2 Raja-raja 1:1-18
Konteks1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 1 1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria 2 and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, 3 “Go, ask 4 Baal Zebub, 5 the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 6 1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 7 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 8 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 9 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 10 asked them, “Describe the appearance 11 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, 12 “He was a hairy man 13 and had a leather belt 14 tied around his waist.” The king 15 said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9 The king 16 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 17 to retrieve Elijah. 18 The captain 19 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 20 He told him, “Prophet, 21 the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1:10 Elijah replied to the captain, 22 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down 23 from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:11 The king 24 sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, 25 “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 26 1:12 Elijah replied to them, 27 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God 28 came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:13 The king 29 sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell 30 on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours. 1:14 Indeed, 31 fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. 32 So now, please have respect for my life.” 1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down 33 with him to the king.
1:16 Elijah 34 said to the king, 35 “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! 36 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 37
1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. 38 In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. 39 1:18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 40
Hakim-hakim 9:1-57
Konteks9:1 Now Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem to see his mother’s relatives. 41 He said to them and to his mother’s entire extended family, 42 9:2 “Tell 43 all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want 44 to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” 45 9:3 His mother’s relatives 46 spoke on his behalf to 47 all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. 48 The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; 49 they said, “He is our close relative.” 50 9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous 51 men as his followers. 52 9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, 53 the seventy legitimate 54 sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, 55 because he hid. 9:6 All the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo assembled and then went and made Abimelech king by the oak near the pillar 56 in Shechem.
9:7 When Jotham heard the news, 57 he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, 58 “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!
9:8 “The trees were determined to go out 59 and choose a king for themselves. 60 They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ 61 9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’ 62
9:10 “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and be our king!’ 63 9:11 But the fig tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my sweet figs, my excellent fruit, just to sway above the other trees!’ 64
9:12 “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and be our king!’ 65 9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’ 66
9:14 “So all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and be our king!’ 67 9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose 68 me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! 69 Otherwise 70 may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’
9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, 71 if you have properly repaid him 72 – 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life 73 and delivered you from Midian’s power. 74 9:18 But you have attacked 75 my father’s family 76 today. You murdered his seventy legitimate 77 sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. 78 9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family 79 today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! 80 9:20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!” 9:21 Then Jotham ran away 81 to Beer and lived there to escape from 82 Abimelech his half-brother. 83
9:22 Abimelech commanded 84 Israel for three years. 9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility 85 between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal 86 to Abimelech. 9:24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub-Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother 87 who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them. 88 9:25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting 89 bandits in 90 the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it. 91
9:26 Gaal son of Ebed 92 came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. 93 9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, 94 squeezed out the juice, 95 and celebrated. They came to the temple 96 of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech. 9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? 97 Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? 98 9:29 If only these men 99 were under my command, 100 I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, 101 “Muster 102 your army and come out for battle!” 103
9:30 When Zebul, the city commissioner, heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he was furious. 104 9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, 105 reporting, “Beware! 106 Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming 107 to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. 108 9:32 Now, come up 109 at night with your men 110 and set an ambush in the field outside the city. 111 9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city. When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.” 112
9:34 So Abimelech and all his men came up 113 at night and set an ambush outside Shechem – they divided into 114 four units. 9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places. 9:36 Gaal saw the men 115 and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” 116 9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center 117 of the land. A unit 118 is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” 119 9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, 120 ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men 121 you insulted? 122 Go out now and fight them!” 9:39 So Gaal led the leaders of Shechem out 123 and fought Abimelech. 9:40 Abimelech chased him, and Gaal 124 ran from him. Many Shechemites 125 fell wounded at the entrance of the gate. 9:41 Abimelech went back 126 to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. 127
9:42 The next day the Shechemites 128 came out to the field. When Abimelech heard about it, 129 9:43 he took his men 130 and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, 131 he attacked and struck them down. 132 9:44 Abimelech and his units 133 attacked and blocked 134 the entrance to the city’s gate. Two units then attacked all the people in the field and struck them down. 9:45 Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed all the people in it. Then he leveled 135 the city and spread salt over it. 136
9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem 137 heard the news, they went to the stronghold 138 of the temple of El-Berith. 139 9:47 Abimelech heard 140 that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were in one place. 141 9:48 He and all his men 142 went up on Mount Zalmon. He 143 took an ax 144 in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it 145 on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” 146 9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches 147 against the stronghold and set fire to it. 148 All the people 149 of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.
9:50 Abimelech moved on 150 to Thebez; he besieged and captured it. 151 9:51 There was a fortified 152 tower 153 in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower. 9:52 Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 9:53 a woman threw an upper millstone 154 down on his 155 head and shattered his skull. 9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, 156 “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, 157 ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died. 9:55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. 158
9:56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half-brothers. 159 9:57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub-Baal fell 160 on them.
[1:1] 1 sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.
[1:2] 2 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[1:2] 3 tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”
[1:2] 4 tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”
[1:2] 5 sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.
[1:3] 6 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
[1:5] sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
[1:6] 9 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
[1:7] 10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:7] 11 tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
[1:8] 12 tn Heb “said to him.”
