Discovery BoxJudges 1:7 
Context1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up 1 food scraps 2 under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” 3 They brought him to Jerusalem, 4 where he died.
Judges 2:14
Context2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel 5 and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. 6 He turned them over to 7 their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. 8
Judges 3:9
Context3:9 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he 9 raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued 10 them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 11
Judges 3:20
Context3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated 12 upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God 13 for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, 14
Judges 3:24
Context3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s 15 servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself 16 in the well-ventilated inner room.” 17
Judges 3:28
Context3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” 18 They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River 19 opposite Moab, 20 and did not let anyone cross.
Judges 4:3
Context4:3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera 21 had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, 22 and he cruelly 23 oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
Judges 4:11
Context4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away 24 from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived 25 near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
Judges 4:19
Context4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again.
Judges 6:30
Context6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! 26 He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.”
Judges 6:32
Context6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, 27 because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”
Judges 7:5
Context7:5 So he brought the men 28 down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” 29
Judges 7:8
Context7:8 The men 30 who were chosen 31 took supplies 32 and their trumpets. Gideon 33 sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; 34 he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites 35 were camped down below 36 in the valley.
Judges 7:11
Context7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave 37 and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. 38
Judges 8:5
Context8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give 39 some loaves of bread to the men 40 who are following me, 41 because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
Judges 8:14
Context8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth 42 and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. 43
Judges 8:18-19
Context8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me 44 the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” 45 8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, 46 as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
Judges 8:26-27
Context8:26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. 47 This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, 48 purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. 49 8:27 Gideon used all this to make 50 an ephod, 51 which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites 52 prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it 53 there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Judges 9:1
Context9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. 54 He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, 55
Judges 9:3
Context9:3 His mother’s relatives 56 spoke on his behalf to 57 all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. 58 The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; 59 they said, “He is our close relative.” 60
Judges 9:31
Context9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, 61 reporting, “Beware! 62 Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming 63 to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. 64
Judges 10:1
Context10:1 After Abimelech’s death, 65 Tola son of Puah, grandson 66 of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, 67 rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country.
Judges 10:4
Context10:4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair 68 – they are in the land of Gilead. 69
Judges 10:18
Context10:18 The leaders 70 of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge 71 against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”
Judges 11:31
Context11:31 then whoever is the first to come through 72 the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he 73 will belong to the Lord and 74 I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.”
Judges 11:34
Context11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out 75 to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. 76 She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.
Judges 12:5
Context12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River 77 opposite Ephraim. 78 Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive 79 said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked 80 him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”
Judges 13:5
Context13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. 81 You must never cut his hair, 82 for the child will be dedicated to God 83 from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power 84 of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:8
Context13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, 85 “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God 86 to visit 87 us again, so he can teach 88 us how we should raise 89 the child who will be born.”
Judges 14:4
Context14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, 90 because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines 91 (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).
Judges 14:14
Context14:14 He said to them,
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”
They could not solve the riddle for three days.
Judges 14:17
Context14:17 She cried on his shoulder 92 until the party was almost over. 93 Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. 94 Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. 95
Judges 15:10
Context15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking 96 us?” The Philistines 97 said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.”
Judges 15:14
Context15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered 98 him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in 99 fire, and they 100 melted away from his hands.
Judges 16:11
Context16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, 101 I will become weak and be just like any other man.”
Judges 16:29
Context16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple 102 and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.
Judges 16:31
Context16:31 His brothers and all his family 103 went down and brought him back. 104 They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led 105 Israel for twenty years.
Judges 17:4
Context17:4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she 106 took two hundred pieces of silver 107 to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house. 108
Judges 17:8
Context17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. 109
Judges 18:24
Context18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” 110
Judges 19:1
Context19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite 111 living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine 112 from Bethlehem 113 in Judah.
1 tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.
2 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
3 tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.
4 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
5 tn Or “The
6 tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)
sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.
7 tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
8 tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Heb “the
10 tn Or “delivered.”
11 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel is Caleb’s nephew).
12 tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.
13 tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”
14 tn Or “throne.”
15 tn Heb “his.”
16 tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).
17 tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.
18 tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the
19 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
20 tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.
21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
22 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
23 tn Heb “with strength.”
24 tn Or “separated.”
25 tn Heb “pitched his tent.”
26 tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
27 tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”
28 tn Heb “the people.”
29 tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”
30 tn Heb “The people.”
31 tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
32 tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”
33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 tn Heb “tents.”
35 tn Heb “Midian.”
36 tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).
37 tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”
38 tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”
39 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
40 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
41 tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
42 tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”
43 tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
44 tn Heb “Where are?”
45 tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
46 tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
47 sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.
48 tn Or “pendants.”
49 tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”
50 tn Heb “made it into.”
51 sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.
52 tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).
53 tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
54 tn Heb “brothers.”
55 tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”
56 tn Heb “brothers.”
57 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
58 tn Heb “and all these words.”
59 tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”
60 tn Heb “our brother.”
61 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.
62 tn Heb “Look!”
63 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.
64 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).
65 tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
66 tn Heb “son.”
67 tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”
68 sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.
69 tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day – which are in the land of Gilead.”
70 tn Heb “the people, the officers.”
71 tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”
72 tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.
73 tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.
74 tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the
75 tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”
76 tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”
77 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
78 tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.
79 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.
80 tn Heb “say to.”
81 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.
82 tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”
83 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”).
84 tn Heb “hand.”
85 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
86 tn Heb “the man of God.”
87 tn Heb “come to.”
88 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”).
89 tn Heb “what we should do for.”
90 tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”
91 tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”
92 tn Heb “on him.”
93 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.
94 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
95 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
96 tn Or “come up against.”
97 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
98 tn Heb “rushed on.”
99 tn Heb “burned with.”
100 tn Heb “his bonds.”
101 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
102 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”
103 tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”
104 tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”
105 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
106 tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
107 tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
108 tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
109 tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”
110 tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”
111 tn Heb “a man, a Levite.”
112 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 8:31.
113 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
