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. ¹  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.” ² 

Hakim-hakim 21:17

21:17 The ³  remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. ⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 18:1

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ⁵  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 3:5

3:5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Hakim-hakim 1:29

1:29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

Hakim-hakim 6:40

6:40 That night God did as he asked. ⁷  Only the fleece was dry and the ground around it was covered with dew.

Hakim-hakim 7:21

7:21 They stood in order ⁸  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 1:16

1:16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, ¹⁰  located in the Negev. ¹¹  They went and lived with the people of Judah. ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 16:9

16:9 They hid ¹³  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ¹⁴  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ¹⁵  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 6:39

6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. ¹⁷  Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.” ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 9:41

9:41 Abimelech went back ¹⁹  to Arumah; Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem. ²⁰ 

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. ²¹ 

Hakim-hakim 1:35

1:35 The Amorites managed ²²  to remain in Har Heres, ²³  Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, ²⁴  the Amorites were forced to do hard labor.

Hakim-hakim 2:22

2:22 Joshua left those nations ²⁵  to test ²⁶  Israel. I wanted to see ²⁷  whether or not the people ²⁸  would carefully walk in the path ²⁹  marked out by ³⁰  the Lord, as their ancestors ³¹  were careful to do.”

Hakim-hakim 21:16

21:16 The leaders ³²  of the assembly said, “How can we find wives for those who are left? ³³  After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out.

Hakim-hakim 18:9

18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ³⁴  for ³⁵  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ³⁶  but don’t hesitate ³⁷  to invade and conquer ³⁸  the land.

Hakim-hakim 17:7

Micah Hires a Professional

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem ³⁹  in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. ⁴⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 18:16

18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ⁴¹ 

Hakim-hakim 20:22

20:22 The Israelite army ⁴²  took heart ⁴³  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Hakim-hakim 1:32

1:32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

Hakim-hakim 5:16

5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, ⁴⁴ 

listening to the shepherds playing their pipes ⁴⁵  for their flocks? ⁴⁶ 

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

Hakim-hakim 11:3

11:3 So Jephthah left ⁴⁷  his half-brothers ⁴⁸  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁴⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ⁵⁰  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ⁵¹ 

Hakim-hakim 6:37

6:37 Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ⁵²  is dry, then I will be sure ⁵³  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ⁵⁴  as you promised.”

Hakim-hakim 11:17

11:17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us ⁵⁵  to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. ⁵⁶  Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. ⁵⁷  So Israel stayed at Kadesh.

Hakim-hakim 11:26

11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

Hakim-hakim 18:28

18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ⁵⁸  was far from Sidon ⁵⁹  and they had no dealings with anyone. ⁶⁰  The city ⁶¹  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ⁶²  rebuilt the city and occupied it.

Hakim-hakim 1:30

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ⁶³  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

Hakim-hakim 1:27

1:27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo ⁶⁴  or their surrounding towns. ⁶⁵  The Canaanites managed ⁶⁶  to remain in those areas. ⁶⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 1:26

1:26 He ⁶⁸  moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

Hakim-hakim 1:34

1:34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in ⁶⁹  the coastal plain.

Hakim-hakim 18:31

18:31 They worshiped ⁷⁰  Micah’s carved image ⁷¹  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ⁷²  was in Shiloh.

Hakim-hakim 5:17

5:17 Gilead stayed put ⁷³  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ⁷⁴ 

Asher remained ⁷⁵  on the seacoast,

he stayed ⁷⁶  by his harbors. ⁷⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ⁷⁸  reporting, “Beware! ⁷⁹  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ⁸⁰  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ⁸¹ 

Hakim-hakim 1:33

1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. ⁸²  They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites ⁸³  living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

Hakim-hakim 2:7

2:7 The people worshiped ⁸⁴  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ⁸⁵  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ⁸⁶  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 16:15

16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ⁸⁸  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

Hakim-hakim 18:30

18:30 The Danites worshiped ⁸⁹  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ⁹⁰  of Gershom, son of Moses, ⁹¹  and his descendants ⁹²  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

Hakim-hakim 19:25

19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ⁹³  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ⁹⁴  They raped ⁹⁵  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

Hakim-hakim 21:23

21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. ⁹⁶  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ⁹⁷  They went home ⁹⁸  to their own territory, ⁹⁹  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ¹⁰⁰ 

[17:8]  ¹ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[17:9]  ² tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[21:17]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has “and they said” at the beginning of the verse. For stylistic reasons the translation treats v. 17 as a continuation of the remarks of the leaders in v. 16.

[21:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “An inheritance for the remnant belonging to Benjamin, and a tribe from Israel will not be wiped away.” The first statement lacks a verb. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “How can an inheritance remain for the remnant of Benjamin?”

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[6:40]  ⁷ tn Heb “God did so that night.”

[7:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ⁹ tn Or “fled.”

[1:16]  ¹⁰ tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”

[1:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[to] the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”

[1:16]  ¹² tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).

[16:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).

[16:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[6:39]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”

[6:39]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”

[9:41]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

[11:24]  ²¹ 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.

[1:35]  ²² tn Or “were determined.”

[1:35]  ²³ tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.

[1:35]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”

[2:22]  ²⁵ tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

[2:22]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:22]  ²⁷ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ²⁹ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ³⁰ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ³¹ tn Or “fathers.”

[21:16]  ³² tn Or “elders.”

[21:16]  ³³ tn Heb “What should we do for the remaining ones concerning wives?”

[18:9]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ³⁵ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ³⁶ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ³⁷ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[17:7]  ³⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[17:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”

[18:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

[20:22]  ⁴² tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ⁴³ tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[5:16]  ⁴⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”

[5:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “whistling.”

[5:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”

[11:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[17:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

[17:10]  ⁵¹ tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.

[6:37]  ⁵² tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ⁵³ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[11:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)

[11:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “did not listen.”

[11:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”

[18:28]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁵⁹ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[18:28]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

[18:28]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁶² tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:30]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

[1:27]  ⁶⁴ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[1:27]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”

[1:27]  ⁶⁶ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:27]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “in this land.”

[1:26]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “the man.”

[1:34]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “come down into.”

[18:31]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

[18:31]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

[18:31]  ⁷² tn Heb “the house of God.”

[5:17]  ⁷³ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  sn Apparently the people of Gilead remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.

[5:17]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.

[5:17]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ⁷⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[9:31]  ⁷⁸ 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]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ⁸⁰ 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]  ⁸¹ 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).

[1:33]  ⁸² tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”

[1:33]  ⁸³ tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:7]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁵ tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

[2:7]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[16:15]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[18:30]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  ⁹¹ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

[18:30]  ⁹² tn Heb “sons.”

[19:25]  ⁹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:25]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”

[19:25]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.

[21:23]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “did so.”

[21:23]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”

[21:23]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “went and returned.”

[21:23]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “inheritance.”

[21:23]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “and lived in them.”