰⁶⁰  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ¹⁰⁶¹  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹⁰⁶²  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁰⁶³  he turned around and went home.

18:27 Now the Danites ¹⁰⁶⁴  took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. ¹⁰⁶⁵  18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ¹⁰⁶⁶  was far from Sidon ¹⁰⁶⁷  and they had no dealings with anyone. ¹⁰⁶⁸  The city ¹⁰⁶⁹  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ¹⁰⁷⁰  rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. ¹⁰⁷¹  But the city’s name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped ¹⁰⁷²  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ¹⁰⁷³  of Gershom, son of Moses, ¹⁰⁷⁴  and his descendants ¹⁰⁷⁵  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped ¹⁰⁷⁶  Micah’s carved image ¹⁰⁷⁷  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ¹⁰⁷⁸  was in Shiloh.

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite ¹⁰⁷⁹  living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine ¹⁰⁸⁰  from Bethlehem ¹⁰⁸¹  in Judah. 19:2 However, she ¹⁰⁸²  got angry at him ¹⁰⁸³  and went home ¹⁰⁸⁴  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came ¹⁰⁸⁵  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ¹⁰⁸⁶  He brought with him his servant ¹⁰⁸⁷  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ¹⁰⁸⁸  19:4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹⁰⁸⁹  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹⁰⁹⁰  then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. ¹⁰⁹¹  Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” ¹⁰⁹²  19:7 When the man got ready to leave, ¹⁰⁹³  his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. ¹⁰⁹⁴  19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy. ¹⁰⁹⁵  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ¹⁰⁹⁶  So they ate a meal together. 19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹⁰⁹⁷  with his concubine and his servant, ¹⁰⁹⁸  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ¹⁰⁹⁹  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ¹¹⁰⁰  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ¹¹⁰¹  19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ¹¹⁰²  and traveled as far as ¹¹⁰³  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ¹¹⁰⁴  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ¹¹⁰⁵ 

19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late ¹¹⁰⁶  and the servant ¹¹⁰⁷  said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at ¹¹⁰⁸  this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.” 19:12 But his master said to him, “We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. ¹¹⁰⁹  We will travel on to Gibeah.” 19:13 He said to his servant, ¹¹¹⁰  “Come on, we will go into one of the other towns ¹¹¹¹  and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 19:14 So they traveled on, ¹¹¹²  and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ¹¹¹³  19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night ¹¹¹⁴  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ¹¹¹⁵ 

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹¹¹⁶  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ¹¹¹⁷  19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ¹¹¹⁸  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?” 19:18 The Levite ¹¹¹⁹  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ¹¹²⁰  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. ¹¹²¹  But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, ¹¹²²  and the young man who is with your servants. ¹¹²³  We lack nothing.” 19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ¹¹²⁴  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.” 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. ¹¹²⁵ 

19:22 They were having a good time, ¹¹²⁶  when suddenly ¹¹²⁷  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ¹¹²⁸  surrounded the house and kept beating ¹¹²⁹  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ¹¹³⁰  19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing! 19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹¹³¹  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ¹¹³²  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ¹¹³³  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ¹¹³⁴  They raped ¹¹³⁵  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. 19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master ¹¹³⁶  was staying until it became light. ¹¹³⁷  19:27 When her master ¹¹³⁸  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 He said to her, “Get up, let’s leave!” But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home. ¹¹³⁹  19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ¹¹⁴⁰  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ¹¹⁴¹  19:30 Everyone who saw the sight ¹¹⁴²  said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since ¹¹⁴³  the Israelites left the land of Egypt! ¹¹⁴⁴  Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

Civil War Breaks Out

20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ¹¹⁴⁵  and from the land of Gilead ¹¹⁴⁶  left their homes ¹¹⁴⁷  and assembled together ¹¹⁴⁸  before the Lord at Mizpah. 20:2 The leaders ¹¹⁴⁹  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ¹¹⁵⁰  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers. 20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” 20:4 The Levite, ¹¹⁵¹  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ¹¹⁵²  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ¹¹⁵³  to spend the night. 20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. ¹¹⁵⁴  They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces ¹¹⁵⁵  throughout the territory occupied by Israel, ¹¹⁵⁶  because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity ¹¹⁵⁷  in Israel. 20:7 All you Israelites, ¹¹⁵⁸  make a decision here!” ¹¹⁵⁹ 

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ¹¹⁶⁰  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ¹¹⁶¹  Not one of us will return ¹¹⁶²  to his house! 20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. ¹¹⁶³  20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. ¹¹⁶⁴  When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.” ¹¹⁶⁵  20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. ¹¹⁶⁶ 

20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe ¹¹⁶⁷  of Benjamin, saying, “How could such a wicked thing take place? ¹¹⁶⁸  20:13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings ¹¹⁶⁹  in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” ¹¹⁷⁰  But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. 20:14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah ¹¹⁷¹  to make war against the Israelites. 20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. ¹¹⁷²  20:16 Among this army ¹¹⁷³  were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. ¹¹⁷⁴  Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. ¹¹⁷⁵  20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ¹¹⁷⁶ 

20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel ¹¹⁷⁷  and asked God, ¹¹⁷⁸  “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” ¹¹⁷⁹  The Lord said, “Judah should lead.” 20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved ¹¹⁸⁰  against Gibeah. 20:20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they ¹¹⁸¹  arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. 20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹¹⁸² 

20:22 The Israelite army ¹¹⁸³  took heart ¹¹⁸⁴  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. 20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we ¹¹⁸⁵  again march out to fight ¹¹⁸⁶  the Benjaminites, our brothers?” ¹¹⁸⁷  The Lord said, “Attack them!” ¹¹⁸⁸  20:24 So the Israelites marched toward ¹¹⁸⁹  the Benjaminites the next day. 20:25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers. ¹¹⁹⁰ 

20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, ¹¹⁹¹  went up to ¹¹⁹²  Bethel. ¹¹⁹³  They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything ¹¹⁹⁴  that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace ¹¹⁹⁵  to the Lord. 20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God’s covenant was there in those days; 20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ¹¹⁹⁶  in those days), “Should we ¹¹⁹⁷  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ¹¹⁹⁸  or should we ¹¹⁹⁹  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ¹²⁰⁰  over to you.”

