1 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.
3 tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”
4 tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”
5 tc Many interpreters reject the MT reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner).
6 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because warriors are in view, and in ancient Israelite culture these would be only males. (This is also the case in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)
7 tn Or “turned around, back.”
8 tn Heb “he sent her.”
9 tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.
10 tn Heb “And the man took her on the donkey and arose and went to his place.”