Hakim-hakim 1:4

1:4 The men of Judah attacked, ¹  and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

Hakim-hakim 3:4

3:4 They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses. ² 

Hakim-hakim 3:8

3:8 The Lord was furious with Israel ³  and turned them over to ⁴  King Cushan-Rishathaim ⁵  of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects ⁶  for eight years.

Hakim-hakim 4:15

4:15 The Lord routed ⁷  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ⁸  Sisera jumped out of ⁹  his chariot and ran away on foot.

Hakim-hakim 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ¹⁰  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ¹¹  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ¹²  Have I not sent you?”

Hakim-hakim 6:18

6:18 Do not leave this place until I come back ¹³  with a gift ¹⁴  and present it to you.” The Lord said, “I will stay here until you come back.”

Hakim-hakim 7:7

7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ¹⁵  and I will hand Midian over to you. ¹⁶  The rest of the men should go home.” ¹⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 7:15

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ¹⁸  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”

Hakim-hakim 7:18

7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

Hakim-hakim 8:7

8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, ¹⁹  after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh ²⁰  your skin ²¹  with ²²  desert thorns and briers.”

Hakim-hakim 8:23

8:23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”

Hakim-hakim 10:11

10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,

Hakim-hakim 11:11

11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ²³  before the Lord in Mizpah.

Hakim-hakim 11:24

11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. ²⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 11:27

11:27 I have not done you wrong, ²⁵  but you are doing wrong ²⁶  by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”

Hakim-hakim 11:29

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ²⁷  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ²⁸  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ²⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 13:3

13:3 The Lord’s angelic ³⁰  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ³¹  are infertile and childless, ³²  but you will conceive and have a son.

Hakim-hakim 20:1

Civil War Breaks Out

20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba ³³  and from the land of Gilead ³⁴  left their homes ³⁵  and assembled together ³⁶  before the Lord at Mizpah.

Hakim-hakim 21:7

21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? ³⁷  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Judah went up.”

[3:4]  ² tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

[3:8]  ³ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[3:8]  ⁵ tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”

[4:15]  ⁷ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “got down from.”

[6:14]  ¹⁰ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:18]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:18]  ¹⁴ 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.

[7:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[8:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[8:7]  ²⁰ sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.

[8:7]  ²¹ tn Or “flesh.”

[8:7]  ²² tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (’et, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.

[11:11]  ²³ tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord.

[11:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.

[11:27]  ²⁵ tn Or “sinned against you.”

[11:27]  ²⁶ tn Or “evil.”

[11:29]  ²⁷ tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ²⁸ tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ²⁹ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[13:3]  ³⁰ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ³² tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[20:1]  ³³ sn Dan was located in the far north of the country, while Beer Sheba was located in the far south. This encompassed all the territory of the land of Canaan occupied by the Israelites.

[20:1]  ³⁴ sn The land of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

[20:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “went out.”

[20:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and the assembly was convened as one man.”

[21:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”