20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; ¹²⁰¹  they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. 20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ¹²⁰²  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ¹²⁰³  They began to strike down their enemy ¹²⁰⁴  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ¹²⁰⁵  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ¹²⁰⁶  about thirty Israelites. 20:32 Then the Benjaminites said, “They are defeated just as before.” But the Israelites said, “Let’s retreat ¹²⁰⁷  and lure them ¹²⁰⁸  away from the city into the main roads.” 20:33 ¹²⁰⁹  All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. 20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ¹²¹⁰  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ¹²¹¹  20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ¹²¹²  20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ¹²¹³  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash ¹²¹⁴  to Gibeah. They ¹²¹⁵  attacked ¹²¹⁶  and put the sword to the entire city. 20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush ¹²¹⁷  sent up a smoke signal from the city, 20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ¹²¹⁸  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ¹²¹⁹  they struck down ¹²²⁰  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.” 20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ¹²²¹  20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ¹²²²  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ¹²²³  20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ¹²²⁴  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ¹²²⁵  20:43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, ¹²²⁶  and annihilated ¹²²⁷  them all the way to a spot east of Geba. ¹²²⁸  20:44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. 20:45 The rest ¹²²⁹  turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites ¹²³⁰  caught ¹²³¹  five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels ¹²³²  all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 20:46 That day twenty-five thousand ¹²³³  sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. ¹²³⁴  20:47 Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. 20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ¹²³⁵  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ¹²³⁶  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ¹²³⁷ 

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “did not know the wars of Canaan.”

[1:1]  ² tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, sha’al) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

[1:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Judah went up.”

[1:5]  ⁶ tn Or “found.”

[1:7]  ⁷ tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

[1:7]  ⁸ tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[1:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[1:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayya’al) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.

[1:13]  ¹⁰ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).

[1:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ¹² tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

[1:15]  ¹² tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).

[1:15]  ¹³ tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).

[1:16]  ¹³ tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”

[1:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[to] the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”

[1:16]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).

[1:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

[1:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ¹⁶ sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

[1:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”

[1:19]  ¹⁶ tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”

[1:19]  ¹⁷ tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.

[1:19]  ¹⁸ tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”

[1:21]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:21]  ¹⁹ sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).

[1:22]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.

[1:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “went up.”

[1:22]  ²¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[1:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[1:26]  ²¹ tn Heb “the man.”

[1:27]  ²² map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[1:27]  ²³ tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”

[1:27]  ²⁴ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in this land.”

[1:30]  ²³ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

[1:31]  ²⁴ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[1:31]  ²⁵ tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”

[1:33]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”

[1:33]  ²⁶ tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[1:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “come down into.”

[1:35]  ²⁷ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:35]  ²⁸ tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.

[1:35]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”

[1:36]  ²⁸ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

[1:36]  ²⁹ tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”

[2:1]  ²⁹ sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.

[2:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

[2:1]  ³¹ tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

[2:2]  ³⁰ tn Heb “their altars.”

[2:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[2:2]  ³² tn Heb “What is this you have done?”

[2:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.

[2:3]  ³² tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.

[2:3]  ³³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ³⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[2:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”

[2:4]  ³² tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”

[2:5]  ³³ sn Bokim means “weeping ones” and is derived from the Hebrew verb בָּכָא (bakha’, “to weep”).

[2:6]  ³⁴ tn Or “sent away.”

[2:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the Israelites went each to his inheritance.”

[2:7]  ³⁵ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[2:7]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

[2:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

[2:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[2:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

[2:10]  ³⁷ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

[2:10]  ³⁸ tn Heb “arose after them.”

[2:10]  ³⁹ tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

[2:11]  ³⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[2:11]  ³⁹ tn Or “serving”; or “following.”

[2:12]  ³⁹ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:13]  ⁴⁰ tn 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]  ⁴¹ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14]  ⁴² tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14]  ⁴³ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:15]  ⁴² tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:16]  ⁴³ tn 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

[2:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁴⁶ tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁴⁷ tn 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]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ⁴⁷ tn 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “drop.”

[2:20]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20]  ⁵⁰ tn 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]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁵² tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ⁵³ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:23]  ⁴⁹ tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

[2:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “quickly.”

[3:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “did not know the wars of Canaan.”

[3:2]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war – only those who formerly did not know them.”

[3:3]  ⁵² tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁵³ tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”

[3:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

[3:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “to their sons.”

[3:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “served”; or “followed” (this term occurs in the following verse as well).

[3:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[3:7]  ⁵⁶ sn The Asherahs were local manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Asherah.

[3:8]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”

[3:8]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “delivered.”

[3:9]  ⁵⁹ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).

[3:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “was on him.”

[3:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:12]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord” (also later in this verse).

[3:12]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “strengthened Eglon…against Israel.”

[3:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”

[3:14]  ⁶¹ tn Or “the Israelites served Eglon.”

[3:15]  ⁶² tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15]  ⁶³ tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.

[3:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

[3:16]  ⁶³ tn The Hebrew term גֹּמֶד (gomed) denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger – approximately 18 inches [45 cm]). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist – approximately 13 inches [33 cm]) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand – approximately 9 inches [23 cm]). See BDB 167 s.v.; HALOT 196 s.v.; B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 142.

[3:18]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the tribute payment.”

[3:19]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ⁶⁶ tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ⁶⁸ tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “Hush!”

[3:20]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

[3:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

[3:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “throne.”

[3:21]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ⁶⁹ tn The Hebrew text has “and he went out to the [?].” The meaning of the Hebrew word פַּרְשְׁדֹנָה (parshÿdonah) which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. The noun has the article prefixed and directive suffix. The word may be a technical architectural term, indicating the area into which Ehud moved as he left the king and began his escape. In this case Ehud is the subject of the verb “went out.” The present translation omits the clause, understanding it as an ancient variant of the first clause in v. 23. Some take the noun as “back,” understand “sword” (from the preceding clause) as the subject, and translate “the sword came out his [i.e., Eglon’s] back.” But this rendering is unlikely since the Hebrew word for “sword” (חֶרֶב, kherev) is feminine and the verb form translated “came out” (וַיֵּצֵא, vayyetse’) is masculine. (One expects agreement in gender when the subject is supplied from the preceding clause. See Ezek 33:4, 6.) See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 146-48, for discussion of the options.

