Judges 3:7--16:31

Othniel: A Model Leader

3:7 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. ¹  They forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. ²  3:8 The Lord was furious with Israel ³  and turned them over to ⁴  King Cushan-Rishathaim ⁵  of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects ⁶  for eight years. 3:9 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ⁷  raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued ⁸  them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ⁹  3:10 The Lord’s spirit empowered him ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  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. ¹²  The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel ¹³  because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight. 3:13 Eglon formed alliances with ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹⁶  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ¹⁷  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ¹⁸  3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹⁹  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. ²⁰  3:19 But he went back ²¹  once he reached ²²  the carved images ²³  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ²⁴  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ²⁵  said, “Be quiet!” ²⁶  All his attendants left. 3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ²⁷  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ²⁸  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ²⁹  3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s ³⁰  belly. 3:22 The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud ³¹  did not pull the sword out of his belly. ³²  3:23 As Ehud went out into the vestibule, ³³  he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ³⁴  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ³⁵  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ³⁶  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. ³⁷  Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor! ³⁸  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, ³⁹  he blew a trumpet ⁴⁰  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead. ⁴¹  3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ⁴²  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁴³  opposite Moab, ⁴⁴  and did not let anyone cross. 3:29 That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites ⁴⁵  – 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 ⁴⁶  came ⁴⁷  Shamgar son of Anath; he killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad and, like Ehud, ⁴⁸  delivered Israel.

Deborah Summons Barak

4:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight ⁴⁹  after Ehud’s death. 4:2 The Lord turned them over to ⁵⁰  King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. ⁵¹  The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. ⁵²  4:3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera ⁵³  had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, ⁵⁴  and he cruelly ⁵⁵  oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, ⁵⁶  wife of Lappidoth, was ⁵⁷  leading ⁵⁸  Israel at that time. 4:5 She would sit ⁵⁹  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ⁶⁰  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ⁶¹ 

4:6 She summoned ⁶²  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. ⁶³  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 ⁶⁴  on the expedition you are undertaking, ⁶⁵  for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” ⁶⁶  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; ⁶⁷  Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away ⁶⁸  from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived ⁶⁹  near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

4:12 When Sisera heard ⁷⁰  that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he ⁷¹  ordered ⁷²  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, ⁷³  for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! ⁷⁴  Has the Lord not taken the lead?” ⁷⁵  Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed ⁷⁶  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ⁷⁷  Sisera jumped out of ⁷⁸  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 ⁷⁹  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ⁸⁰ 

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ⁸¹  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ⁸²  4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, ⁸³  my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera ⁸⁴  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. ⁸⁵  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ⁸⁶  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ⁸⁷  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, ⁸⁸  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ⁸⁹  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 ⁹⁰  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ⁹¹  him. ⁹² 

Celebrating the Victory in Song

5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: ⁹³ 

5:2 “When the leaders took the lead ⁹⁴  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! ⁹⁵ 

I will sing ⁹⁶  to the Lord God of Israel!

5:4 O Lord, when you departed ⁹⁷  from Seir,

when you marched from Edom’s plains,

the earth shook, the heavens poured down,

the clouds poured down rain. ⁹⁸ 

5:5 The mountains trembled ⁹⁹  before the Lord, the God of Sinai; ¹⁰⁰ 

before the Lord God of Israel.

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

in the days of Jael caravans ¹⁰¹  disappeared; ¹⁰² 

travelers ¹⁰³  had to go on winding side roads.

5:7 Warriors ¹⁰⁴  were scarce, ¹⁰⁵ 

they were scarce in Israel,

until you ¹⁰⁶  arose, Deborah,

until you arose as a motherly protector ¹⁰⁷  in Israel.

5:8 God chose new leaders, ¹⁰⁸ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ¹⁰⁹ 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ¹¹⁰ 

among forty military units ¹¹¹  in Israel.

5:9 My heart went out ¹¹²  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, ¹¹³ 

you who walk on the road, pay attention!

5:11 Hear ¹¹⁴  the sound of those who divide the sheep ¹¹⁵  among the watering places;

there they tell of ¹¹⁶  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ¹¹⁷  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, ¹¹⁸  son of Abinoam!

5:13 Then the survivors ¹¹⁹  came down ¹²⁰  to the mighty ones; ¹²¹ 

the Lord’s people came down to me ¹²²  as ¹²³  warriors.

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ¹²⁴ 

they follow ¹²⁵  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ¹²⁶  the ones who march carrying ¹²⁷  an officer’s staff.

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ¹²⁸  supported ¹²⁹  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ¹³⁰ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ¹³¹  heart searching. ¹³² 

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ¹³³ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ¹³⁴  for their flocks? ¹³⁵ 

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

5:17 Gilead stayed put ¹³⁶  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ¹³⁷ 

Asher remained ¹³⁸  on the seacoast,

he stayed ¹³⁹  by his harbors. ¹⁴⁰ 

5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; ¹⁴¹ 

Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. ¹⁴² 

5:19 Kings came, they fought;

the kings of Canaan fought,

at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, ¹⁴³ 

but ¹⁴⁴  they took no silver as plunder.

5:20 From the sky ¹⁴⁵  the stars ¹⁴⁶  fought,

from their paths in the heavens ¹⁴⁷  they fought against Sisera.

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them ¹⁴⁸  – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong! ¹⁴⁹ 

5:22 The horses’ ¹⁵⁰  hooves pounded the ground; ¹⁵¹ 

the stallions galloped madly. ¹⁵² 

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ¹⁵³  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ¹⁵⁴  messenger;

‘Be sure ¹⁵⁵  to call judgment down on ¹⁵⁶  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ¹⁵⁷ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ¹⁵⁸ 

5:24 The most rewarded ¹⁵⁹  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, ¹⁶⁰ 

she served him curds.

5:26 Her left ¹⁶¹  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ¹⁶²  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ¹⁶³ 

she smashed his head, ¹⁶⁴ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ¹⁶⁵ 

5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,

he fell limp ¹⁶⁶  and was lifeless; ¹⁶⁷ 

between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,

in the spot where he collapsed,

there he fell limp – violently murdered! ¹⁶⁸ 

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 ¹⁶⁹  delayed?’

5:29 The wisest of her ladies ¹⁷⁰  answer;

indeed she even thinks to herself,

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ¹⁷¹  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ¹⁷² 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ¹⁷³ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ¹⁷⁴ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ¹⁷⁵ 

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!” ¹⁷⁶ 

And the land had rest for forty years.

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹⁷⁷  so the Lord turned them over to ¹⁷⁸  Midian for seven years. 6:2 The Midianites ¹⁷⁹  overwhelmed Israel. ¹⁸⁰  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ¹⁸¹  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ¹⁸²  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ¹⁸³  6:4 They invaded the land ¹⁸⁴  and devoured ¹⁸⁵  its crops ¹⁸⁶  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ¹⁸⁷  and they took away ¹⁸⁸  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 6:5 When they invaded ¹⁸⁹  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ¹⁹⁰  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ¹⁹¹  They came to devour ¹⁹²  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 ¹⁹³  sent a prophet ¹⁹⁴  to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt ¹⁹⁵  and took you out of that place of slavery. ¹⁹⁶  6:9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power ¹⁹⁷  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 ¹⁹⁸  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ¹⁹⁹ 

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ²⁰⁰  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ²⁰¹  was threshing ²⁰²  wheat in a winepress ²⁰³  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ²⁰⁴  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, ²⁰⁵  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ²⁰⁶  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ²⁰⁷  ‘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 ²⁰⁸  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ²⁰⁹  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ²¹⁰  Have I not sent you?” 6:15 Gideon ²¹¹  said to him, “But Lord, ²¹²  how ²¹³  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ²¹⁴  6:16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but ²¹⁵  I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” ²¹⁶  6:17 Gideon ²¹⁷  said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, ²¹⁸  then give me ²¹⁹  a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back ²²⁰  with a gift ²²¹  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, ²²²  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 ²²³  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, ²²⁴  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ²²⁵  6:21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. ²²⁶  Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared. ²²⁷ 

