1:4 The men of Judah attacked, 1 and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.
1:31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, 3 nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. 4
1:34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in 5 the coastal plain.
3:7 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. 7 They forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. 8
5:7 Warriors 10 were scarce, 11
they were scarce in Israel,
until you 12 arose, Deborah,
until you arose as a motherly protector 13 in Israel.
6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east 14 assembled. They crossed the Jordan River 15 and camped in the Jezreel Valley.
9:8 “The trees were determined to go out 21 and choose a king for themselves. 22 They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 23
9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up 24 at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into 25 four units.
9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem 26 heard the news, they went to the stronghold 27 of the temple of El-Berith. 28
20:22 The Israelite army 47 took heart 48 and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.
21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. 55
21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. 58 21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites 59 gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around. 60
1 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
2 tn Heb “saw.”
3 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
4 tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”
5 tn Heb “come down into.”
6 tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the
7 tn Heb “in the eyes of the
8 sn The Asherahs were local manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Asherah.
9 tn Heb “and he gathered to him.”
10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (fÿrazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.
11 tn Or “ceased.”
12 tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).
13 tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).
14 tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”
15 tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
16 tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”
17 tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”
18 tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”
19 tn Heb “empty and reckless.”
20 tn Heb “and they followed him.”
21 tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”
22 tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”
23 tn Or “Rule over us!”
24 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”
25 tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
26 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
27 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
28 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
29 tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
30 tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
31 tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”
32 tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the
33 tn Heb “hand.”
34 tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”
35 tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”
36 tn Heb “Ask God.”
37 tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”
38 tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”
39 tn Heb “behind.”
40 tn Heb “turned aside.”
41 tn Heb “Micah’s house.”
42 tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”
43 tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”
44 tn Heb “saw.”
45 tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”
46 tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”
47 tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”
48 tn Or “encouraged one another.”
49 tn Heb “hurried and put off [their hiding place].”
50 tn Heb “the men hiding in ambush.”
51 tn Or “deployed.” The verb normally means “to lead” or “to draw.”
52 tn Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”
53 tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”
54 tn Heb “one.”
55 tn Or “peace offerings.”
56 tn Or “felt sorry for.”
57 tn Heb “cut off one.”
58 tn Heb “And all the assembly sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the cliff of Rimmon and they proclaimed to them peace.”
59 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
60 tn Heb “but they did not find for them enough.”