6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw 3 the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar.
7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men 5 got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. 6 The Midianites 7 were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley.
9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. 8 He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, 9 9:2 “Tell 10 all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want 11 to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” 12
9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, 13 if you have properly repaid him 14 –
1 tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”
3 tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.
4 tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
5 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”
6 sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”
7 tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).
8 tn Heb “brothers.”
9 tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”
10 tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”
11 tn Heb “What good is it to you?”
12 tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”
13 tn Heb “house.”
14 tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
15 sn Verses 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.