³ tn Heb “Midian.”

¹ tn Heb “Midian.”

⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

⁵ tn Heb “Midian.”

¹ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

³ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

¹ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

¹ tn Heb “do to them like Midian.”

¹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

² tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

¹ tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”

¹ tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”

³ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

¹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

¹ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

² sn This alludes to Gideon’s victory over Midian (Judg 7-8), when the Lord delivered Israel from an oppressive foreign invader.

² tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”

² tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that וְעָלוּ (v^eʿalu) is dittographic (note the following עָלָיו, ʿalayv).

¹ sn This lengthy chapter records the mobilization of the troops (vv. 1-5), the war itself (vv. 6-13), the death of the captive women (vv. 14-18), the purification of the nations (vv. 19-24), and the distribution of the spoils (vv. 25-54). For more detail, see G. W. Coats, “Moses in Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10; and W. J. Dumbrell, “Midian—a Land or a League?” VT 25 (1975): 323-37.

⁴ sn The location of Midyan or Midian is uncertain, but it had to have been beyond the Egyptian borders on the east, either in the Sinai or beyond in the Arabah (south of the Dead Sea) or even on the east side of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Midianites seem to have traveled extensively in the desert regions. R. A. Cole (Exodus [TOTC], 60) reasons that since they later were enemies of Israel, it is unlikely that these traditions would have been made up about Israel’s great lawgiver; further, he explains that “Ishmaelite” and “Kenite” might have been clan names within the region of Midian. For a different point of view, see G. W. Coats, “Moses and Midian,” JBL 92 (1973): 3-10.