Judges 5:17

5:17 Gilead stayed put ¹  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ² 

Asher remained ³  on the seacoast,

he stayed ⁴  by his harbors. ⁵ 

Judges 18:22

18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ⁶  gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

Judges 18:25-26

18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ⁷  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ⁸  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ⁹  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁰  he turned around and went home.

Judges 20:1

Civil War Breaks Out

20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ¹¹  and from the land of Gilead ¹²  left their homes ¹³  and assembled together ¹⁴  before the Lord at Mizpah.

[5:17]  ¹ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

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

[18:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[18:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

[18:25]  ¹² tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

[18:26]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[20:1]  ²¹ sn Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.

[20:1]  ²² sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

[20:1]  ²³ tn Heb “went out.”

[20:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”