Judges 9:3
9:3 His mother’s relatives 1 spoke on his behalf to 2 all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. 3 The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; 4 they said, “He is our close relative.” 5
Judges 11:8
11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, 6 but now we pledge to you our loyalty. 7 Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader 8 of all who live in Gilead.” 9
Judges 11:24
11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. 10
Judges 19:19
19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, 11 and the young man who is with your servants. 12 We lack nothing.”
Judges 20:23
20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we 13 again march out to fight 14 the Benjaminites, our brothers?” 15 The Lord said, “Attack them!” 16
Judges 21:7
21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? 17 After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”
1 tn Heb “brothers.”
2 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
3 tn Heb “and all these words.”
4 tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”
5 tn Heb “our brother.”
6 tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).
7 tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.
8 sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.
9 tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”
10 tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.
11 tn By calling his concubine the old man’s “female servant,” the Levite emphasizes their dependence on him for shelter.
12 tc Some Hebrew mss and ancient witnesses read the singular, “your servant,” which would refer to the Levite. If one retains the plural, then both the Levite and his wife are in view. In either case the pronominal suffix emphasizes their dependence on the old man for shelter.
13 tn Heb “I” (collective singular).
14 tn Heb “approach for battle.”
15 tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).
16 tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).
17 tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”