Judges 2:15

2:15 Whenever they went out to fight,¹ the Lord did them harm,² just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.³ They suffered greatly.⁴

Judges 3:2

3:2 He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war.⁵

Judges 3:16

3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long.⁶ He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.

Judges 5:6

5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,

in the days of Jael caravans⁷ disappeared;⁸

travelers⁹ had to go on winding side roads.

Judges 6:29

6:29 They said to one another,¹⁰ “Who did this?”¹¹ They investigated the matter thoroughly¹² and concluded¹³ that Gideon son of Joash had done it.

Judges 8:4

Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings

8:4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.¹⁴

Judges 8:8

8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request.¹⁵ The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had.¹⁶

Judges 8:12

8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon¹⁷ chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised¹⁸ their entire army.

Judges 8:28

Gideon’s Story Ends

8:28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken.¹⁹ The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time.²⁰

Judges 8:34-35

8:34 The Israelites did not remain true²¹ to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat²² the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

Judges 16:8

16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them.

Judges 17:7

Micah Hires a Professional

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem²³ in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah.²⁴

Judges 18:22

18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors²⁵ gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

Judges 19:2

19:2 However, she²⁶ got angry at him²⁷ and went home²⁸ to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

Judges 20:3

20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!”

Judges 20:17

20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.²⁹

Judges 20:22

20:22 The Israelite army³⁰ took heart³¹ and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Judges 20:38

20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush³² sent up a smoke signal from the city,

Judges 21:1

600 Brides for 600 Brothers

21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.”

Judges 21:6

21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to³³ their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today we cut off an entire³⁴ tribe from Israel!

Judges 21:14

21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites³⁵ gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around.³⁶

¹tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

²tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

³tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

⁴tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

⁵tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war – only those who formerly did not know them.”

sn The stated purpose for leaving the nations (to teach the subsequent generations…how to conduct holy war) seems to contradict 2:22 and 3:4, which indicate the nations were left to test Israel’s loyalty to the Lord. However, the two stated purposes can be harmonized. The willingness of later generations to learn and engage in holy war would measure their allegiance to the Lord (see B. G. Webb, Judges [JSOTSup], 114-15).

⁶tn The Hebrew term גֹּמֶד (gomed) denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger – approximately 18 inches [45 cm]). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist – approximately 13 inches [33 cm]) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand – approximately 9 inches [23 cm]). See BDB 167 s.v.; HALOT 196 s.v.; B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 142.

⁷tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (’orÿkhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (’orakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.

⁸tn Or “ceased.”

⁹tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”

¹⁰tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”

¹¹tn Heb “this thing.”

¹²tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.

¹³tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”

¹⁴tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)

¹⁵tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

¹⁶tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

¹⁷tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”

¹⁹tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”

²⁰tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”

²¹tn Heb “remember.”

²²tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”

²³map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

²⁴tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”

²⁵tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

²⁶tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁷tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

²⁸tn Heb “went from him.”

²⁹tn Heb “a man of war.”

³⁰tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

³¹tn Or “encouraged one another.”

³²tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men hiding in ambush) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³³tn Or “felt sorry for.”

³⁴tn Heb “cut off one.”

³⁵tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁶tn Heb “but they did not find for them enough.”