Judges 8

Judges 8:1

67

68

Judges 8:3

69

70

Judges 8:4

71

Judges 8:5

72

Judges 8:6

73

Judges 8:7

74

75

76

Judges 8:8

77

78

Judges 8:9

79

Judges 8:12

1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, sha’al) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”

2 tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”

Judges 8:13

3 tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

4 tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (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.”

Judges 8:14

5 tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”

6 tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”

7 tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.

Judges 8:15

8 tn Heb “Judah went up.”

Judges 8:16

9 tn Or “found.”

Judges 8:18

10 tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

11 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

12 tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

13 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

Judges 8:20

14 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

Judges 8:22

15 tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayya’al) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Joshua 15:15.

Judges 8:24

16 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).

17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

Judges 8:25

18 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

19 tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

Judges 8:26

20 tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Genesis 33:11; 1 Samuel 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kings 5:15).

21 tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).

Judges 8:27

22 tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”

23 tn Heb “[to] the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”

24 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 Samuel 15:6 (see also Numbers 24:20-21).

Judges 8:28

25 tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

26 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

27 sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

Judges 8:29

28 tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”

Judges 8:30

29 tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”

30 tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.

31 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.

Judges 8:31

32 tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”

Judges 8:32

33 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

34 sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Samuel 5:6-7).

Judges 8:33

35 tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.

36 tn Heb “went up.”

37 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

Judges 8:35

38 tn Heb “saw.”