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 9:29

9:29 If only these men ⁶  were under my command, ⁷  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁸  “Muster ⁹  your army and come out for battle!” ¹⁰ 

[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.”

[9:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ¹⁰ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.