6:22 When Gideon realized ²²⁸  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²²⁹  said, “Oh no! ²³⁰  Master, Lord! ²³¹  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 6:23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! ²³²  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.” ²³³  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. ²³⁴  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. ²³⁵  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 ²³⁶  and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family ²³⁷  and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. ²³⁸ 

6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw ²³⁹  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, ²⁴⁰  “Who did this?” ²⁴¹  They investigated the matter thoroughly ²⁴²  and concluded ²⁴³  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! ²⁴⁴  He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.” 6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ²⁴⁵  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ²⁴⁶  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ²⁴⁷  will die by morning! ²⁴⁸  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ²⁴⁹  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ²⁵⁰  6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, ²⁵¹  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 ²⁵²  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ²⁵³  and camped in the Jezreel Valley. 6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of ²⁵⁴  Gideon. He blew a trumpet, ²⁵⁵  summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ²⁵⁶  6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. ²⁵⁷  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, ²⁵⁸  as you promised, then give me a sign as proof. ²⁵⁹  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 ²⁶⁰  is dry, then I will be sure ²⁶¹  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ²⁶²  as you promised.” 6:38 The Lord did as he asked. ²⁶³  When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. ²⁶⁴  6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. ²⁶⁵  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.” ²⁶⁶  6:40 That night God did as he asked. ²⁶⁷  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 ²⁶⁸  got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. ²⁶⁹  The Midianites ²⁷⁰  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. ²⁷¹  Israel might brag, ²⁷²  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ²⁷³  7:3 Now, announce to the men, ²⁷⁴  ‘Whoever is shaking with fear ²⁷⁵  may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” ²⁷⁶  Twenty-two thousand men ²⁷⁷  went home; ²⁷⁸  ten thousand remained. 7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. ²⁷⁹  Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. ²⁸⁰  When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; ²⁸¹  when I say, ²⁸²  ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” ²⁸³  7:5 So he brought the men ²⁸⁴  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.” ²⁸⁵  7:6 Three hundred men lapped; ²⁸⁶  the rest of the men ²⁸⁷  kneeled to drink water. 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ²⁸⁸  and I will hand Midian over to you. ²⁸⁹  The rest of the men should go home.” ²⁹⁰  7:8 The men ²⁹¹  who were chosen ²⁹²  took supplies ²⁹³  and their trumpets. Gideon ²⁹⁴  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ²⁹⁵  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ²⁹⁶  were camped down below ²⁹⁷  in the valley.

Gideon Reassured of Victory

7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, ²⁹⁸  “Get up! Attack ²⁹⁹  the camp, for I am handing it over to you. ³⁰⁰  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 ³⁰¹  and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. ³⁰²  7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. ³⁰³  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. ³⁰⁴  The man ³⁰⁵  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ³⁰⁶  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.” ³⁰⁷  7:14 The other man said, ³⁰⁸  “Without a doubt this symbolizes ³⁰⁹  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. ³¹⁰  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. ³¹¹  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ³¹²  7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! ³¹³  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 ³¹⁴  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. ³¹⁵  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. ³¹⁶  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order ³¹⁷  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ³¹⁸  7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ³¹⁹  throughout ³²⁰  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ³²¹  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ³²² 

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. ³²³  Take control of the fords of the streams ³²⁴  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” ³²⁵  When all the Ephraimites had assembled, ³²⁶  they took control of the fords ³²⁷  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ³²⁸  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ³²⁹  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ³³⁰  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ³³¹ 

8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ³³²  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 ³³³  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ³³⁴  8:3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” ³³⁵  When he said this, they calmed down. ³³⁶ 

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. ³³⁷  8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give ³³⁸  some loaves of bread to the men ³³⁹  who are following me, ³⁴⁰  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 ³⁴¹  bread to your army?” ³⁴²  8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, ³⁴³  after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh ³⁴⁴  your skin ³⁴⁵  with ³⁴⁶  desert thorns and briers.” 8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ³⁴⁷  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ³⁴⁸  8:9 He also threatened ³⁴⁹  the men of Penuel, warning, ³⁵⁰  “When I return victoriously, ³⁵¹  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. ³⁵²  8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads ³⁵³  east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. ³⁵⁴  8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon ³⁵⁵  chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised ³⁵⁶  their entire army.

8:13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass ³⁵⁷  of Heres. 8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth ³⁵⁸  and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. ³⁵⁹  8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ³⁶⁰  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?’” ³⁶¹  8:16 He seized the leaders ³⁶²  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ³⁶³  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 ³⁶⁴  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ³⁶⁵  8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, ³⁶⁶  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! ³⁶⁷  Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, ³⁶⁸  because he was still young. 8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ³⁶⁹  “Come on, ³⁷⁰  you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” ³⁷¹  So Gideon killed ³⁷²  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.” ³⁷³  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, ³⁷⁴  “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” ³⁷⁵  (The Midianites ³⁷⁶  had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 8:25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” ³⁷⁷  So they ³⁷⁸  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. ³⁷⁹  This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, ³⁸⁰  purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. ³⁸¹  8:27 Gideon used all this to make ³⁸²  an ephod, ³⁸³  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ³⁸⁴  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ³⁸⁵  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. ³⁸⁶  The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time. ³⁸⁷  8:29 Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. ³⁸⁸  8:30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. ³⁸⁹  8:31 His concubine, ³⁹⁰  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ³⁹¹  8:32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very ³⁹²  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 ³⁹³  their god. 8:34 The Israelites did not remain true ³⁹⁴  to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat ³⁹⁵  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. ³⁹⁶  He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, ³⁹⁷  9:2 “Tell ³⁹⁸  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ³⁹⁹  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.’” ⁴⁰⁰  9:3 His mother’s relatives ⁴⁰¹  spoke on his behalf to ⁴⁰²  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ⁴⁰³  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ⁴⁰⁴  they said, “He is our close relative.” ⁴⁰⁵  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 ⁴⁰⁶  men as his followers. ⁴⁰⁷  9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ⁴⁰⁸  the seventy legitimate ⁴⁰⁹  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ⁴¹⁰  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 ⁴¹¹  in Shechem.

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁴¹²  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ⁴¹³  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

9:8 “The trees were determined to go out ⁴¹⁴  and choose a king for themselves. ⁴¹⁵  They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ ⁴¹⁶  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!’ ⁴¹⁷ 

9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁴¹⁸  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!’ ⁴¹⁹ 

9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁴²⁰  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!’ ⁴²¹ 

9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ ⁴²²  9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ⁴²³  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ⁴²⁴  Otherwise ⁴²⁵  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, ⁴²⁶  if you have properly repaid him ⁴²⁷  – 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life ⁴²⁸  and delivered you from Midian’s power. ⁴²⁹  9:18 But you have attacked ⁴³⁰  my father’s family ⁴³¹  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ⁴³²  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. ⁴³³  9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family ⁴³⁴  today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! ⁴³⁵  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 ⁴³⁶  to Beer and lived there to escape from ⁴³⁷  Abimelech his half-brother. ⁴³⁸ 

God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse

9:22 Abimelech commanded ⁴³⁹  Israel for three years. 9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility ⁴⁴⁰  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal ⁴⁴¹  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 ⁴⁴²  who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. ⁴⁴³  9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting ⁴⁴⁴  bandits in ⁴⁴⁵  the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. ⁴⁴⁶ 

9:26 Gaal son of Ebed ⁴⁴⁷  came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. ⁴⁴⁸  9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ⁴⁴⁹  squeezed out the juice, ⁴⁵⁰  and celebrated. They came to the temple ⁴⁵¹  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? ⁴⁵²  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ⁴⁵³  9:29 If only these men ⁴⁵⁴  were under my command, ⁴⁵⁵  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁴⁵⁶  “Muster ⁴⁵⁷  your army and come out for battle!” ⁴⁵⁸ 

