Judges 6:11

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ¹  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ²  was threshing ³  wheat in a winepress ⁴  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ⁵ 

Judges 9:18

9:18 But you have attacked ⁶  my father’s family ⁷  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ⁸  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ⁹ 

Judges 9:28

9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ¹⁰  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ¹¹ 

Judges 11:36

11:36 She said to him, “My father, since ¹²  you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. ¹³  After all, the Lord vindicated you before ¹⁴  your enemies, the Ammonites.”

Judges 19:3

19:3 her husband came ¹⁵  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ¹⁶  He brought with him his servant ¹⁷  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ¹⁸ 

Judges 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹⁹  with his concubine and his servant, ²⁰  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ²¹  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ²²  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ²³ 

[6:11]  ¹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  ² tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.

[6:11]  ³ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ⁴ sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[6:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Midian.”

[9:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ⁸ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ¹² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:36]  ¹⁶ tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

[11:36]  ¹⁸ tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

[19:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ²² tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ²³ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ²⁷ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”