[1:8] 13 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
[1:8] 14 tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
[1:8] 15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 17 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
[1:9] 19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 20 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
[1:9] 21 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).
[1:10] 22 tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”
[1:10] 23 tn Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew יָרַד, yarad), but Elijah calls fire down (יָרַד) on the arrogant king’s officer.
[1:11] 24 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:11] 25 tc The MT reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.
[1:11] 26 sn In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.
[1:12] 27 tc Two medieval Hebrew
[1:12] 28 tn Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.
[1:13] 29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:13] 30 tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”
[1:14] 32 tn Heb “their fifty.”
[1:15] 33 sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.
[1:16] 34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:16] 35 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:16] 36 tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”
[1:16] 37 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.
[1:17] 38 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[1:17] 39 tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.
[1:18] 40 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[9:1] 42 tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”
[9:2] 43 tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”
[9:2] 44 tn Heb “What good is it to you?”
[9:2] 45 tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”
[9:3] 47 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
[9:3] 48 tn Heb “and all these words.”
[9:3] 49 tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”
[9:3] 50 tn Heb “our brother.”
[9:4] 51 tn Heb “empty and reckless.”
[9:4] 52 tn Heb “and they followed him.”
[9:5] 53 tn Heb “his brothers.”
[9:5] 54 tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:6] 56 tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).
[9:7] 57 tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
[9:7] 58 tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”
[9:8] 59 tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”
[9:8] 60 tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”
[9:8] 61 tn Or “Rule over us!”
[9:9] 62 tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
[9:10] 63 tn Or “and rule over us!”
[9:11] 64 tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
[9:12] 65 tn Or “and rule over us!”
[9:13] 66 tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.
[9:14] 67 tn Or “and rule over us!”
[9:15] 68 tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”
[9:15] 69 tn Heb “in my shade.”
[9:16] 72 tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
[9:17] 73 tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.
[9:18] 75 tn Heb “have risen up against.”
[9:18] 77 tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:18] 78 tn Heb “your brother.”
[9:19] 80 tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”
[9:21] 81 tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”
[9:21] 82 tn Heb “from before.”
[9:21] 83 tn Heb “his brother.”
[9:22] 84 tn The Hebrew verb translated “commanded” (שָׂרַר, sarar), which appears only here in Judges, differs from the ones employed earlier in this chapter (מָשַׁל [mashal] and מָלַךְ [malakh]).
[9:22] sn Abimelech commanded Israel. Perhaps while ruling as king over the city-state of Shechem, Abimelech also became a leader of the Israelite tribal alliance (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 175).
[9:23] 85 tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”
[9:23] 86 tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:24] 87 tn Heb “their brother.”
[9:24] 88 tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”
[9:25] 89 tn Heb “set against him bandits.”
[9:25] sn Putting bandits in the hills. This piracy certainly interrupted or discouraged trade, and probably deprived Abimelech of tariffs or tribute. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 277; G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 253.
[9:25] 90 tn Heb “on the tops of.”
[9:25] 91 tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”
[9:26] 92 sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.
[9:26] 93 tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).
[9:27] 95 tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.
[9:28] 97 tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”
[9:28] 98 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:29] 100 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] 101 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] 102 tn Heb “Make numerous.”
[9:29] 103 tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.
[9:30] 104 tn Heb “his anger burned.”
[9:31] 105 tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.
[9:31] 107 tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.
[9:31] 108 tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).
[9:32] 110 tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”
[9:32] 111 tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:33] 112 tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”
[9:34] 113 tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”
[9:34] 114 tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:36] 115 tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.
[9:36] 116 tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”
[9:37] 117 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] 119 tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.
[9:38] 120 tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”
[9:38] 121 tn Heb “the people.”
[9:39] 123 tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”
[9:40] 124 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:40] 125 tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.
[9:41] 126 tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.
[9:41] 127 tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”
[9:42] 128 tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:42] 129 tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”
[9:43] 130 tn Heb “his people.”
[9:43] 131 tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”
[9:43] 132 tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”
[9:44] 133 tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”
[9:44] 134 tn Heb “stood [at].”
[9:45] 136 tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”
[9:45] sn The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any future habitation. The practice is referred to outside the Bible as well. For example, one of the curses in the Aramaic Sefire treaty states concerning Arpad: “May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again!” See J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire (BibOr), 15, 53. Deut 29:23, Jer 17:6, and Zeph 2:9 associate salt flats or salty regions with infertility and divine judgment.
[9:46] 137 sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.
[9:46] 138 tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.
[9:46] 139 sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.
[9:47] 140 tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”
[9:47] 141 tn Heb “were assembled.”
[9:48] 142 tn Heb “his people.”
[9:48] 143 tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.
[9:48] 144 tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.
[9:48] 145 tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”
[9:48] 146 tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”
[9:49] 147 tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[9:49] 148 tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”
[9:49] 149 tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.
[9:50] 151 tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”
[9:51] 153 tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.
[9:53] 154 sn A hand mill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg). See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 268; C. F. Burney, Judges, 288.
[9:53] 155 tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.
[9:54] 156 tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:54] 157 tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:55] 158 tn Heb “each to his own place.”