9:30 When Zebul, the city commissioner, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was furious. ⁴⁵⁹  9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ⁴⁶⁰  reporting, “Beware! ⁴⁶¹  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ⁴⁶²  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁴⁶³  9:32 Now, come up ⁴⁶⁴  at night with your men ⁴⁶⁵  and set an ambush in the field outside the city. ⁴⁶⁶  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.” ⁴⁶⁷ 

9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up ⁴⁶⁸  at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into ⁴⁶⁹  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 ⁴⁷⁰  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.” ⁴⁷¹  9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ⁴⁷²  of the land. A unit ⁴⁷³  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ⁴⁷⁴  9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, ⁴⁷⁵  ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men ⁴⁷⁶  you insulted? ⁴⁷⁷  Go out now and fight them!” 9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out ⁴⁷⁸  and fought Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal ⁴⁷⁹  ran from him. Many Shechemites ⁴⁸⁰  fell wounded at the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech went back ⁴⁸¹  to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. ⁴⁸² 

9:42 The next day the Shechemites ⁴⁸³  came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it, ⁴⁸⁴  9:43 he took his men ⁴⁸⁵  and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, ⁴⁸⁶  he attacked and struck them down. ⁴⁸⁷  9:44 Abimelech and his units ⁴⁸⁸  attacked and blocked ⁴⁸⁹  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 ⁴⁹⁰  the city and spread salt over it. ⁴⁹¹ 

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem ⁴⁹²  heard the news, they went to the stronghold ⁴⁹³  of the temple of El-Berith. ⁴⁹⁴  9:47 Abimelech heard ⁴⁹⁵  that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. ⁴⁹⁶  9:48 He and all his men ⁴⁹⁷  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁴⁹⁸  took an ax ⁴⁹⁹  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁵⁰⁰  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁵⁰¹  9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ⁵⁰²  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ⁵⁰³  All the people ⁵⁰⁴  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

9:50 Abimelech moved on ⁵⁰⁵  to Thebez; he besieged and captured it. ⁵⁰⁶  9:51 There was a fortified ⁵⁰⁷  tower ⁵⁰⁸  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 ⁵⁰⁹  down on his ⁵¹⁰  head and shattered his skull. 9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ⁵¹¹  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ⁵¹²  ‘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. ⁵¹³ 

9:56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half-brothers. ⁵¹⁴  9:57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell ⁵¹⁵  on them.

Stability Restored

10:1 After Abimelech’s death, ⁵¹⁶  Tola son of Puah, grandson ⁵¹⁷  of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, ⁵¹⁸  rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country. 10:2 He led ⁵¹⁹  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 ⁵²⁰  – they are in the land of Gilead. ⁵²¹  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. ⁵²²  They worshiped ⁵²³  the Baals and the Ashtars, ⁵²⁴  as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, ⁵²⁵  Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. ⁵²⁶  They abandoned the Lord and did not worship ⁵²⁷  him. 10:7 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁵²⁸  and turned them over to ⁵²⁹  the Philistines and Ammonites. 10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ⁵³⁰  the Israelites that eighteenth year ⁵³¹  – 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. ⁵³²  Israel suffered greatly. ⁵³³ 

10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped ⁵³⁴  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 ⁵³⁵  when they oppressed you? ⁵³⁶  You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. ⁵³⁷  10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped ⁵³⁸  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!” ⁵³⁹  10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, ⁵⁴⁰  but deliver us today!” ⁵⁴¹  10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned ⁵⁴²  and worshiped ⁵⁴³  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ⁵⁴⁴ 

An Outcast Becomes a General

10:17 The Ammonites assembled ⁵⁴⁵  and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 10:18 The leaders ⁵⁴⁶  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ⁵⁴⁷  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. ⁵⁴⁸  11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave ⁵⁴⁹  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, ⁵⁵⁰  because you are another woman’s son.” 11:3 So Jephthah left ⁵⁵¹  his half-brothers ⁵⁵²  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁵⁵³ 

11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 11:5 When the Ammonites attacked, ⁵⁵⁴  the leaders ⁵⁵⁵  of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back ⁵⁵⁶  from the land of Tob. 11:6 They said, ⁵⁵⁷  “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 ⁵⁵⁸  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, ⁵⁵⁹  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁵⁶⁰  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ⁵⁶¹  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁵⁶²  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁵⁶³  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁵⁶⁴  I will be your leader.” ⁵⁶⁵  11:10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, ⁵⁶⁶  if we do not do as you say.” ⁵⁶⁷  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 ⁵⁶⁸  before the Lord in Mizpah.

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ⁵⁶⁹  you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ⁵⁷⁰  my land when they ⁵⁷¹  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. ⁵⁷²  Now return it ⁵⁷³  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 ⁵⁷⁴  the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 11:16 When they left ⁵⁷⁵  Egypt, Israel traveled ⁵⁷⁶  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 ⁵⁷⁷  to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. ⁵⁷⁸  Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. ⁵⁷⁹  So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 11:18 Then Israel ⁵⁸⁰  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; ⁵⁸¹  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.” ⁵⁸²  11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He ⁵⁸³  assembled his whole army, ⁵⁸⁴  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 ⁵⁸⁵  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. ⁵⁸⁶  11:23 Since ⁵⁸⁷  the Lord God of Israel has driven out ⁵⁸⁸  the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? ⁵⁸⁹  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. ⁵⁹⁰  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? ⁵⁹¹  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, ⁵⁹²  but you are doing wrong ⁵⁹³  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 11:28 But the Ammonite king disregarded ⁵⁹⁴  the message sent by Jephthah. ⁵⁹⁵ 

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁵⁹⁶  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ⁵⁹⁷  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ⁵⁹⁸  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 ⁵⁹⁹  the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he ⁶⁰⁰  will belong to the Lord and ⁶⁰¹  I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 11:32 Jephthah approached ⁶⁰²  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! ⁶⁰³  The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. ⁶⁰⁴ 

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ⁶⁰⁵  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ⁶⁰⁶  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! ⁶⁰⁷  You have brought me disaster! ⁶⁰⁸  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁶⁰⁹  11:36 She said to him, “My father, since ⁶¹⁰  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ⁶¹¹  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ⁶¹²  your enemies, the Ammonites.” 11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish. ⁶¹³  For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” ⁶¹⁴  11:38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave ⁶¹⁵  for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. ⁶¹⁶  11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ⁶¹⁷  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ⁶¹⁸  11:40 Every year ⁶¹⁹  Israelite women commemorate ⁶²⁰  the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. ⁶²¹ 

Civil Strife Mars the Victory

12:1 The Ephraimites assembled ⁶²²  and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ⁶²³  with the Ammonites without asking ⁶²⁴  us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ⁶²⁵ 

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ⁶²⁶  I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ⁶²⁷  12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ⁶²⁸  I risked my life ⁶²⁹  and advanced against ⁶³⁰  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ⁶³¹  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, ⁶³²  “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ⁶³³  12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁶³⁴  opposite Ephraim. ⁶³⁵  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ⁶³⁶  said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ⁶³⁷  him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 12:6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” ⁶³⁸  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word ⁶³⁹  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 ⁶⁴⁰  Israel for six years; then he ⁶⁴¹  died and was buried in his city in Gilead. ⁶⁴² 

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ⁶⁴³  led ⁶⁴⁴  Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, ⁶⁴⁵  and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. ⁶⁴⁶  Ibzan ⁶⁴⁷  led ⁶⁴⁸  Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he ⁶⁴⁹  died and was buried in Bethlehem.

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led ⁶⁵⁰  Israel for ten years. ⁶⁵¹  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 ⁶⁵²  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, ⁶⁵³  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. ⁶⁵⁴  13:3 The Lord’s angelic ⁶⁵⁵  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ⁶⁵⁶  are infertile and childless, ⁶⁵⁷  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. ⁶⁵⁸  13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁶⁵⁹  You must never cut his hair, ⁶⁶⁰  for the child will be dedicated to God ⁶⁶¹  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁶⁶²  of the Philistines.”