[3:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Again the precise meaning of the Hebrew word, used only here in the OT, is uncertain. Since it is preceded by the verb “went out” and the next clause refers to Ehud closing doors, the noun is probably an architectural term referring to the room (perhaps a vestibule; see HALOT 604 s.v. מִסְדְּרוֹן) immediately outside the king’s upper chamber. As v. 24 indicates, this vestibule separated the upper room from an outer room where the king's servants were waiting.

[3:24]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ⁷² tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.

[3:25]  ⁷¹ tn The words “the doors” are supplied.

[3:25]  ⁷² tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”

[3:27]  ⁷² tn Heb “When he arrived.”

[3:27]  ⁷³ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[3:27]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “now he was before them.”

[3:28]  ⁷³ tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[3:28]  ⁷⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[3:29]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “They struck Moab that day – about ten thousand men.”

[3:31]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:31]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “was.”

[3:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “also he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[4:2]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “the Lord sold them into the hands of.”

[4:2]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite ruler.”

[4:2]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations”; cf. KJV “Harosheth of the Gentiles.”

[4:3]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ⁷⁹ tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

[4:3]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “with strength.”

[4:4]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “ a woman, a prophetess.” In Hebrew idiom the generic “woman” sometimes precedes the more specific designation. See GKC 437-38 §135.b.

[4:4]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “she was.” The pronoun refers back to the nominative absolute “Deborah.” Hebrew style sometimes employs such resumptive pronouns when lengthy qualifiers separate the subject from the verb.

[4:4]  ⁸¹ tn Or “judging.”

[4:5]  ⁸⁰ tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ⁸¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ⁸² tn Heb “for judgment.”

[4:6]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[4:7]  ⁸² tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[4:9]  ⁸³ tn Or “honor.”

[4:9]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.

[4:9]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”

[4:10]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

[4:11]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “separated.”

[4:11]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

[4:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”

[4:13]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:13]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “summoned.”

[4:14]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “Arise!”

[4:14]  ⁸⁹ tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[4:14]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”

[4:15]  ⁸⁹ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ⁹⁰ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “got down from.”

[4:16]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “fell.”

[4:16]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “was left.”

[4:17]  ⁹¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ⁹² tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[4:18]  ⁹² tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

[4:18]  ⁹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:21]  ⁹³ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”

[4:22]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”

[4:24]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”

[4:24]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “cut off.”

[4:24]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:1]  ⁹⁶ tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:2]  ⁹⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroa’ pÿra’ot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoqÿqey) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (pÿra’ot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoqÿqey) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).

[5:3]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “I, to the Lord, I, I will sing!” The first singular personal pronoun is used twice, even though a first person finite verbal form is employed.

[5:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “make music.”

[5:4]  ⁹⁹ tn Or “went out.”

[5:4]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “water.”

[5:5]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazul, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).

[5:5]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the Lord rules from Sinai.

[5:6]  ¹⁰¹ tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (’orÿkhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (’orakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.

[5:6]  ¹⁰² tn Or “ceased.”

[5:6]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰² tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (fÿrazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.

[5:7]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “ceased.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).

[5:7]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).

[5:8]  ¹⁰³ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

[5:8]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

[5:8]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

[5:8]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

[5:9]  ¹⁰⁴ tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ¹⁰⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.

[5:11]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ¹⁰⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.

[5:11]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ¹⁰⁹ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

[5:12]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)

[5:13]  ¹⁰⁸ tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).

[5:13]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.

[5:13]  ¹¹⁰ sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.

[5:13]  ¹¹¹ sn The speaker may be Deborah here.

[5:13]  ¹¹² tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.

[5:14]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).

[5:14]  ¹¹⁰ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹¹¹ tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹¹² tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[5:15]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ¹¹¹ tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ¹¹² tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ¹¹⁴ tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.

[5:16]  ¹¹¹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ¹¹² tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[5:17]  ¹¹² tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.

[5:17]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹¹⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[5:18]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”

[5:18]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”

[5:19]  ¹¹⁴ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[5:19]  ¹¹⁵ tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.

[5:20]  ¹¹⁵ tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[5:20]  ¹¹⁶ tn The MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the atnach and read the colon as indicated in the translation.

[5:20]  ¹¹⁷ tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[5:21]  ¹¹⁶ tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.

[5:21]  ¹¹⁷ tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (’oz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.

[5:22]  ¹¹⁷ tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.

[5:22]  ¹¹⁸ tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[5:23]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

[5:23]  ¹¹⁹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[5:23]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

[5:23]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “[to] curse.”

[5:23]  ¹²² tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”

[5:23]  ¹²³ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

[5:24]  ¹¹⁹ tn Or “blessed.”

[5:25]  ¹²⁰ tn Or “for mighty ones.”

[5:26]  ¹²¹ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ¹²² tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ¹²³ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ¹²⁴ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[5:27]  ¹²² tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.

[5:27]  ¹²³ tn Heb “and he lay.

[5:27]  ¹²⁴ tn Or “dead, murdered.”

[5:28]  ¹²³ tn Heb “chariots.”

[5:29]  ¹²⁴ tn Or “princesses.”

[5:30]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.

[5:30]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ¹²⁹ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”

[5:31]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”

[6:1]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[6:2]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ¹³⁰ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:3]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”

[6:3]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that וְעָלוּ (vÿ’alu) is dittographic (note the following עָלָיו, ’alayv).

[6:4]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “They encamped against them.”

[6:4]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “destroyed.”

[6:4]  ¹³² tn Heb “the crops of the land.”

[6:4]  ¹³³ tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”

[6:4]  ¹³⁴ tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:5]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ¹³² tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ¹³³ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

[6:8]  ¹³² tn Heb “the Lord”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:8]  ¹³³ tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.

[6:8]  ¹³⁴ tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” מֵאֶרֶץ (me’erets, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following מִמִּצְרַיִם [mimmitsrayim, “from Egypt”]).

[6:8]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[6:9]  ¹³³ tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).

[6:10]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “Do not fear.”

[6:10]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[6:11]  ¹³⁵ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.

[6:11]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ¹³⁸ sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[6:11]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “Midian.”

[6:13]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “But my lord.”

[6:13]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “all this.”

[6:13]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “saying.”

[6:14]  ¹³⁷ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:15]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ¹³⁹ tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.

