Judges 3:16

3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹  He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.

Judges 7:3

7:3 Now, announce to the men, ²  ‘Whoever is shaking with fear ³  may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” ⁴  Twenty-two thousand men ⁵  went home; ⁶  ten thousand remained.

Judges 8:12

8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon ⁷  chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised ⁸  their entire army.

Judges 11:38

11:38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave ⁹  for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. ¹⁰ 

---

¹ tn 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.

² tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”

³ tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”

⁴ 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).

⁵ 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.)

⁶ tn Or “turned around, back.”

⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”

⁹ tn Heb “he sent her.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.