Discovery BoxJudges 6:33 
Context6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east 1 assembled. They crossed the Jordan River 2 and camped in the Jezreel Valley.
Judges 7:16
Context7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. 3 He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. 4
Judges 8:34-35
Context8:34 The Israelites did not remain true 5 to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat 6 the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.
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 7 in Shechem.
Judges 9:34
Context9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up 8 at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into 9 four units.
Judges 9:46
Context9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem 10 heard the news, they went to the stronghold 11 of the temple of El-Berith. 12
Judges 10:8
Context10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed 13 the Israelites that eighteenth year 14 – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.
Judges 19:20
Context19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! 15 I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.”
Judges 20:1
Context20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba 16 and from the land of Gilead 17 left their homes 18 and assembled together 19 before the Lord at Mizpah.
Judges 20:8
Context20:8 All Israel rose up in unison 20 and said, “Not one of us will go home! 21 Not one of us will return 22 to his house!
Judges 21:16
Context21:16 The leaders 23 of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? 24 After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.
1 tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”
2 tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “heads.”
4 tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.
5 tn Heb “remember.”
6 tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”
7 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).
8 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”
9 tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
10 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
11 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
12 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
13 tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
14 tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
15 tn Heb “Peace to you.”
16 sn Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.
17 sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
18 tn Heb “went out.”
19 tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”
20 tn Heb “as one man.”
21 tn Heb “to his tent.”
22 tn Or “turn aside.”
23 tn Or “elders.”
24 tn Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”