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ⁶⁶³  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ⁶⁶⁴  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. ⁶⁶⁵  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁶⁶⁶  For the child will be dedicated ⁶⁶⁷  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁶⁶⁸  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁶⁶⁹  to visit ⁶⁷⁰  us again, so he can teach ⁶⁷¹  us how we should raise ⁶⁷²  the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. ⁶⁷³  God’s angelic messenger visited ⁶⁷⁴  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, ⁶⁷⁵  “Come quickly, ⁶⁷⁶  the man who visited ⁶⁷⁷  me the other day has appeared to me!” 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met ⁶⁷⁸  the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” ⁶⁷⁹  He said, “Yes.” ⁶⁸⁰  13:12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true, ⁶⁸¹  how should the child be raised and what should he do?” ⁶⁸²  13:13 The Lord’s messenger told ⁶⁸³  Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. ⁶⁸⁴  13:14 She should not drink ⁶⁸⁵  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. ⁶⁸⁶  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 13:15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, ⁶⁸⁷  so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” ⁶⁸⁸  13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ⁶⁸⁹  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.) ⁶⁹⁰  13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” ⁶⁹¹  13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” ⁶⁹²  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. ⁶⁹³  13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it ⁶⁹⁴  while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown ⁶⁹⁵  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. ⁶⁹⁶  13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” ⁶⁹⁷  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. ⁶⁹⁸  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

13:24 Manoah’s wife ⁶⁹⁹  gave birth to a son and named him Samson. ⁷⁰⁰  The child grew and the Lord empowered ⁷⁰¹  him. 13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him ⁷⁰²  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. ⁷⁰³  14:2 When he got home, ⁷⁰⁴  he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. ⁷⁰⁵  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 ⁷⁰⁶  people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” ⁷⁰⁷  But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, ⁷⁰⁸  because she is the right one for me.” ⁷⁰⁹  14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ⁷¹⁰  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ⁷¹¹  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ⁷¹²  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ⁷¹³  14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁷¹⁴  him and he tore the lion ⁷¹⁵  in two with his bare hands ⁷¹⁶  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 ⁷¹⁷  and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. ⁷¹⁸  14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ⁷¹⁹  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ⁷²⁰  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 ⁷²¹  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. ⁷²² 

14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. ⁷²³  Samson hosted a party ⁷²⁴  there, for this was customary for bridegrooms ⁷²⁵  to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ⁷²⁶  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, ⁷²⁷  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ⁷²⁸  of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, ⁷²⁹  you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” ⁷³⁰  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 ⁷³¹  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ⁷³²  If you refuse, ⁷³³  we will burn up ⁷³⁴  you and your father’s family. ⁷³⁵  Did you invite us here ⁷³⁶  to make us poor?” ⁷³⁷  14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ⁷³⁸  and said, “You must ⁷³⁹  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ⁷⁴⁰  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?” ⁷⁴¹  14:17 She cried on his shoulder ⁷⁴²  until the party was almost over. ⁷⁴³  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ⁷⁴⁴  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ⁷⁴⁵  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, ⁷⁴⁶ 

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 ⁷⁴⁷  and gave them ⁷⁴⁸  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ⁷⁴⁹  14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ⁷⁵⁰ 

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, ⁷⁵¹  Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. ⁷⁵²  He said to her father, ⁷⁵³  “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” ⁷⁵⁴  But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ⁷⁵⁵  you absolutely despised ⁷⁵⁶  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁷⁵⁷  15:3 Samson said to them, ⁷⁵⁸  “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!” ⁷⁵⁹  15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals ⁷⁶⁰  and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair. ⁷⁶¹  15:5 He lit the torches ⁷⁶²  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, ⁷⁶³  “Who did this?” They were told, ⁷⁶⁴  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁷⁶⁵  took Samson’s ⁷⁶⁶  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ⁷⁶⁷  15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ⁷⁶⁸  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ⁷⁶⁹  15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. ⁷⁷⁰  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 ⁷⁷¹  Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle ⁷⁷²  in Lehi. 15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking ⁷⁷³  us?” The Philistines ⁷⁷⁴  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 ⁷⁷⁵  you will not kill ⁷⁷⁶  me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise! ⁷⁷⁷  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 ⁷⁷⁸  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁷⁷⁹  fire, and they ⁷⁸⁰  melted away from his hands. 15:15 He happened to see ⁷⁸¹  a solid ⁷⁸²  jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it ⁷⁸³  and struck down ⁷⁸⁴  a thousand men. 15:16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey

I have left them in heaps; ⁷⁸⁵ 

with the jawbone of a donkey

I have struck down a thousand men!”

15:17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down ⁷⁸⁶  and named that place Ramath Lehi. ⁷⁸⁷ 

15:18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant ⁷⁸⁸  this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines?” ⁷⁸⁹  15:19 So God split open the basin ⁷⁹⁰  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁷⁹¹  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁷⁹²  En Hakkore. ⁷⁹³  It remains in Lehi to this very day. 15:20 Samson led ⁷⁹⁴  Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. ⁷⁹⁵ 

Samson’s Downfall

16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. ⁷⁹⁶  16:2 The Gazites were told, ⁷⁹⁷  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ⁷⁹⁸  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ⁷⁹⁹  They relaxed ⁸⁰⁰  all night, thinking, ⁸⁰¹  “He will not leave ⁸⁰²  until morning comes; ⁸⁰³  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. ⁸⁰⁴  He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. ⁸⁰⁵  He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. ⁸⁰⁶ 

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 ⁸⁰⁷  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.” ⁸⁰⁸  16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh ⁸⁰⁹  bowstrings ⁸¹⁰  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 ⁸¹¹  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁸¹²  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ⁸¹³  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁸¹⁴ 

16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived ⁸¹⁵  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, ⁸¹⁶  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, ⁸¹⁷  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ⁸¹⁸  But he tore the ropes ⁸¹⁹  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 ⁸²⁰  into the fabric on the loom ⁸²¹  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, ⁸²²  Samson!” ⁸²³  He woke up ⁸²⁴  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? ⁸²⁵  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16:16 She nagged him ⁸²⁶  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ⁸²⁷  16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁸²⁸  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁸²⁹  for I have been dedicated to God ⁸³⁰  from the time I was conceived. ⁸³¹  If my head ⁸³²  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, ⁸³³  she sent for ⁸³⁴  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ⁸³⁵  his secret.” ⁸³⁶  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 ⁸³⁷  and then called a man in to shave off ⁸³⁸  the seven braids of his hair. ⁸³⁹  She made him vulnerable ⁸⁴⁰  and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ⁸⁴¹  Samson!” He woke up ⁸⁴²  and thought, ⁸⁴³  “I will do as I did before ⁸⁴⁴  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 ⁸⁴⁵  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, ⁸⁴⁶  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!” ⁸⁴⁷ 

16:25 When they really started celebrating, ⁸⁴⁸  they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. ⁸⁴⁹  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. ⁸⁵⁰  Then I can lean on them.” 16:27 Now the temple ⁸⁵¹  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, ⁸⁵²  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ⁸⁵³  against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple ⁸⁵⁴  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 ⁸⁵⁵  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. ⁸⁵⁶  16:31 His brothers and all his family ⁸⁵⁷  went down and brought him back. ⁸⁵⁸  They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led ⁸⁵⁹  Israel for twenty years.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[3:7]  ² sn The Asherahs were local manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Asherah.

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

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[3:8]  ⁵ tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Or “delivered.”

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

[3:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “was on him.”

[3:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”

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

[3:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “strengthened Eglon…against Israel.”

[3:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”

[3:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the Israelites served Eglon.”

[3:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

[3:16]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the tribute payment.”

[3:19]  ²¹ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ²² tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ²³ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ²⁴ tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ²⁶ tn Or “Hush!”

[3:20]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

[3:20]  ²⁹ tn Or “throne.”

[3:21]  ³⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:22]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ³⁵ tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn The words “the doors” are supplied.

