Hakim-hakim 4:1-24
Konteks4:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight 1 after Ehud’s death. 4:2 The Lord turned them over to 2 King Jabin of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. 3 The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim. 4 4:3 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, because Sisera 5 had nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels, 6 and he cruelly 7 oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, 8 wife of Lappidoth, was 9 leading 10 Israel at that time. 4:5 She would sit 11 under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel 12 in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. 13
4:6 She summoned 14 Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun! 4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. 15 I will hand him over to you.” 4:8 Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” 4:9 She said, “I will indeed go with you. But you will not gain fame 16 on the expedition you are undertaking, 17 for the Lord will turn Sisera over to a woman.” 18 Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 4:10 Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; 19 Deborah went up with him as well. 4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away 20 from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived 21 near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.
4:12 When Sisera heard 22 that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 4:13 he 23 ordered 24 all his chariotry – nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels – and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon. 4:14 Deborah said to Barak, “Spring into action, 25 for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! 26 Has the Lord not taken the lead?” 27 Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 4:15 The Lord routed 28 Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. 29 Sisera jumped out of 30 his chariot and ran away on foot. 4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died 31 by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! 32
4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor 33 and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. 34 4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest, 35 my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera 36 stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him. 4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again. 4:20 He said to her, “Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?’ say ‘No.’” 4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. 37 She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground 38 while he was asleep from exhaustion, 39 and he died. 4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, 40 and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead 41 with the tent peg in his temple.
4:23 That day God humiliated King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 4:24 Israel’s power continued to overwhelm 42 King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with 43 him. 44
Hakim-hakim 6:1-40
Konteks6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, 45 so the Lord turned them over to 46 Midian for seven years. 6:2 The Midianites 47 overwhelmed Israel. 48 Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters 49 for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, 50 the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. 51 6:4 They invaded the land 52 and devoured 53 its crops 54 all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, 55 and they took away 56 the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 6:5 When they invaded 57 with their cattle and tents, they were as thick 58 as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. 59 They came to devour 60 the land. 6:6 Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.
6:7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian, 6:8 he 61 sent a prophet 62 to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt 63 and took you out of that place of slavery. 64 6:9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power 65 and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. 6:10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship 66 the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” 67
6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger 68 came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon 69 was threshing 70 wheat in a winepress 71 so he could hide it from the Midianites. 72 6:12 The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!” 6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, 73 but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster 74 overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, 75 ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.” 6:14 Then the Lord himself 76 turned to him and said, “You have the strength. 77 Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! 78 Have I not sent you?” 6:15 Gideon 79 said to him, “But Lord, 80 how 81 can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” 82 6:16 The Lord said to him, “Ah, but 83 I will be with you! You will strike down the whole Midianite army.” 84 6:17 Gideon 85 said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, 86 then give me 87 a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me. 6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back 88 with a gift 89 and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”
6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, 90 along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food 91 to him under the oak tree and presented it to him. 6:20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, 92 and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. 93 6:21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. 94 Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared. 95
6:22 When Gideon realized 96 that it was the Lord’s messenger, he 97 said, “Oh no! 98 Master, Lord! 99 I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!” 6:23 The Lord said to him, “You are safe! 100 Do not be afraid! You are not going to die!” 6:24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” 101 To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. 102 Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. 103 Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants 104 and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family 105 and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. 106
6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw 107 the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar. 6:29 They said to one another, 108 “Who did this?” 109 They investigated the matter thoroughly 110 and concluded 111 that Gideon son of Joash had done it. 6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! 112 He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.” 6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, 113 “Must you fight Baal’s battles? 114 Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause 115 will die by morning! 116 If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! 117 After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” 118 6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal, 119 because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”
6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east 120 assembled. They crossed the Jordan River 121 and camped in the Jezreel Valley. 6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of 122 Gideon. He blew a trumpet, 123 summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 124 6:35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. 125 He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.
6:36 Gideon said to God, “If you really intend to use me to deliver Israel, 126 as you promised, then give me a sign as proof. 127 6:37 Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it 128 is dry, then I will be sure 129 that you will use me to deliver Israel, 130 as you promised.” 6:38 The Lord did as he asked. 131 When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl. 132 6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. 133 Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.” 134 6:40 That night God did as he asked. 135 Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew.
[4:1] 1 tn Heb “did evil in the eyes of the
[4:2] 2 tn Heb “the
[4:2] 3 tn Or “King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite ruler.”
[4:2] map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[4:2] 4 tn Or “Harosheth of the Pagan Nations”; cf. KJV “Harosheth of the Gentiles.”
[4:3] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:3] 6 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
[4:3] 7 tn Heb “with strength.”
