5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,
the men of Issachar 1 supported 2 Barak;
into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. 3
Among the clans of Reuben there was intense 4 heart searching. 5
13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, 21 “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God 22 to visit 23 us again, so he can teach 24 us how we should raise 25 the child who will be born.”
1 tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Or “was true to.”
3 tn Heb “at his feet.”
4 tn Heb “great was.”
5 tc The great majority of Hebrew
6 tn Heb “the
7 tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
8 tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” מֵאֶרֶץ (me’erets, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following מִמִּצְרַיִם [mimmitsrayim, “from Egypt”]).
9 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
10 tn Heb “The people.”
11 tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “tents.”
15 tn Heb “Midian.”
16 tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).
17 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.
18 tn Heb “Look!”
19 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.
20 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).
21 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
22 tn Heb “the man of God.”
23 tn Heb “come to.”
24 tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).
25 tn Heb “what we should do for.”
26 tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”
27 tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”
28 tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”
29 tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
30 tn Heb “there.”
31 tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”