Hakim-hakim 1:17-18

1:17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ¹  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ²  So people now call the city Hormah. ³  1:18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. ⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 2:3

2:3 At that time I also warned you, ⁵  ‘If you disobey, ⁶  I will not drive out the Canaanites ⁷  before you. They will ensnare you ⁸  and their gods will lure you away.’” ⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 2:10

2:10 That entire generation passed away; ¹⁰  a new generation grew up ¹¹  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 6:2

6:2 The Midianites ¹³  overwhelmed Israel. ¹⁴  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ¹⁵  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

Hakim-hakim 6:5

6:5 When they invaded ¹⁶  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ¹⁷  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ¹⁸  They came to devour ¹⁹  the land.

Hakim-hakim 6:10

6:10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship ²⁰  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ²¹ 

Hakim-hakim 7:21

7:21 They stood in order ²²  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ²³ 

Hakim-hakim 8:24

8:24 Gideon continued, ²⁴  “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” ²⁵  (The Midianites ²⁶  had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

Hakim-hakim 9:44

9:44 Abimelech and his units ²⁷  attacked and blocked ²⁸  the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.

Hakim-hakim 10:8

10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ²⁹  the Israelites that eighteenth year ³⁰  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.

Hakim-hakim 11:1

11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. ³¹ 

Hakim-hakim 11:19

11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” ³² 

Hakim-hakim 11:21

11:21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took ³³  all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land.

Hakim-hakim 11:37

11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish. ³⁴  For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 11:39

11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ³⁶  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ³⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 20:46

20:46 That day twenty-five thousand ³⁸  sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. ³⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 21:12

21:12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins – they had never had sexual relations with a male. ⁴⁰  They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

[1:17]  ¹ tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

[1:17]  ² tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ³ sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “arose after them.”

[2:10]  ¹² tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

[6:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Do not fear.”

[6:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[7:21]  ²² tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ²³ tn Or “fled.”

[8:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “said to them.”

[8:24]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”

[8:24]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:44]  ²⁷ tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

[9:44]  ²⁸ tn Heb “stood [at].”

[10:8]  ²⁹ 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.

[10:8]  ³⁰ 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.

[11:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”

[11:19]  ³² tn Heb “to my place.”

[11:21]  ³³ tn That is, took as its own possession.

[11:37]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

[11:37]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”

[11:39]  ³⁶ tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

[11:39]  ³⁷ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[20:46]  ³⁸ sn The number given here (twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites) is an approximate figure; v. 35 gives the more exact number (25,100). According to v. 15, the Benjaminite army numbered 26,700 (26,000 + 700). The figures in vv. 35 (rounded in vv. 44-46) and 47 add up to 25,700. What happened to the other 1,000 men? The most reasonable explanation is that they were killed during the first two days of fighting. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 429) and C. F. Burney (Judges, 475) reject this proposal, arguing that the narrator is too precise and concerned about details to omit such a fact. However, the account of the first two days’ fighting emphasizes Israel’s humiliating defeat. To speak of Benjaminite casualties would diminish the literary effect. In vv. 35, 44-47 the narrator’s emphasis is the devastating defeat that Benjamin experienced on this final day of battle. To mention the earlier days’ casualties at this point is irrelevant to his literary purpose. He allows readers who happen to be concerned with such details to draw conclusions for themselves.

[20:46]  ³⁹ tn Heb “So all the ones who fell from Benjamin were twenty-five thousand men, wielding the sword, in that day, all of these men of strength.

[21:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “who had not known a man with respect to the bed of a male.”