Judges 1:4

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.

Judges 4:10

4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; ²  Deborah went up with him as well.

Judges 7:3

7:3 Now, announce to the men, ³  ‘Whoever is shaking with fear ⁴  may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” ⁵  Twenty-two thousand men ⁶  went home; ⁷  ten thousand remained.

Judges 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ⁸  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ⁹ 

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¹ tn Heb “Judah went up.”

² tn Heb “went up at his feet.”

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 “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

⁹ tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.