Hakim-hakim 8:10-11

8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. ¹  8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads ²  east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. ³ 

Hakim-hakim 9:44

9:44 Abimelech and his units ⁴  attacked and blocked ⁵  the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down.

Hakim-hakim 9:34

9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up ⁶  at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into ⁷  four units.

Hakim-hakim 9:43

9:43 he took his men ⁸  and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, ⁹  he attacked and struck them down. ¹⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 7:16

7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. ¹¹  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 15:16

15:16 Samson then said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey

I have left them in heaps; ¹³ 

with the jawbone of a donkey

I have struck down a thousand men!”

Hakim-hakim 7:20

7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. ¹⁴  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Hakim-hakim 20:29

20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah.

Hakim-hakim 4:16

4:16 Now Barak chased the chariots and the army all the way to Harosheth Haggoyim. Sisera’s whole army died ¹⁵  by the edge of the sword; not even one survived! ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 5:14

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ¹⁷ 

they follow ¹⁸  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ¹⁹  the ones who march carrying ²⁰  an officer’s staff.

Hakim-hakim 9:37

9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ²¹  of the land. A unit ²²  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ²³ 

Hakim-hakim 5:13

5:13 Then the survivors ²⁴  came down ²⁵  to the mighty ones; ²⁶ 

the Lord’s people came down to me ²⁷  as ²⁸  warriors.

Hakim-hakim 15:9

15:9 The Philistines went up and invaded ²⁹  Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle ³⁰  in Lehi.

Hakim-hakim 20:41

20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ³¹  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ³² 

Hakim-hakim 20:33

20:33 ³³  All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah.

Hakim-hakim 20:42

20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ³⁴  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 6:34

6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of ³⁶  Gideon. He blew a trumpet, ³⁷  summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 9:32

9:32 Now, come up ³⁹  at night with your men ⁴⁰  and set an ambush in the field outside the city. ⁴¹ 

Hakim-hakim 18:15

18:15 They stopped ⁴²  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁴³  and asked him how he was doing. ⁴⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 20:30

20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; ⁴⁵  they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before.

Hakim-hakim 20:35

20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ⁴⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 4:7

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. ⁴⁷  I will hand him over to you.”

Hakim-hakim 4:13

4:13 he ⁴⁸  ordered ⁴⁹  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.

Hakim-hakim 4:15

4:15 The Lord routed ⁵⁰  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ⁵¹  Sisera jumped out of ⁵²  his chariot and ran away on foot.

Hakim-hakim 5:15-16

5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,

the men of Issachar ⁵³  supported ⁵⁴  Barak;

into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. ⁵⁵ 

Among the clans of Reuben there was intense ⁵⁶  heart searching. ⁵⁷ 

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ⁵⁸ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ⁵⁹  for their flocks? ⁶⁰ 

As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.

Hakim-hakim 7:23

7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ⁶¹ 

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 9:29

9:29 If only these men ⁶²  were under my command, ⁶³  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁶⁴  “Muster ⁶⁵  your army and come out for battle!” ⁶⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 20:2

20:2 The leaders ⁶⁷  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ⁶⁸  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.

Hakim-hakim 20:22

20:22 The Israelite army ⁶⁹  took heart ⁷⁰  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Hakim-hakim 20:36

20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ⁷¹  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

Hakim-hakim 20:39

20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ⁷²  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ⁷³  they struck down ⁷⁴  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”

Hakim-hakim 3:28

3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ⁷⁵  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁷⁶  opposite Moab, ⁷⁷  and did not let anyone cross.

Hakim-hakim 7:8

7:8 The men ⁷⁸  who were chosen ⁷⁹  took supplies ⁸⁰  and their trumpets. Gideon ⁸¹  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ⁸²  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ⁸³  were camped down below ⁸⁴  in the valley.

Hakim-hakim 7:22

7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ⁸⁵  throughout ⁸⁶  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ⁸⁷  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Hakim-hakim 7:24

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. ⁸⁸  Take control of the fords of the streams ⁸⁹  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” ⁹⁰  When all the Ephraimites had assembled, ⁹¹  they took control of the fords ⁹²  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.

Hakim-hakim 8:2

8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ⁹³  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ⁹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 18:17

18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ⁹⁵  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. ⁹⁶ 

[8:10]  ¹ tn Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”

[8:11]  ² tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”

[8:11]  ³ tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term בֶטַח (vetakh, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.

[9:44]  ⁴ tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

[9:44]  ⁵ tn Heb “stood [at].”

[9:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”

[9:34]  ⁷ tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:43]  ⁸ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:43]  ⁹ tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

[9:43]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

[7:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ¹² tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:16]  sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.

[15:16]  ¹³ tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).

[7:20]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fell.”

[4:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “was left.”

[5:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹⁹ tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ²⁰ tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[9:37]  ²¹ tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

[9:37]  ²² tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ²³ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[5:13]  ²⁴ tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).

[5:13]  ²⁵ tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.

[5:13]  ²⁶ sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.

[5:13]  ²⁷ sn The speaker may be Deborah here.

[5:13]  ²⁸ tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.

[15:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “camped in.”

[15:9]  ³⁰ tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.

[20:41]  ³¹ tn Or “were terrified.”

[20:41]  ³² tn Heb “disaster touched against them.”

[20:33]  ³³ sn Verses 33-36a give a condensed account of the battle from this point on, while vv. 36b-48 offer a more detailed version of how the ambush contributed to Gibeah’s defeat.

[20:42]  ³⁴ tn Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”

[20:42]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”

[6:34]  ³⁶ tn Heb “clothed.”

[6:34]  ³⁷ tn That is, “mustered an army.”

[6:34]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”

[9:32]  ³⁹ tn Heb “arise.”

[9:32]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”

[9:32]  ⁴¹ tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[18:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[20:30]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the third day.”

[20:35]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”

[4:7]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[4:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Sisera.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “summoned.”

[4:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “got down from.”

[5:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “was true to.”

[5:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “at his feet.”

[5:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “great was.”

[5:15]  ⁵⁷ tc The great majority of Hebrew mss have “resolves of heart,” but a few mss read “searchings of heart,” which is preferable in light of v. 16.

[5:16]  ⁵⁸ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[7:23]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Midian.”

[9:29]  ⁶² tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁶³ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.

[9:29]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁶⁶ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[20:2]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the cornerstones”; or “the supports.” The word is used of leaders in only three other texts – 1 Sam 14:38; Isa 19:13; Zech 10:4.

[20:2]  ⁶⁸ tn The words “which numbered” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[20:36]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “gave place to.”

[20:39]  ⁷² tn Heb “turned in the battle.”

[20:39]  ⁷³ tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”

[20:39]  ⁷⁴ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:28]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” 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 Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[3:28]  ⁷⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[7:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ⁷⁹ tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ⁸² tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ⁸⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:22]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ⁸⁶ tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

[7:22]  ⁸⁷ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:24]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

[7:24]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”

[7:24]  ⁹⁰ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).

[7:24]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”

[7:24]  ⁹² tn Heb “they captured the waters.”

[8:2]  ⁹³ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ⁹⁴ sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[18:17]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

[18:17]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”