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 8:11

8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads ⁶  east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. ⁷ 

[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.”

[8:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”

[8:11]  ⁷ 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.