[6:15]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[6:16]  ¹³⁹ tn Or “certainly.”

[6:16]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “perform for me.”

[6:18]  ¹⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:18]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.

[6:19]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

[6:19]  ¹⁴³ tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”

[6:20]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he did so.”

[6:21]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”

[6:21]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “went from his eyes.”

[6:22]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ¹⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:23]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.

[6:24]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “The Lord is peace.” Gideon’s name for the altar plays on the Lord’s reassuring words to him, “Peace to you.”

[6:25]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

[6:26]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[6:27]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “men from among his servants.”

[6:27]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “house.”

[6:27]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “so he did it at night.”

[6:28]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.

[6:29]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”

[6:29]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “this thing.”

[6:29]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.

[6:29]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”

[6:30]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁷ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

[6:32]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”

[6:33]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

[6:33]  ¹⁵⁷ tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:34]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “clothed.”

[6:34]  ¹⁵⁸ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[6:34]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”

[6:35]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”

[6:36]  ¹⁵⁹ tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:36]  ¹⁶⁰ tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:37]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ¹⁶¹ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:38]  ¹⁶¹ tn Heb “And it was so.”

[6:38]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece – a bowl full of water.”

[6:39]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”

[6:39]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”

[6:40]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “God did so that night.”

[7:1]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”

[7:1]  ¹⁶⁵ sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”

[7:1]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

[7:2]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[7:3]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”

[7:3]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”

[7:3]  ¹⁶⁸ tc Many interpreters reject the MT reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner).

[7:3]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because warriors are in view, and in ancient Israelite culture these would be only males. (This is also the case in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)

[7:3]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “turned around, back.”

[7:4]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “too many people.”

[7:4]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “test them for you there.”

[7:4]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “he should go with you.”

[7:4]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb also has “to you.”

[7:4]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “he should not go.”

[7:5]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:5]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”

[7:6]  ¹⁶⁹ tc The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place.

[7:6]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:7]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ¹⁷¹ tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷² tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ¹⁷³ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:9]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:9]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “Go down against.”

[7:9]  ¹⁷⁴ tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.

[7:11]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”

[7:11]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”

[7:12]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

[7:13]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

[7:13]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:13]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

[7:13]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

[7:14]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[7:14]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

[7:15]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[7:16]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:17]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Or “look.”

[7:19]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ¹⁸¹ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[7:20]  ¹⁸¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:21]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ¹⁸³ tn Or “fled.”

[7:22]  ¹⁸³ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ¹⁸⁴ tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

[7:22]  ¹⁸⁵ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:23]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”

[7:24]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “they captured the waters.”

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁶ sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁷ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:25]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).

[8:1]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “by not summoning us.”

[8:2]  ¹⁸⁸ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ¹⁸⁹ sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[8:3]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”

[8:3]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”

[8:4]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)

[8:5]  ¹⁹¹ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:5]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.

[8:5]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “who are at my feet.”

[8:6]  ¹⁹² tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:6]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).

[8:7]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[8:7]  ¹⁹⁴ sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.

[8:7]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Or “flesh.”

[8:7]  ¹⁹⁶ tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (’et, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.

[8:8]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

[8:8]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

[8:9]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.

[8:9]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “saying.”

[8:9]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”

[8:10]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”

[8:11]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”

[8:11]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term בֶטַח (vetakh, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.

[8:12]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”

[8:13]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Or “ascent.”

[8:14]  ²⁰⁰ tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”

[8:14]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”

[8:15]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:15]  ²⁰² tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”

[8:16]  ²⁰² tn Heb “elders.”

[8:16]  ²⁰³ tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”

[8:18]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[8:19]  ²⁰⁴ tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:20]  ²⁰⁵ tn Or “Arise!”

[8:20]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”

[8:21]  ²⁰⁶ tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:21]  ²⁰⁷ tn Or “Arise.”

[8:21]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”

[8:21]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “arose and killed.”

[8:22]  ²⁰⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:24]  ²⁰⁸ tn Heb “said to them.”

[8:24]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”

[8:24]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “We will indeed give.”

[8:25]  ²¹⁰ tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.

[8:26]  ²¹⁰ sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.

[8:26]  ²¹¹ tn Or “pendants.”

[8:26]  ²¹² tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”

[8:27]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “made it into.”

[8:27]  ²¹² sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

[8:27]  ²¹³ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

[8:27]  ²¹⁴ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:28]  ²¹² tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”

[8:28]  ²¹³ tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”

[8:29]  ²¹³ tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”

[8:30]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “Gideon had seventy sons who went out from his thigh, for he had many wives.” The Hebrew word יָרֵךְ (yarekh, “thigh”) is a euphemism here for the penis.

[8:31]  ²¹⁵ sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

[8:31]  ²¹⁶ sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”

[8:32]  ²¹⁶ tn Heb “good.”

[8:33]  ²¹⁷ sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.

[8:34]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “remember.”

[8:35]  ²¹⁹ tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”

[9:1]  ²²⁰ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:1]  ²²¹ tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”

[9:2]  ²²¹ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ²²² tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ²²³ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[9:3]  ²²² tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:3]  ²²³ tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[9:3]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “and all these words.”

[9:3]  ²²⁵ tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

[9:3]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “our brother.”

[9:4]  ²²³ tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

[9:4]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

[9:5]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ²²⁵ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:6]  ²²⁵ tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).

[9:7]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[9:7]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

[9:8]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”

[9:8]  ²²⁸ tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

[9:8]  ²²⁹ tn Or “Rule over us!”

[9:9]  ²²⁸ tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:10]  ²²⁹ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:11]  ²³⁰ tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:12]  ²³¹ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:13]  ²³² tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

[9:14]  ²³³ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:15]  ²³⁴ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

[9:15]  ²³⁵ tn Heb “in my shade.”

[9:15]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “If not.”

[9:16]  ²³⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[9:16]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

[9:17]  ²³⁶ tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.

[9:17]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[9:18]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ²³⁹ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:19]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[9:19]  ²³⁹ tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

[9:21]  ²³⁹ tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”

[9:21]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “from before.”

[9:21]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “his brother.”

[9:22]  ²⁴⁰ tn The Hebrew verb translated “commanded” (שָׂרַר, sarar), which appears only here in Judges, differs from the ones employed earlier in this chapter (מָשַׁל [mashal] and מָלַךְ [malakh]).

