Judges 5:8

5:8 God chose new leaders, ¹ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ² 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ³ 

among forty military units ⁴  in Israel.

Judges 6:5

6:5 When they invaded ⁵  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ⁶  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ⁷  They came to devour ⁸  the land.

Judges 20:16

20:16 Among this army ⁹  were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. ¹⁰  Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. ¹¹ 

---

¹ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

² tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

³ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

⁴ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

⁵ tn Heb “came up.”

⁶ tn Heb “numerous.”

⁷ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

⁸ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

⁹ tn Heb “And from all this people.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “seven hundred choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15.

¹¹ tn “at a single hair and not miss.”