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 6:34

6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of ³  Gideon. He blew a trumpet, ⁴  summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ⁵ 

Judges 7:23

7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ⁶ 

Judges 21:9

21:9 When they took roll call, ⁷  they noticed ⁸  none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.

[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.

[6:34]  ³ tn Heb “clothed.”

[6:34]  ⁴ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[6:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”

[7:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “Midian.”

[21:9]  ⁵ tn Or “when the people were mustered.”

[21:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “and look.”