Judges 3:9-10

3:9 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ¹  raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued ²  them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ³  3:10 The Lord’s spirit empowered him ⁴  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. ⁵ 

Judges 3:15

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ⁶  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ⁷  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ⁸ 

Judges 4:5

4:5 She would sit ⁹  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ¹⁰  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ¹¹ 

Judges 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ¹²  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ¹³  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ¹⁴  Have I not sent you?”

Judges 6:1

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹⁵  so the Lord turned them over to ¹⁶  Midian for seven years.

Judges 12:11

12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led ¹⁷  Israel for ten years. ¹⁸ 

Acts 13:20

13:20 All this took ¹⁹  about four hundred fifty years. After this ²⁰  he gave them judges until the time of ²¹  Samuel the prophet.

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[3:9]  ² tn Or “delivered.”

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

[3:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “was on him.”

[3:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

[4:5]  ⁹ tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[6:14]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

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

[6:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[12:11]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”

[13:20]  ¹⁹ tn The words “all this took” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to make a complete statement in English. There is debate over where this period of 450 years fits and what it includes: (1) It could include the years in Egypt, the conquest of Canaan, and the distribution of the land; (2) some connect it with the following period of the judges. This latter approach seems to conflict with 1 Kgs 6:1; see also Josephus, Ant. 8.3.1 (8.61).

[13:20]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And after these things.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[13:20]  ²¹ tn The words “the time of” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.