Judges 5:2

5:2 “When the leaders took the lead ¹  in Israel,

When the people answered the call to war –

Praise the Lord!

Judges 5:9

5:9 My heart went out ²  to Israel’s leaders,

to the people who answered the call to war.

Praise the Lord!

Judges 11:4

11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel.

Judges 12:8

Order Restored

12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem ³  led ⁴  Israel.

Judges 12:13

12:13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led ⁵  Israel.

Judges 15:20

15:20 Samson led ⁶  Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. ⁷ 

Judges 20:19

20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved ⁸  against Gibeah.

Judges 20:24

20:24 So the Israelites marched toward ⁹  the Benjaminites the next day.

Judges 21:17

21:17 The ¹⁰  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ¹¹ 

[5:2]  ¹ 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).

[5:9]  ² tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[12:8]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[12:8]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[12:13]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”

[20:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “encamped.”

[20:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “drew near to.”

[21:17]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse. For stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 17 as a continuation of the remarks of the leaders in v. 16.

[21:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”