8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me 7 the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” 8
9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. 9 He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, 10
10:1 After Abimelech’s death, 18 Tola son of Puah, grandson 19 of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, 20 rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country.
11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out 21 to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. 22 She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.
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 Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
5 tn Heb “answered and said.”
6 tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”
7 tn Heb “Where are?”
8 tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
9 tn Heb “brothers.”
10 tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”
11 tn Heb “his brothers.”
12 tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
13 tn Heb “remained.”
14 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.
15 tn Heb “Look!”
16 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.
17 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).
18 tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
19 tn Heb “son.”
20 tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”
21 tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”
22 tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”
23 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.
24 tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”
25 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”).
26 tn Heb “hand.”
27 tn Heb “erected for themselves.”
28 tn Heb “son.”
29 tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX
30 tn Heb “sons.”
31 tn Heb “and he arose to go.”
32 tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”