[9:23]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

[9:23]  ²⁴² tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:24]  ²⁴² tn Heb “their brother.”

[9:24]  ²⁴³ tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”

[9:25]  ²⁴³ tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

[9:25]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “on the tops of.”

[9:25]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

[9:26]  ²⁴⁴ sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.

[9:26]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).

[9:27]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ²⁴⁶ tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.

[9:27]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[9:28]  ²⁴⁶ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:29]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ²⁴⁹ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ²⁵⁰ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ²⁵¹ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[9:30]  ²⁴⁸ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[9:31]  ²⁴⁹ tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.

[9:31]  ²⁵⁰ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ²⁵¹ tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.

[9:31]  ²⁵² tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).

[9:32]  ²⁵⁰ tn Heb “arise.”

[9:32]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”

[9:32]  ²⁵² tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:33]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”

[9:34]  ²⁵² tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”

[9:34]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:36]  ²⁵³ tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[9:37]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

[9:37]  ²⁵⁵ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ²⁵⁶ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[9:38]  ²⁵⁵ tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”

[9:38]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “the people.”

[9:38]  ²⁵⁷ tn Or “despised.”

[9:39]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”

[9:40]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:40]  ²⁵⁸ tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.

[9:41]  ²⁵⁸ tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.

[9:41]  ²⁵⁹ tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

[9:42]  ²⁵⁹ tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:42]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”

[9:43]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:43]  ²⁶¹ tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

[9:43]  ²⁶² tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

[9:44]  ²⁶¹ tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

[9:44]  ²⁶² tn Heb “stood [at].”

[9:45]  ²⁶² tn Or “destroyed.”

[9:45]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”

[9:46]  ²⁶³ sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

[9:46]  ²⁶⁴ tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

[9:46]  ²⁶⁵ sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

[9:47]  ²⁶⁴ tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”

[9:47]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “were assembled.”

[9:48]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ²⁶⁶ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ²⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ²⁶⁹ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[9:49]  ²⁶⁶ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ²⁶⁸ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

[9:50]  ²⁶⁷ tn Or “went.”

[9:50]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”

[9:51]  ²⁶⁸ tn Or “strong.”

[9:51]  ²⁶⁹ tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

[9:53]  ²⁶⁹ sn A hand mill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg). See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 268; C. F. Burney, Judges, 288.

[9:53]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.

[9:54]  ²⁷⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:54]  ²⁷¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:55]  ²⁷¹ tn Heb “each to his own place.”

[9:56]  ²⁷² tn Heb “seventy brothers.”

[9:57]  ²⁷³ tn Heb “came.”

[10:1]  ²⁷⁴ tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[10:1]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ²⁷⁶ tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”

[10:2]  ²⁷⁵ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[10:4]  ²⁷⁶ sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.

[10:4]  ²⁷⁷ tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day – which are in the land of Gilead.”

[10:6]  ²⁷⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[10:6]  ²⁷⁸ tn Or “served;” or “followed.”

[10:6]  ²⁷⁹ sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Ashtar (i.e., Astarte).

[10:6]  ²⁸⁰ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:6]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”

[10:6]  ²⁸² tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”

[10:7]  ²⁷⁸ tn Or “the Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[10:7]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[10:8]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.

[10:8]  ²⁸⁰ tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.

[10:9]  ²⁸⁰ tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”

[10:9]  ²⁸¹ tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”

[10:10]  ²⁸¹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:12]  ²⁸² tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”

[10:12]  ²⁸³ tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord’s frustration.

[10:12]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

[10:13]  ²⁸³ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:14]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”

[10:15]  ²⁸⁵ tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

[10:15]  ²⁸⁶ sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”

[10:16]  ²⁸⁶ tn Heb “from their midst.”

[10:16]  ²⁸⁷ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:16]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).

[10:17]  ²⁸⁷ tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”

[10:18]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ²⁸⁹ tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[11:1]  ²⁸⁹ tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”

[11:2]  ²⁹⁰ tn Heb “bore.”

[11:2]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “in the house of our father.”

[11:3]  ²⁹¹ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ²⁹² tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[11:5]  ²⁹² tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”

[11:5]  ²⁹³ tn Or “elders.”

[11:5]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”

[11:6]  ²⁹³ tn Heb “to Jephthah.”

[11:7]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”

[11:8]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ²⁹⁶ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ²⁹⁷ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ²⁹⁶ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ²⁹⁸ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[11:10]  ²⁹⁷ tn Heb “The Lord will be the one who hears between us.” For the idiom שָׁמַע בַּיִן (shama’ bayin, “to hear between”), see Deut 1:16.

[11:10]  ²⁹⁸ sn The Lord will judge…if we do not do as you say. The statement by the leaders of Gilead takes the form of a legally binding oath, which obligates them to the terms of the agreement.

[11:11]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord.

[11:12]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”

[11:13]  ³⁰⁰ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ³⁰² tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ³⁰³ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:15]  ³⁰¹ tn Or “take”; or “seize.”

[11:16]  ³⁰² tn Heb “For when they went up from.”

[11:16]  ³⁰³ tn Or “went.”

[11:17]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)

[11:17]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “did not listen.”

[11:17]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”

[11:18]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:18]  ³⁰⁵ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “to my place.”

[11:20]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.

[11:20]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).

[11:21]  ³⁰⁷ tn That is, took as its own possession.

[11:22]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:23]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “Now.”

[11:23]  ³¹⁰ tn Or “dispossessed.”

[11:23]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.

[11:24]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.

[11:25]  ³¹¹ tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation.

[11:27]  ³¹² tn Or “sinned against you.”

[11:27]  ³¹³ tn Or “evil.”

[11:28]  ³¹³ tn Heb “did not listen to.”

[11:28]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”

[11:29]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[11:31]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.

[11:31]  ³¹⁶ tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.

[11:31]  ³¹⁷ tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the Lord’s service, but if an animal comes through the doors, he will offer it up as a sacrifice. However, it is far more likely that the Hebrew construction (vav [ו] + perfect) specifies how the subject will become the Lord’s, that is, by being offered up as a sacrifice. For similar constructions, where the apodosis of a conditional sentence has at least two perfects (each with vav) in sequence, see Gen 34:15-16; Exod 18:16.

