Hakim-hakim 5:17

5:17 Gilead stayed put ¹  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ² 

Asher remained ³  on the seacoast,

he stayed ⁴  by his harbors. ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 10:8

10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ⁶  the Israelites that eighteenth year ⁷  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.

[5:17]  ¹ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  sn Apparently the people of Gilead remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.

[5:17]  ² tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.

[5:17]  ³ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[10:8]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.