Hakim-hakim 8:16-17

8:16 He seized the leaders ¹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ²  8:17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.

[8:16]  ¹ tn Heb “elders.”

[8:16]  ² tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”