5:17 Gilead stayed put 13 beyond the Jordan River.
As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? 14
Asher remained 15 on the seacoast,
he stayed 16 by his harbors. 17
7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men 21 got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. 22 The Midianites 23 were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley.
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, 26 if you have properly repaid him 27 –
13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. 56
18:27 Now the Danites 67 took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. 68
19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late 79 and the servant 80 said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at 81 this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.”
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Or “delivered.”
3 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).
4 tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).
5 tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”
6 tn Or “idols.”
7 tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Or “Hush!”
10 tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”
11 tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
12 tn Or “summoned.”
13 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
sn Apparently the people of Gilead remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.
14 tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.
15 tn Heb “lived.”
16 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
17 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
18 tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
19 tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
20 tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”
21 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”
22 sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”
23 tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).
24 tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”
25 tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”
26 tn Heb “house.”
27 tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
28 tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.
29 tn Heb “Look!”
30 tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.
31 tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).
32 tn Heb “his people.”
33 tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”
34 tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”
35 tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”
36 tn Heb “stood [at].”
37 tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
38 tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”
39 tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.
40 tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
41 tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
42 tn That is, took as its own possession.
43 tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
44 tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”
45 tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the
46 tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.
47 tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”
48 tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).
49 tn Heb “hand.”
50 tn Heb “came to.”
51 tn Heb “the woman.”
52 tn Heb “I [am].”
53 tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the
54 tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”
55 tn Heb “on their faces.”
56 tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the
57 tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”
58 tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”
59 tn Heb “on him.”
60 tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
61 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
62 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
63 tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
64 tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
65 tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
66 tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”
67 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
68 tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.
69 tn Heb “erected for themselves.”
70 tn Heb “son.”
71 tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX
72 tn Heb “sons.”
73 tn Heb “and he arose to go.”
74 tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”
75 tn Heb “and he arose and went.”
76 tn Heb “to the front of.”
77 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
78 tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”
79 tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”
80 tn Or “young man.”
81 tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).
82 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
83 tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”
84 tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.