[3:25]  ³⁸ tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”

[3:27]  ³⁹ tn Heb “When he arrived.”

[3:27]  ⁴⁰ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[3:27]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “now he was before them.”

[3:28]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[3:29]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “They struck Moab that day – about ten thousand men.”

[3:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:31]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “was.”

[3:31]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “also he”; the referent (Ehud) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

[4:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the Lord sold them into the hands of.”

[4:2]  ⁵¹ tn Or “King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite ruler.”

[4:2]  ⁵² tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations”; cf. KJV “Harosheth of the Gentiles.”

[4:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:3]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “with strength.”

[4:4]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “judging.”

[4:5]  ⁵⁹ tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ⁶⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[4:6]  ⁶² tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[4:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[4:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “honor.”

[4:9]  ⁶⁵ 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]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the Lord will sell Sisera.”

[4:10]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

[4:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Or “separated.”

[4:11]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

[4:12]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”

[4:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:13]  ⁷² tn Or “summoned.”

[4:14]  ⁷³ tn Heb “Arise!”

[4:14]  ⁷⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “Has the Lord not gone out before you?”

[4:15]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ⁷⁷ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “got down from.”

[4:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “fell.”

[4:16]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “was left.”

[4:17]  ⁸¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ⁸² tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[4:18]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

[4:18]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:21]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ⁸⁷ 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]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”

[4:24]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”

[4:24]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[4:24]  ⁹² 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]  ⁹³ tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:2]  ⁹⁴ 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]  ⁹⁵ 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]  ⁹⁶ tn Or “make music.”

[5:4]  ⁹⁷ tn Or “went out.”

[5:4]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “water.”

[5:5]  ⁹⁹ 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]  ¹⁰⁰ 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]  ¹⁰⁴ 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]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Or “ceased.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰⁶ 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]  ¹⁰⁷ 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]  ¹⁰⁸ 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]  ¹⁰⁹ 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]  ¹¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹¹ 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]  ¹¹² tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:10]  ¹¹³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.

[5:11]  ¹¹⁴ tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ¹¹⁵ 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]  ¹¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ¹¹⁷ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

[5:12]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)

[5:13]  ¹¹⁹ 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]  ¹²⁰ 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]  ¹²¹ sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.

[5:13]  ¹²² sn The speaker may be Deborah here.

[5:13]  ¹²³ 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]  ¹²⁴ 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]  ¹²⁵ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹²⁶ tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹²⁷ tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[5:15]  ¹²⁸ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ¹²⁹ tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ¹³² 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]  ¹³³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[5:17]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹³⁷ 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]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹⁴⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[5:18]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”

[5:18]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”

[5:19]  ¹⁴³ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[5:19]  ¹⁴⁴ tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.

[5:20]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[5:20]  ¹⁴⁶ 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]  ¹⁴⁷ tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[5:21]  ¹⁴⁸ 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]  ¹⁴⁹ 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]  ¹⁵⁰ 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]  ¹⁵¹ tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[5:23]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

[5:23]  ¹⁵⁴ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[5:23]  ¹⁵⁵ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

[5:23]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “[to] curse.”

[5:23]  ¹⁵⁷ 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]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

[5:24]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Or “blessed.”

[5:25]  ¹⁶⁰ tn Or “for mighty ones.”

[5:26]  ¹⁶¹ 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]  ¹⁶² tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ¹⁶³ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ¹⁶⁴ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[5:27]  ¹⁶⁶ tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.

[5:27]  ¹⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he lay.

[5:27]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Or “dead, murdered.”

[5:28]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “chariots.”

[5:29]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Or “princesses.”

[5:30]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ¹⁷² 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]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ¹⁷⁵ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”

[5:31]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”

[6:1]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[6:2]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ¹⁸⁰ tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ¹⁸¹ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:3]  ¹⁸² tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”

[6:3]  ¹⁸³ 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]  ¹⁸⁴ tn Heb “They encamped against them.”

[6:4]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “destroyed.”

[6:4]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Heb “the crops of the land.”

[6:4]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”

[6:4]  ¹⁸⁸ tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:5]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ¹⁹⁰ tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ¹⁹¹ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ¹⁹² tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

[6:8]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “the Lord”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:8]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.

[6:8]  ¹⁹⁵ 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]  ¹⁹⁶ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[6:9]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).

[6:10]  ¹⁹⁸ tn Heb “Do not fear.”

[6:10]  ¹⁹⁹ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[6:11]  ²⁰⁰ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  ²⁰¹ 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]  ²⁰² tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ²⁰³ 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]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “Midian.”

[6:13]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “But my lord.”

[6:13]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “all this.”

[6:13]  ²⁰⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

[6:14]  ²⁰⁸ 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]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ²¹⁰ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:15]  ²¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ²¹² 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]  ²¹³ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ²¹⁴ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[6:16]  ²¹⁵ tn Or “certainly.”

[6:16]  ²¹⁶ 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]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ²¹⁸ tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

[6:17]  ²¹⁹ tn Heb “perform for me.”

[6:18]  ²²⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:18]  ²²¹ 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]  ²²² tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

[6:19]  ²²³ 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]  ²²⁴ tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”

[6:20]  ²²⁵ tn Heb “and he did so.”

[6:21]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”

[6:21]  ²²⁷ tn Heb “went from his eyes.”

[6:22]  ²²⁸ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ²²⁹ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ²³⁰ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ²³¹ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:23]  ²³² tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.

[6:24]  ²³³ 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]  ²³⁴ 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]  ²³⁵ 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]  ²³⁶ tn Heb “men from among his servants.”

[6:27]  ²³⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[6:27]  ²³⁸ tn Heb “so he did it at night.”

[6:28]  ²³⁹ 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]  ²⁴⁰ tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”

[6:29]  ²⁴¹ tn Heb “this thing.”

[6:29]  ²⁴² tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.

[6:29]  ²⁴³ tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”

[6:30]  ²⁴⁴ tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.

[6:31]  ²⁴⁵ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ²⁴⁶ tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ²⁴⁷ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ²⁴⁸ 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]  ²⁴⁹ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ²⁵⁰ 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]  ²⁵¹ tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”

[6:33]  ²⁵² tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

[6:33]  ²⁵³ tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:34]  ²⁵⁴ tn Heb “clothed.”

[6:34]  ²⁵⁵ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[6:34]  ²⁵⁶ tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”

[6:35]  ²⁵⁷ tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”

[6:36]  ²⁵⁸ tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:36]  ²⁵⁹ tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:37]  ²⁶⁰ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ²⁶¹ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ²⁶² tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[6:38]  ²⁶³ tn Heb “And it was so.”

[6:38]  ²⁶⁴ tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece – a bowl full of water.”

[6:39]  ²⁶⁵ tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”

[6:39]  ²⁶⁶ tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”

[6:40]  ²⁶⁷ tn Heb “God did so that night.”

[7:1]  ²⁶⁸ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”

[7:1]  ²⁶⁹ sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”

[7:1]  ²⁷⁰ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

[7:2]  ²⁷¹ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ²⁷² tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ²⁷³ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[7:3]  ²⁷⁴ tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”

[7:3]  ²⁷⁵ tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”

[7:3]  ²⁷⁶ 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]  ²⁷⁷ 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]  ²⁷⁸ tn Or “turned around, back.”

[7:4]  ²⁷⁹ tn Heb “too many people.”

[7:4]  ²⁸⁰ tn Heb “test them for you there.”

[7:4]  ²⁸¹ tn Heb “he should go with you.”

[7:4]  ²⁸² tn Heb also has “to you.”

[7:4]  ²⁸³ tn Heb “he should not go.”

[7:5]  ²⁸⁴ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:5]  ²⁸⁵ 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]  ²⁸⁶ 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]  ²⁸⁷ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:7]  ²⁸⁸ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ²⁸⁹ tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ²⁹⁰ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:8]  ²⁹¹ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ²⁹² tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ²⁹³ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ²⁹⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ²⁹⁵ tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ²⁹⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ²⁹⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:9]  ²⁹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:9]  ²⁹⁹ tn Heb “Go down against.”