[4:4] 8 tn Heb “ a woman, a prophetess.” In Hebrew idiom the generic “woman” sometimes precedes the more specific designation. See GKC 437-38 §135.b.
[4:4] 9 tn Heb “she was.” The pronoun refers back to the nominative absolute “Deborah.” Hebrew style sometimes employs such resumptive pronouns when lengthy qualifiers separate the subject from the verb.
[4:5] 11 tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”
[4:5] 12 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[4:5] 13 tn Heb “for judgment.”
[4:6] 14 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
[4:7] 15 tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”
[4:9] 17 tn Heb “on [account of (?)] the way which you are walking.” Another option is to translate, “due to the way you are going about this.” In this case direct reference is made to Barak’s hesitancy as the reason for his loss of glory.
[4:9] 18 tn Heb “for into the hands of a woman the
[4:10] 19 tn Heb “went up at his feet.”
[4:11] 21 tn Heb “pitched his tent.”
[4:12] 22 tn Heb “and they told Sisera.”
[4:13] 23 tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[4:14] 26 tn The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the
[4:14] 27 tn Heb “Has the
[4:15] 28 tn Or “caused to panic.”
[4:15] 29 tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[4:15] 30 tn Heb “got down from.”
[4:17] 33 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[4:17] 34 tn Heb “for there was peace between.”
[4:18] 35 tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).
[4:18] 36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:21] 37 tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”
[4:21] 38 tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”
[4:21] 39 tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”
[4:22] 40 tn Heb “he went to her.”
[4:22] 41 tn Heb “fallen, dead.”
[4:24] 42 tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”
[4:24] 44 tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:1] 45 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[6:1] 46 tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”
[6:2] 47 tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
[6:2] 48 tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”
[6:2] 49 tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.
[6:3] 50 tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”
[6:3] 51 tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that וְעָלוּ (vÿ’alu) is dittographic (note the following עָלָיו, ’alayv).
[6:4] 52 tn Heb “They encamped against them.”
[6:4] 54 tn Heb “the crops of the land.”
[6:4] 55 tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”
[6:4] 56 tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[6:5] 59 tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”
[6:5] 60 tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.
[6:8] 61 tn Heb “the
[6:8] 62 tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
[6:8] 63 tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” מֵאֶרֶץ (me’erets, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following מִמִּצְרַיִם [mimmitsrayim, “from Egypt”]).
[6:8] 64 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
[6:9] 65 tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).
[6:10] 66 tn Heb “Do not fear.”
[6:10] 67 tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”
[6:11] 68 tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.
[6:11] sn The
[6:11] 69 tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.
[6:11] 70 tn Heb “beating out.”
[6:11] 71 sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
[6:13] 73 tn Heb “But my lord.”
[6:14] 76 sn Some interpreters equate the
[6:14] 77 tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”
[6:14] 78 tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
[6:15] 79 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:15] 80 tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.
[6:15] 82 tn Heb “in my father’s house.”
[6:16] 84 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.”
[6:17] 85 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:17] 86 tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”
[6:17] 87 tn Heb “perform for me.”
[6:18] 88 tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:18] 89 tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word מִנְחָה (minkhah, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.
[6:19] 90 tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”
[6:19] 91 tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[6:20] 92 tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”
[6:20] 93 tn Heb “and he did so.”
[6:21] 94 tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
[6:21] 95 tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
[6:22] 97 tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[6:22] 99 tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15],
[6:23] 100 tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.
[6:24] 101 tn Heb “The
[6:25] 102 tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.
[6:26] 103 tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.
[6:27] 104 tn Heb “men from among his servants.”
[6:27] 106 tn Heb “so he did it at night.”
[6:28] 107 tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.
[6:29] 108 tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”
[6:29] 109 tn Heb “this thing.”
[6:29] 110 tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.
[6:29] 111 tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”
[6:30] 112 tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
[6:31] 113 tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”
[6:31] 114 tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”
[6:31] 115 tn Heb “fights for him.”
[6:31] 116 sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.
[6:31] 117 tn Heb “fight for himself.”
[6:31] 118 tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).
[6:32] 119 tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”
[6:33] 120 tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”
[6:33] 121 tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[6:34] 123 tn That is, “mustered an army.”
[6:34] 124 tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”
[6:35] 125 tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”
[6:36] 126 tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”
[6:36] 127 tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[6:37] 128 tn Heb “all the ground.”
[6:37] 130 tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”
[6:38] 131 tn Heb “And it was so.”
[6:38] 132 tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece – a bowl full of water.”
[6:39] 133 tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”
[6:39] 134 tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”