[11:32]  ³¹⁶ tn Heb “passed over to.”

[11:33]  ³¹⁷ tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”

[11:33]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”

[11:34]  ³¹⁸ tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[11:35]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[11:35]  ³²⁰ tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ³²¹ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[11:36]  ³²⁰ tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ³²¹ tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

[11:36]  ³²² tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

[11:37]  ³²¹ tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

[11:37]  ³²² tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”

[11:38]  ³²² tn Heb “he sent her.”

[11:38]  ³²³ tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.

[11:39]  ³²³ tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

[11:39]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[11:40]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”

[11:40]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “go to commemorate.” The rare Hebrew verb תָּנָה (tanah, “to tell; to repeat; to recount”) occurs only here and in 5:11.

[11:40]  ³²⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in the year.” This is redundant (note “every year” at the beginning of the verse) and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:1]  ³²⁵ tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”

[12:1]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “cross over to fight.”

[12:1]  ³²⁷ tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”

[12:1]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”

[12:2]  ³²⁶ tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

[12:2]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[12:3]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ³²⁹ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ³³⁰ tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:4]  ³²⁸ tn Heb “because they said.”

[12:4]  ³²⁹ tc Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru pÿlitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’mÿru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”

[12:5]  ³²⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:5]  ³³⁰ tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.

[12:5]  ³³¹ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.

[12:5]  ³³² tn Heb “say to.”

[12:6]  ³³⁰ sn The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.

[12:6]  ³³¹ tn Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין (yakhin) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל (yakhol, “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין (yavin, “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew mss.

[12:7]  ³³¹ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:7]  ³³² tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:7]  ³³³ tc The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.

[12:8]  ³³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ³³³ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:9]  ³³³ 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]  ³³⁴ tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

[12:9]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

[12:9]  ³³⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:10]  ³³⁴ 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.

[12:11]  ³³⁵ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:11]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”

[12:13]  ³³⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[13:1]  ³³⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[13:2]  ³³⁸ tn Heb “and had not given birth.”

[13:3]  ³³⁹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ³⁴¹ tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[13:4]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:5]  ³⁴¹ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

[13:5]  ³⁴² tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ³⁴³ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[13:5]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

[13:6]  ³⁴² tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[13:7]  ³⁴³ tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.

[13:7]  ³⁴⁴ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:7]  ³⁴⁵ tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”

[13:8]  ³⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:8]  ³⁴⁵ tn Heb “the man of God.”

[13:8]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “come to.”

[13:8]  ³⁴⁷ tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).

[13:8]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “what we should do for.”

[13:9]  ³⁴⁵ tn Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”

[13:9]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:10]  ³⁴⁶ tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “Look.”

[13:10]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “the woman.”

[13:11]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “I [am].”

[13:12]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “Now, [when] your word comes [to pass].”

[13:12]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “what will be the child’s rule [i.e., way of life] and his work?”

[13:13]  ³⁴⁹ tn Or “said to.”

[13:13]  ³⁵⁰ 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.

[13:14]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “eat.”

[13:14]  ³⁵¹ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:15]  ³⁵¹ tn Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”

[13:15]  ³⁵² tn Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”

[13:16]  ³⁵² tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ³⁵³ tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim), not the Lord (יְהוַה, yÿhvah). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (אֲדוֹנָי, ’adonay) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).

[13:17]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “Who your name? For [when] your word comes [to pass], we will honor you.” Manoah apparently gets tongue-tied and uses the wrong pronoun (“who” instead of “what”). He starts to say, “Who are you?” But then he switches to “your name” as if he began the sentence with “what.” See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 222.

[13:18]  ³⁵⁴ tn Heb “Why do you ask for my name, for it is incomprehensible?” The Hebrew adjective פִּלְאִי (pile’iy, “wonderful, incomprehensible”) refers to what is in a category of its own and is beyond full human understanding. Note the use of this word in Ps 139:6, where God’s knowledge is described as incomprehensible and unattainable.

[13:19]  ³⁵⁵ tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the Lord’s messenger” was lost by homoioteleuton. If the text originally read לַיהוָה מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (layhavah mal’akh yÿhvah), the scribe’s eye could have jumped from the first יְהוָה to the second, accidentally omitting two of the three words. Later the conjunction וּ (shureq) would have been added to the following מַפְלִא (mafli’) for syntactical reasons. Another possibility is that a pronominal subject (הוּא, hu’) has been lost in the MT due to haplography.

[13:20]  ³⁵⁶ tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”

[13:20]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “on their faces.”

[13:21]  ³⁵⁷ tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the Lord’s messenger.”

[13:22]  ³⁵⁸ tn Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the Lord’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one followed in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. The term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the Lord (see BDB 43 s.v. 2.a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.

[13:23]  ³⁵⁹ tn Heb “our hand.”

[13:24]  ³⁶⁰ tn Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”

[13:24]  ³⁶¹ tn The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”

[13:24]  ³⁶² tn Traditionally, “blessed.”

[13:25]  ³⁶¹ tn Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”

[14:1]  ³⁶² tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:2]  ³⁶³ tn Heb “and he went up.”

[14:2]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:3]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.

[14:3]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”

[14:3]  ³⁶⁶ tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 357.

[14:3]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”

[14:4]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ³⁶⁶ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[14:5]  ³⁶⁶ tc The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.

[14:5]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[14:6]  ³⁶⁷ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:7]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “He went down.”

[14:7]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”

[14:8]  ³⁶⁹ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[14:9]  ³⁷⁰ tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.

[14:9]  ³⁷¹ sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

[14:10]  ³⁷¹ tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”

[14:10]  ³⁷² tn Or “[wedding] feast.”

[14:10]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “the young men.”

[14:11]  ³⁷² tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kir’otam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (bÿyir’atam, “because they feared”).

[14:12]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

[14:12]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “changes.”

[14:13]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”

[14:13]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”

[14:15]  ³⁷⁵ tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.

[14:15]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ³⁷⁸ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:15]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ³⁸⁰ tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (halo’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.

[14:15]  ³⁸¹ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[14:16]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[14:17]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:17]  ³⁷⁸ tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.

[14:17]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “because she forced him.”