[7:9]  ³⁰⁰ tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.

[7:11]  ³⁰¹ tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”

[7:11]  ³⁰² tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”

[7:12]  ³⁰³ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

[7:13]  ³⁰⁴ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

[7:13]  ³⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:13]  ³⁰⁶ tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

[7:13]  ³⁰⁷ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

[7:14]  ³⁰⁸ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[7:14]  ³⁰⁹ tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

[7:15]  ³¹⁰ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[7:16]  ³¹¹ tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ³¹² tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:17]  ³¹³ tn Or “look.”

[7:19]  ³¹⁴ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ³¹⁵ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[7:20]  ³¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:21]  ³¹⁷ tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ³¹⁸ tn Or “fled.”

[7:22]  ³¹⁹ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ³²⁰ 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]  ³²¹ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:23]  ³²² tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:24]  ³²³ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

[7:24]  ³²⁴ tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”

[7:24]  ³²⁵ 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]  ³²⁶ tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”

[7:24]  ³²⁷ tn Heb “they captured the waters.”

[7:25]  ³²⁸ 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]  ³²⁹ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:25]  ³³⁰ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:25]  ³³¹ 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]  ³³² tn Heb “by not summoning us.”

[8:2]  ³³³ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ³³⁴ 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]  ³³⁵ tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”

[8:3]  ³³⁶ tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”

[8:4]  ³³⁷ 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]  ³³⁸ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:5]  ³³⁹ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.

[8:5]  ³⁴⁰ tn Heb “who are at my feet.”

[8:6]  ³⁴¹ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:6]  ³⁴² 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]  ³⁴³ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[8:7]  ³⁴⁴ 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]  ³⁴⁵ tn Or “flesh.”

[8:7]  ³⁴⁶ 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]  ³⁴⁷ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

[8:8]  ³⁴⁸ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

[8:9]  ³⁴⁹ tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.

[8:9]  ³⁵⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

[8:9]  ³⁵¹ tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”

[8:10]  ³⁵² 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]  ³⁵³ tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”

[8:11]  ³⁵⁴ 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]  ³⁵⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ³⁵⁶ tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”

[8:13]  ³⁵⁷ tn Or “ascent.”

[8:14]  ³⁵⁸ tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”

[8:14]  ³⁵⁹ tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”

[8:15]  ³⁶⁰ tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:15]  ³⁶¹ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”

[8:16]  ³⁶² tn Heb “elders.”

[8:16]  ³⁶³ 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]  ³⁶⁴ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ³⁶⁵ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[8:19]  ³⁶⁶ tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:20]  ³⁶⁷ tn Or “Arise!”

[8:20]  ³⁶⁸ tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”

[8:21]  ³⁶⁹ tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:21]  ³⁷⁰ tn Or “Arise.”

[8:21]  ³⁷¹ tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”

[8:21]  ³⁷² tn Heb “arose and killed.”

[8:22]  ³⁷³ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:24]  ³⁷⁴ tn Heb “said to them.”

[8:24]  ³⁷⁵ tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”

[8:24]  ³⁷⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ³⁷⁷ tn Heb “We will indeed give.”

[8:25]  ³⁷⁸ tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.

[8:26]  ³⁷⁹ sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.

[8:26]  ³⁸⁰ tn Or “pendants.”

[8:26]  ³⁸¹ tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”

[8:27]  ³⁸² tn Heb “made it into.”

[8:27]  ³⁸³ 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]  ³⁸⁴ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

[8:27]  ³⁸⁵ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:28]  ³⁸⁶ tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”

[8:28]  ³⁸⁷ tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”

[8:29]  ³⁸⁸ tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”

[8:30]  ³⁸⁹ 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]  ³⁹⁰ 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]  ³⁹¹ sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”

[8:32]  ³⁹² tn Heb “good.”

[8:33]  ³⁹³ 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]  ³⁹⁴ tn Heb “remember.”

[8:35]  ³⁹⁵ tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”

[9:1]  ³⁹⁶ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:1]  ³⁹⁷ tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”

[9:2]  ³⁹⁸ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ³⁹⁹ tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ⁴⁰⁰ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁰¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁰² tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁰³ tn Heb “and all these words.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁰⁴ tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

[9:3]  ⁴⁰⁵ tn Heb “our brother.”

[9:4]  ⁴⁰⁶ tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

[9:4]  ⁴⁰⁷ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

[9:5]  ⁴⁰⁸ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ⁴⁰⁹ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ⁴¹⁰ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:6]  ⁴¹¹ 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]  ⁴¹² tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[9:7]  ⁴¹³ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

[9:8]  ⁴¹⁴ 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]  ⁴¹⁵ tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

[9:8]  ⁴¹⁶ tn Or “Rule over us!”

[9:9]  ⁴¹⁷ 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]  ⁴¹⁸ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:11]  ⁴¹⁹ 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]  ⁴²⁰ tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:13]  ⁴²¹ 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]  ⁴²² tn Or “and rule over us!”

[9:15]  ⁴²³ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

[9:15]  ⁴²⁴ tn Heb “in my shade.”

[9:15]  ⁴²⁵ tn Heb “If not.”

[9:16]  ⁴²⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[9:16]  ⁴²⁷ tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

[9:17]  ⁴²⁸ 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]  ⁴²⁹ tn Heb “hand.”

[9:18]  ⁴³⁰ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ⁴³¹ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ⁴³² tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ⁴³³ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:19]  ⁴³⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[9:19]  ⁴³⁵ tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

[9:21]  ⁴³⁶ tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”

[9:21]  ⁴³⁷ tn Heb “from before.”

[9:21]  ⁴³⁸ tn Heb “his brother.”

[9:22]  ⁴³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴⁴¹ tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:24]  ⁴⁴² tn Heb “their brother.”

[9:24]  ⁴⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴⁴ tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

[9:25]  ⁴⁴⁵ tn Heb “on the tops of.”

[9:25]  ⁴⁴⁶ tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

[9:26]  ⁴⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁴⁹ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ⁴⁵⁰ 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]  ⁴⁵¹ tn Heb “house.”

[9:28]  ⁴⁵² tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ⁴⁵³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:29]  ⁴⁵⁴ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁴⁵⁵ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ⁴⁵⁶ 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]  ⁴⁵⁷ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁴⁵⁸ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[9:30]  ⁴⁵⁹ tn Heb “his anger burned.”

[9:31]  ⁴⁶⁰ 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]  ⁴⁶¹ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ⁴⁶² 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]  ⁴⁶³ 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]  ⁴⁶⁴ tn Heb “arise.”

[9:32]  ⁴⁶⁵ tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”

[9:32]  ⁴⁶⁶ tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:33]  ⁴⁶⁷ 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]  ⁴⁶⁸ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”

[9:34]  ⁴⁶⁹ tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:36]  ⁴⁷⁰ 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]  ⁴⁷¹ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[9:37]  ⁴⁷² 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]  ⁴⁷³ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ⁴⁷⁴ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[9:38]  ⁴⁷⁵ tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”

[9:38]  ⁴⁷⁶ tn Heb “the people.”

[9:38]  ⁴⁷⁷ tn Or “despised.”

[9:39]  ⁴⁷⁸ tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”

[9:40]  ⁴⁷⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:40]  ⁴⁸⁰ tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.

[9:41]  ⁴⁸¹ 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]  ⁴⁸² tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

[9:42]  ⁴⁸³ tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:42]  ⁴⁸⁴ tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”

[9:43]  ⁴⁸⁵ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:43]  ⁴⁸⁶ tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

[9:43]  ⁴⁸⁷ tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

[9:44]  ⁴⁸⁸ tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

[9:44]  ⁴⁸⁹ tn Heb “stood [at].”

[9:45]  ⁴⁹⁰ tn Or “destroyed.”

[9:45]  ⁴⁹¹ tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”

[9:46]  ⁴⁹² sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

[9:46]  ⁴⁹³ 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]  ⁴⁹⁴ sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

[9:47]  ⁴⁹⁵ tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”

[9:47]  ⁴⁹⁶ tn Heb “were assembled.”

