Discovery BoxJudges 9:17 
Context9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life 1 and delivered you from Midian’s power. 2
Judges 9:21
Context9:21 Then Jotham ran away 3 to Beer and lived there to escape from 4 Abimelech his half-brother. 5
Judges 9:26
Context9:26 Gaal son of Ebed 6 came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. 7
Judges 12:7
Context12:7 Jephthah led 8 Israel for six years; then he 9 died and was buried in his city in Gilead. 10
Judges 13:2
Context13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. 11
Judges 14:7
Context14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah 12 and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. 13
Judges 17:12
Context17:12 Micah paid 14 the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.
Judges 18:4
Context18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, 15 “He hired me and I became his priest.”
Judges 19:7
Context19:7 When the man got ready to leave, 16 his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. 17
Judges 19:21
Context19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. 18
1 tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.
2 tn Heb “hand.”
3 tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”
4 tn Heb “from before.”
5 tn Heb “his brother.”
6 sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.
7 tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).
8 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
9 tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tc The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.
11 tn Heb “and had not given birth.”
12 tn Heb “He went down.”
13 tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”
14 tn Heb “filled the hand of.”
15 tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.
16 tn Heb “and the man arose to go.”
17 tn Heb “his father-in-law persuaded him and he again spent the night there.”
18 tn Heb “ate and drank.”