[14:17]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”

[14:18]  ³⁷⁸ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[14:19]  ³⁷⁹ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[14:20]  ³⁸⁰ tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”

[15:1]  ³⁸¹ sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

[15:1]  ³⁸² tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

[15:1]  ³⁸³ tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

[15:1]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).

[15:2]  ³⁸² tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ³⁸³ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

[15:3]  ³⁸³ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”

[15:3]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”

[15:4]  ³⁸⁴ tn Traditionally, “foxes.”

[15:4]  ³⁸⁵ tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”

[15:5]  ³⁸⁵ tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”

[15:6]  ³⁸⁶ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ³⁸⁷ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ³⁸⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ³⁹⁰ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.

[15:7]  ³⁸⁷ tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.

[15:7]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”

[15:8]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.

[15:9]  ³⁸⁹ tn Or “camped in.”

[15:9]  ³⁹⁰ tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.

[15:10]  ³⁹⁰ tn Or “come up against.”

[15:10]  ³⁹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:12]  ³⁹¹ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ³⁹² tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[15:13]  ³⁹² tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.

[15:14]  ³⁹³ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[15:15]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “he found.”

[15:15]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.

[15:15]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”

[15:15]  ³⁹⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:16]  ³⁹⁵ tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).

[15:17]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “from his hand.”

[15:17]  ³⁹⁷ sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”

[15:18]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”

[15:18]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.

[15:19]  ³⁹⁸ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ³⁹⁹ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁴⁰¹ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[15:20]  ³⁹⁹ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”

[16:1]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.

[16:2]  ⁴⁰¹ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.

[16:2]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “were silent.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[16:2]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[16:3]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”

[16:3]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “with the bar.”

[16:3]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”

[16:5]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”

[16:6]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Or “moist.”

[16:7]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.

[16:9]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).

[16:9]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[16:10]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:29 [8:25 HT]; Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל, talal), which also occurs in v. 13.

[16:11]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”

[16:12]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:13]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

[16:13]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

[16:14]  ⁴¹¹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:14]  ⁴¹² tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.

[16:14]  ⁴¹³ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:15]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[16:16]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

[16:16]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

[16:17]  ⁴¹⁴ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:18]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ⁴¹⁷ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:19]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

[16:19]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.

[16:20]  ⁴¹⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ⁴¹⁸ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”

[16:22]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Heb “the hair of his head.”

[16:24]  ⁴¹⁹ tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.

[16:24]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[16:25]  ⁴²⁰ tn Heb “When their heart was good.”

[16:25]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “before them.”

[16:26]  ⁴²¹ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”

[16:27]  ⁴²² tn Heb “house.”

[16:28]  ⁴²³ tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[16:29]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”

[16:30]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[16:31]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”

[16:31]  ⁴²⁷ tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”

[16:31]  ⁴²⁸ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[17:2]  ⁴²⁷ tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:2]  ⁴²⁸ tn Heb “taken.”

[17:2]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “took.”

[17:2]  ⁴³⁰ tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.

[17:2]  ⁴³¹ tn Traditionally, “bless.”

[17:3]  ⁴²⁸ tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.

[17:3]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “to the LORD from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the end of v. 4, וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.

[17:4]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.

[17:4]  ⁴³⁰ tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:4]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”

[17:5]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “house of God.”

[17:5]  ⁴³¹ sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).

[17:5]  ⁴³² tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”

[17:6]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “Each was doing what was right in his [own] eyes.”

[17:7]  ⁴³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[17:7]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”

[17:8]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[17:9]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[17:10]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

[17:10]  ⁴³⁶ tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.

[17:11]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”

[17:12]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “filled the hand of.”

[17:13]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “do good for me.”

[18:1]  ⁴³⁹ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁴⁰ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

[18:3]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).

[18:3]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

[18:4]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.

[18:5]  ⁴⁴³ tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

[18:6]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:6]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”

[18:7]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ⁴⁴⁹ tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.

[18:8]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “They came to their brothers.”

[18:8]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:8]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “What you?”

[18:9]  ⁴⁴⁷ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁴⁸ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁴⁸ tn Heb “When you enter.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “you will come to.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Heb “broad of hands,” an idiom meaning “wide on both sides.”

[18:10]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

[18:11]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men, equipped with weapons of war.”

[18:12]  ⁴⁵⁰ tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”

[18:12]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “behind.”

[18:14]  ⁴⁵¹ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”

[18:14]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:15]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[18:16]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

[18:17]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

[18:17]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

[18:18]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[18:19]  ⁴⁵⁶ tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

[18:19]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

[18:20]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

[18:21]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

[18:22]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[18:23]  ⁴⁶⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:24]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

[18:25]  ⁴⁶² tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

[18:25]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

[18:26]  ⁴⁶³ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[18:27]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

[18:28]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁴⁶⁶ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[18:28]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

[18:28]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:29]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”

[18:30]  ⁴⁶⁷ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  ⁴⁶⁹ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

[18:30]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “sons.”

[18:31]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

[18:31]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

[18:31]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “the house of God.”

[19:1]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”

[19:1]  ⁴⁷⁰ sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.

[19:1]  ⁴⁷¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:2]  ⁴⁷⁰ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁷³ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:5]  ⁴⁷² tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

[19:6]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”

[19:6]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”

[19:7]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”

[19:7]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”

[19:8]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

[19:8]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:10]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[19:10]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “to the front of.”

[19:10]  ⁴⁷⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:10]  ⁴⁸⁰ tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”

[19:11]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”

[19:11]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:11]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).

[19:12]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “who are not from the sons of Israel.”

[19:13]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn Or “young man.”

[19:13]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “we will enter one of the places.”

[19:14]  ⁴⁸¹ tn Heb “and they passed by and went.”

[19:14]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”

[19:16]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

[19:16]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”

[19:18]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ⁴⁸⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ⁴⁸⁷ 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.”

[19:19]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.

[19:19]  ⁴⁸⁷ tc Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.

[19:20]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “Peace to you.”

[19:21]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Heb “ate and drank.”

[19:22]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”

[19:22]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “and look.”

[19:22]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.

[19:22]  ⁴⁹² tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.

[19:22]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).

[19:24]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[19:25]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:25]  ⁴⁹² tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”

[19:25]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.

[19:26]  ⁴⁹² tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:26]  ⁴⁹³ tn Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”

[19:27]  ⁴⁹³ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:28]  ⁴⁹⁴ tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”

[19:29]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

[19:29]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”

[19:30]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[19:30]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “from the day.”