[9:48]  ⁴⁹⁷ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ⁴⁹⁸ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ⁴⁹⁹ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ⁵⁰⁰ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ⁵⁰¹ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[9:49]  ⁵⁰² tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ⁵⁰³ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ⁵⁰⁴ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

[9:50]  ⁵⁰⁵ tn Or “went.”

[9:50]  ⁵⁰⁶ tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”

[9:51]  ⁵⁰⁷ tn Or “strong.”

[9:51]  ⁵⁰⁸ tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

[9:53]  ⁵⁰⁹ 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]  ⁵¹⁰ 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]  ⁵¹¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:54]  ⁵¹² tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:55]  ⁵¹³ tn Heb “each to his own place.”

[9:56]  ⁵¹⁴ tn Heb “seventy brothers.”

[9:57]  ⁵¹⁵ tn Heb “came.”

[10:1]  ⁵¹⁶ tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[10:1]  ⁵¹⁷ tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ⁵¹⁸ tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”

[10:2]  ⁵¹⁹ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[10:4]  ⁵²⁰ sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.

[10:4]  ⁵²¹ tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day – which are in the land of Gilead.”

[10:6]  ⁵²² tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”

[10:6]  ⁵²³ tn Or “served;” or “followed.”

[10:6]  ⁵²⁴ sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Ashtar (i.e., Astarte).

[10:6]  ⁵²⁵ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[10:6]  ⁵²⁶ 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]  ⁵²⁷ tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”

[10:7]  ⁵²⁸ tn Or “the Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[10:7]  ⁵²⁹ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[10:8]  ⁵³⁰ 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]  ⁵³¹ 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]  ⁵³² tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”

[10:9]  ⁵³³ tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”

[10:10]  ⁵³⁴ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:12]  ⁵³⁵ tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”

[10:12]  ⁵³⁶ 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]  ⁵³⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[10:13]  ⁵³⁸ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:14]  ⁵³⁹ tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”

[10:15]  ⁵⁴⁰ tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

[10:15]  ⁵⁴¹ 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]  ⁵⁴² tn Heb “from their midst.”

[10:16]  ⁵⁴³ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:16]  ⁵⁴⁴ 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]  ⁵⁴⁵ tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”

[10:18]  ⁵⁴⁶ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ⁵⁴⁷ tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[11:1]  ⁵⁴⁸ tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”

[11:2]  ⁵⁴⁹ tn Heb “bore.”

[11:2]  ⁵⁵⁰ tn Heb “in the house of our father.”

[11:3]  ⁵⁵¹ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ⁵⁵² tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ⁵⁵³ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[11:5]  ⁵⁵⁴ tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”

[11:5]  ⁵⁵⁵ tn Or “elders.”

[11:5]  ⁵⁵⁶ tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”

[11:6]  ⁵⁵⁷ tn Heb “to Jephthah.”

[11:7]  ⁵⁵⁸ tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”

[11:8]  ⁵⁵⁹ 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]  ⁵⁶⁰ 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]  ⁵⁶¹ 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]  ⁵⁶² tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ⁵⁶³ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁵⁶⁴ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁵⁶⁵ 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]  ⁵⁶⁶ 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]  ⁵⁶⁷ 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]  ⁵⁶⁸ 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]  ⁵⁶⁹ tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”

[11:13]  ⁵⁷⁰ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ⁵⁷¹ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁵⁷² 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]  ⁵⁷³ 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]  ⁵⁷⁴ tn Or “take”; or “seize.”

[11:16]  ⁵⁷⁵ tn Heb “For when they went up from.”

[11:16]  ⁵⁷⁶ tn Or “went.”

[11:17]  ⁵⁷⁷ tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)

[11:17]  ⁵⁷⁸ tn Heb “did not listen.”

[11:17]  ⁵⁷⁹ tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”

[11:18]  ⁵⁸⁰ 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]  ⁵⁸¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:19]  ⁵⁸² tn Heb “to my place.”

[11:20]  ⁵⁸³ 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]  ⁵⁸⁴ tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).

[11:21]  ⁵⁸⁵ tn That is, took as its own possession.

[11:22]  ⁵⁸⁶ 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]  ⁵⁸⁷ tn Heb “Now.”

[11:23]  ⁵⁸⁸ tn Or “dispossessed.”

[11:23]  ⁵⁸⁹ 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]  ⁵⁹⁰ 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]  ⁵⁹¹ 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]  ⁵⁹² tn Or “sinned against you.”

[11:27]  ⁵⁹³ tn Or “evil.”

[11:28]  ⁵⁹⁴ tn Heb “did not listen to.”

[11:28]  ⁵⁹⁵ tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”

[11:29]  ⁵⁹⁶ tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ⁵⁹⁷ tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ⁵⁹⁸ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[11:31]  ⁵⁹⁹ 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]  ⁶⁰⁰ 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]  ⁶⁰¹ 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]  ⁶⁰² tn Heb “passed over to.”

[11:33]  ⁶⁰³ tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”

[11:33]  ⁶⁰⁴ tn Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”

[11:34]  ⁶⁰⁵ tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ⁶⁰⁶ tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[11:35]  ⁶⁰⁷ 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]  ⁶⁰⁸ tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ⁶⁰⁹ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[11:36]  ⁶¹⁰ tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁶¹¹ tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

[11:36]  ⁶¹² tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

[11:37]  ⁶¹³ tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

[11:37]  ⁶¹⁴ 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]  ⁶¹⁵ tn Heb “he sent her.”

[11:38]  ⁶¹⁶ tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.

[11:39]  ⁶¹⁷ 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]  ⁶¹⁸ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[11:40]  ⁶¹⁹ tn Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”

[11:40]  ⁶²⁰ 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]  ⁶²¹ 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]  ⁶²² tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”

[12:1]  ⁶²³ tn Heb “cross over to fight.”

[12:1]  ⁶²⁴ tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”

[12:1]  ⁶²⁵ tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”

[12:2]  ⁶²⁶ tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

[12:2]  ⁶²⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[12:3]  ⁶²⁸ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ⁶²⁹ tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ⁶³⁰ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ⁶³¹ 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]  ⁶³² tn Heb “because they said.”

[12:4]  ⁶³³ 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]  ⁶³⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:5]  ⁶³⁵ tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.

[12:5]  ⁶³⁶ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.

[12:5]  ⁶³⁷ tn Heb “say to.”

[12:6]  ⁶³⁸ 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]  ⁶³⁹ 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]  ⁶⁴⁰ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:7]  ⁶⁴¹ tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:7]  ⁶⁴² tc The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.

[12:8]  ⁶⁴³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ⁶⁴⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:9]  ⁶⁴⁵ 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]  ⁶⁴⁶ tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

[12:9]  ⁶⁴⁷ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

[12:9]  ⁶⁴⁸ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:10]  ⁶⁴⁹ 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]  ⁶⁵⁰ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:11]  ⁶⁵¹ tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”

[12:13]  ⁶⁵² tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[13:1]  ⁶⁵³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[13:2]  ⁶⁵⁴ tn Heb “and had not given birth.”

[13:3]  ⁶⁵⁵ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ⁶⁵⁶ tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ⁶⁵⁷ tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[13:4]  ⁶⁵⁸ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:5]  ⁶⁵⁹ 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]  ⁶⁶⁰ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ⁶⁶¹ 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]  ⁶⁶² tn Heb “hand.”

[13:6]  ⁶⁶³ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ⁶⁶⁴ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[13:7]  ⁶⁶⁵ tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.

[13:7]  ⁶⁶⁶ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:7]  ⁶⁶⁷ tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”

[13:8]  ⁶⁶⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:8]  ⁶⁶⁹ tn Heb “the man of God.”

[13:8]  ⁶⁷⁰ tn Heb “come to.”

[13:8]  ⁶⁷¹ 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]  ⁶⁷² tn Heb “what we should do for.”

