Discovery BoxJudges 5:21 
Context5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;
the river confronted them 1 – the Kishon River.
Step on the necks of the strong! 2
Judges 6:38
Context6:38 The Lord did as he asked. 3 When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. 4
Judges 8:27
Context8:27 Gideon used all this to make 5 an ephod, 6 which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites 7 prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it 8 there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
Judges 8:33
Context8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith 9 their god.
Judges 9:3
Context9:3 His mother’s relatives 10 spoke on his behalf to 11 all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. 12 The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; 13 they said, “He is our close relative.” 14
Judges 9:6
Context9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar 15 in Shechem.
Judges 9:25
Context9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting 16 bandits in 17 the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. 18
Judges 9:51
Context9:51 There was a fortified 19 tower 20 in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.
Judges 19:26
Context19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master 21 was staying until it became light. 22
Judges 20:5
Context20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. 23 They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.
1 tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.
2 tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (’oz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.
3 tn Heb “And it was so.”
4 tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece – a bowl full of water.”
5 tn Heb “made it into.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).
8 tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
9 sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.
10 tn Heb “brothers.”
11 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
12 tn Heb “and all these words.”
13 tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”
14 tn Heb “our brother.”
15 tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).
16 tn Heb “set against him bandits.”
sn Putting bandits in the hills. This piracy certainly interrupted or discouraged trade, and probably deprived Abimelech of tariffs or tribute. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 277; G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 253.
17 tn Heb “on the tops of.”
18 tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”
19 tn Or “strong.”
20 tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.
21 tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.
22 tn Heb “The woman came at the turning of the morning and fell at the door of the house of the man where her master was until the light.”
23 tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”