[19:30]  ⁴⁹⁸ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”

[20:1]  ⁴⁹⁷ sn Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.

[20:1]  ⁴⁹⁸ sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

[20:1]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “went out.”

[20:1]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”

[20:2]  ⁴⁹⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn The words “which numbered” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:4]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”

[20:4]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “came to.”

[20:4]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[20:5]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”

[20:6]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”

[20:6]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”

[20:6]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”

[20:7]  ⁵⁰² tn Heb “Look, all of you sons of Israel.”

[20:7]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “give for yourselves a word and advice here.”

[20:8]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Or “turn aside.”

[20:9]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Heb “against her by lot.” The verb “we will go up” (נַעֲלֶה, na’aleh) has probably been accidentally omitted before “against her” (עָלֶיהָ, ’aleha).

[20:10]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Or “people.”

[20:10]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful [thing] which he [collective = “Benjamin”] did in Israel.” Here “Geba” must be an error for “Gibeah.”

[20:11]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “gathered at the city as one man, united.”

[20:12]  ⁵⁰⁷ tc The MT reads the plural, but surely the singular (which is supported by the LXX and Vulgate) is preferable here.

[20:12]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “What is this wicked thing which happened among you?”

[20:13]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Heb “the men, sons of wickedness.”

[20:13]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “and burn away wickedness from Israel.”

[20:14]  ⁵⁰⁹ tn Heb “assembled from the cities at Gibeah.”

[20:15]  ⁵¹⁰ tn Heb “besides from the ones living in Gibeah they mustered seven hundred choice men.”

[20:16]  ⁵¹¹ tn Heb “And from all this people.”

[20:16]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “seven hundred choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15.

[20:16]  ⁵¹³ tn “at a single hair and not miss.”

[20:17]  ⁵¹² tn Heb “a man of war.”

[20:18]  ⁵¹³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:18]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”

[20:18]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”

[20:19]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “encamped.”

[20:20]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “the men of Israel.” The noun phrase has been replaced by the pronoun (“they”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:21]  ⁵¹⁶ tn Heb “The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and they struck down in Israel that day twenty-two thousand men to the ground.”

[20:22]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[20:23]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “approach for battle.”

[20:23]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).

[20:24]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Heb “drew near to.”

[20:25]  ⁵²⁰ tn Heb “And Benjamin went out to meet them from Gibeah the second day, and they struck down among the sons of Israel eighteen thousand men to the ground, all of these were wielding the sword.”

[20:26]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “and all the people.”

[20:26]  ⁵²² tn Heb “went up and came [to].”

[20:26]  ⁵²³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:26]  ⁵²⁴ tn Traditionally, “fasted.”

[20:26]  ⁵²⁵ tn Or “peace offerings.”

[20:28]  ⁵²² tn Heb “standing before him.”

[20:28]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “him” (collective singular).

[20:30]  ⁵²³ tn Heb “the third day.”

[20:31]  ⁵²⁴ tn Heb “went out to meet.”

[20:31]  ⁵²⁵ tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

[20:31]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

[20:31]  ⁵²⁷ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:31]  ⁵²⁸ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:32]  ⁵²⁵ tn Or “run away.”

[20:32]  ⁵²⁶ tn Heb “him” (collective singular).

[20:33]  ⁵²⁶ sn Verses 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.

[20:34]  ⁵²⁷ tn Heb “heavy”; or “severe.”

[20:34]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”

[20:35]  ⁵²⁸ tn Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”

[20:36]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “gave place to.”

[20:37]  ⁵³⁰ tn Heb “hurried and put off [their hiding place].”

[20:37]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “the men hiding in ambush.”

[20:37]  ⁵³² tn Or “deployed.” The verb normally means “to lead” or “to draw.”

[20:38]  ⁵³¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men hiding in ambush) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:39]  ⁵³² tn Heb “turned in the battle.”

[20:39]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”

[20:39]  ⁵³⁴ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:40]  ⁵³³ tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”

[20:41]  ⁵³⁴ tn Or “were terrified.”

[20:41]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “disaster touched against them.”

[20:42]  ⁵³⁵ tn Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”

[20:42]  ⁵³⁶ tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”

[20:43]  ⁵³⁶ tc The translation assumes the reading מִנּוֹחָה (minnokhah, “from Nohah”; cf. 1 Chr 8:2) rather than the MT’s מְנוּחָה (mÿnukhah, “resting place”).

[20:43]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “tread down, walk on.”

[20:43]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “unto the opposite of Gibeah toward the east.” Gibeah cannot be correct here, since the Benjaminites retreated from there toward the desert and Rimmon (see v. 45). A slight emendation yields the reading “Geba.”

[20:45]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the rest [of the Benjaminites]) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:45]  ⁵³⁸ tn Heb “and they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:45]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “gleaned.” The word is an agricultural term which pictures Israelites picking off the Benjaminites as easily as one picks grapes from the vine.

[20:45]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “stuck close after them.”

[20:46]  ⁵³⁸ sn The number given here (twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites) is an approximate figure; v. 35 gives the more exact number (25,100). According to v. 15, the Benjaminite army numbered 26,700 (26,000 + 700). The figures in vv. 35 (rounded in vv. 44-46) and 47 add up to 25,700. What happened to the other 1,000 men? The most reasonable explanation is that they were killed during the first two days of fighting. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 429) and C. F. Burney (Judges, 475) reject this proposal, arguing that the narrator is too precise and concerned about details to omit such a fact. However, the account of the first two days’ fighting emphasizes Israel’s humiliating defeat. To speak of Benjaminite casualties would diminish the literary effect. In vv. 35, 44-47 the narrator’s emphasis is the devastating defeat that Benjamin experienced on this final day of battle. To mention the earlier days’ casualties at this point is irrelevant to his literary purpose. He allows readers who happen to be concerned with such details to draw conclusions for themselves.

[20:46]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “So all the ones who fell from Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men, wielding the sword, in that day, all of these men of strength.

[20:48]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”

[20:48]  ⁵⁴⁰ tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (me’ir mÿtim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (me’ir mÿtom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).

[20:48]  ⁵⁴¹ tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”