[13:9]  ⁶⁷³ tn Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”

[13:9]  ⁶⁷⁴ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:10]  ⁶⁷⁵ tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ⁶⁷⁶ tn Heb “Look.”

[13:10]  ⁶⁷⁷ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ⁶⁷⁸ tn Heb “came to.”

[13:11]  ⁶⁷⁹ tn Heb “the woman.”

[13:11]  ⁶⁸⁰ tn Heb “I [am].”

[13:12]  ⁶⁸¹ tn Heb “Now, [when] your word comes [to pass].”

[13:12]  ⁶⁸² tn Heb “what will be the child’s rule [i.e., way of life] and his work?”

[13:13]  ⁶⁸³ tn Or “said to.”

[13:13]  ⁶⁸⁴ 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]  ⁶⁸⁵ tn Heb “eat.”

[13:14]  ⁶⁸⁶ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:15]  ⁶⁸⁷ tn Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”

[13:15]  ⁶⁸⁸ tn Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”

[13:16]  ⁶⁸⁹ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ⁶⁹⁰ 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]  ⁶⁹¹ 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]  ⁶⁹² 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]  ⁶⁹³ 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]  ⁶⁹⁴ tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”

[13:20]  ⁶⁹⁵ tn Heb “on their faces.”

[13:21]  ⁶⁹⁶ tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the Lord’s messenger.”

[13:22]  ⁶⁹⁷ 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]  ⁶⁹⁸ tn Heb “our hand.”

[13:24]  ⁶⁹⁹ tn Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”

[13:24]  ⁷⁰⁰ tn The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”

[13:24]  ⁷⁰¹ tn Traditionally, “blessed.”

[13:25]  ⁷⁰² tn Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”

[14:1]  ⁷⁰³ tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:2]  ⁷⁰⁴ tn Heb “and he went up.”

[14:2]  ⁷⁰⁵ tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:3]  ⁷⁰⁶ 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]  ⁷⁰⁷ 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]  ⁷⁰⁸ 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]  ⁷⁰⁹ tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”

[14:4]  ⁷¹⁰ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ⁷¹¹ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[14:5]  ⁷¹² 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]  ⁷¹³ tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[14:6]  ⁷¹⁴ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ⁷¹⁵ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ⁷¹⁶ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:7]  ⁷¹⁷ tn Heb “He went down.”

[14:7]  ⁷¹⁸ tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”

[14:8]  ⁷¹⁹ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ⁷²⁰ tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[14:9]  ⁷²¹ 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]  ⁷²² sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

[14:10]  ⁷²³ tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”

[14:10]  ⁷²⁴ tn Or “[wedding] feast.”

[14:10]  ⁷²⁵ tn Heb “the young men.”

[14:11]  ⁷²⁶ 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]  ⁷²⁷ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

[14:12]  ⁷²⁸ tn Heb “changes.”

[14:13]  ⁷²⁹ tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”

[14:13]  ⁷³⁰ tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”

[14:15]  ⁷³¹ 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]  ⁷³² tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ⁷³³ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ⁷³⁴ 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]  ⁷³⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ⁷³⁶ 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]  ⁷³⁷ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[14:16]  ⁷³⁸ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ⁷³⁹ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ⁷⁴⁰ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ⁷⁴¹ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[14:17]  ⁷⁴² tn Heb “on him.”

[14:17]  ⁷⁴³ 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]  ⁷⁴⁴ tn Heb “because she forced him.”

[14:17]  ⁷⁴⁵ tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”

[14:18]  ⁷⁴⁶ 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]  ⁷⁴⁷ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ⁷⁴⁸ tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ⁷⁴⁹ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[14:20]  ⁷⁵⁰ tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”

[15:1]  ⁷⁵¹ sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

[15:1]  ⁷⁵² tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

[15:1]  ⁷⁵³ tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

[15:1]  ⁷⁵⁴ 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]  ⁷⁵⁵ 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]  ⁷⁵⁶ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁷⁵⁷ 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]  ⁷⁵⁸ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”

[15:3]  ⁷⁵⁹ tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”

[15:4]  ⁷⁶⁰ tn Traditionally, “foxes.”

[15:4]  ⁷⁶¹ tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”

[15:5]  ⁷⁶² tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”

[15:6]  ⁷⁶³ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ⁷⁶⁴ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ⁷⁶⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁷⁶⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁷⁶⁷ 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]  ⁷⁶⁸ 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]  ⁷⁶⁹ tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”

[15:8]  ⁷⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷⁷¹ tn Or “camped in.”

[15:9]  ⁷⁷² tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.

[15:10]  ⁷⁷³ tn Or “come up against.”

[15:10]  ⁷⁷⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:12]  ⁷⁷⁵ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ⁷⁷⁶ tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[15:13]  ⁷⁷⁷ tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.

[15:14]  ⁷⁷⁸ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ⁷⁷⁹ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ⁷⁸⁰ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[15:15]  ⁷⁸¹ tn Heb “he found.”

[15:15]  ⁷⁸² tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.

[15:15]  ⁷⁸³ tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”

[15:15]  ⁷⁸⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:16]  ⁷⁸⁵ 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]  ⁷⁸⁶ tn Heb “from his hand.”

[15:17]  ⁷⁸⁷ sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”

[15:18]  ⁷⁸⁸ tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”

[15:18]  ⁷⁸⁹ tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.

[15:19]  ⁷⁹⁰ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁷⁹¹ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁷⁹² tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁷⁹³ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[15:20]  ⁷⁹⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁷⁹⁵ tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”

[16:1]  ⁷⁹⁶ tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.

[16:2]  ⁷⁹⁷ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

[16:2]  ⁷⁹⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹⁹ tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

[16:2]  ⁸⁰⁰ tn Heb “were silent.”

[16:2]  ⁸⁰¹ tn Heb “saying.”

[16:2]  ⁸⁰² tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[16:2]  ⁸⁰³ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[16:3]  ⁸⁰⁴ tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”

[16:3]  ⁸⁰⁵ tn Heb “with the bar.”

[16:3]  ⁸⁰⁶ tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”

[16:5]  ⁸⁰⁷ tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”

[16:6]  ⁸⁰⁸ tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”

[16:7]  ⁸⁰⁹ tn Or “moist.”

[16:7]  ⁸¹⁰ tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.

[16:9]  ⁸¹¹ 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]  ⁸¹² tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ⁸¹³ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ⁸¹⁴ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[16:10]  ⁸¹⁵ 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]  ⁸¹⁶ tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”

[16:12]  ⁸¹⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ⁸¹⁸ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ⁸¹⁹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:13]  ⁸²⁰ 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]  ⁸²¹ 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]  ⁸²² tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:14]  ⁸²³ 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]  ⁸²⁴ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:15]  ⁸²⁵ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[16:16]  ⁸²⁶ tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

[16:16]  ⁸²⁷ tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

[16:17]  ⁸²⁸ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁸²⁹ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁸³⁰ 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]  ⁸³¹ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ⁸³² tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:18]  ⁸³³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ⁸³⁴ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ⁸³⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ⁸³⁶ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:19]  ⁸³⁷ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ⁸³⁸ 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]  ⁸³⁹ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ⁸⁴⁰ 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]  ⁸⁴¹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ⁸⁴² tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ⁸⁴³ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ⁸⁴⁴ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”

[16:22]  ⁸⁴⁵ tn Heb “the hair of his head.”

[16:24]  ⁸⁴⁶ 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]  ⁸⁴⁷ tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[16:25]  ⁸⁴⁸ tn Heb “When their heart was good.”

[16:25]  ⁸⁴⁹ tn Heb “before them.”

[16:26]  ⁸⁵⁰ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”

[16:27]  ⁸⁵¹ tn Heb “house.”

[16:28]  ⁸⁵² tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ⁸⁵³ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[16:29]  ⁸⁵⁴ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”

[16:30]  ⁸⁵⁵ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ⁸⁵⁶ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[16:31]  ⁸⁵⁷ tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”

[16:31]  ⁸⁵⁸ tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”

[16:31]  ⁸⁵⁹ tn Traditionally, “judged.”