Judges 1:7

1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up 1  food scraps 2  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” 3  They brought him to Jerusalem, 4  where he died.

Judges 8:27

8:27 Gideon used all this to make 5  an ephod, 6  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites 7  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it 8  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Judges 9:9

9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’ 9 

Judges 16:11

16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, 10  I will become weak and be just like any other man.”

1 tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

2 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

3 tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

5 tn Heb “made it into.”

6 sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

7 tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

8 tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

9 tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

10 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”