Hakim-hakim 5:8

5:8 God chose new leaders, ¹ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ² 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ³ 

among forty military units ⁴  in Israel.

Hakim-hakim 17:8-9

17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ⁵  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 19:2

19:2 However, she ⁷  got angry at him ⁸  and went home ⁹  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

Hakim-hakim 19:5

19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹⁰  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹¹  then you can go.”

[5:8]  ¹ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

[5:8]  ² tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

[5:8]  ⁴ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

[17:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[17:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[19:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ⁸ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “went from him.”

[19:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”