1° The name and the subject matter. — The Hebrew name is Šoftim, «Judges,» an expression identical to that used to designate the civil and local magistrates instituted by Moses to administer justice (cf. Deut. 16:18), but taken here in a much broader sense (the verb šâfat, In the Bible, it quite often means "to govern" (cf. 1 Samuel 8:5 ff.; 2 Kings 15:5, etc.) and is equivalent to the Phoenician title of suffete, which was reserved for the highest dignitaries of Carthage (« Suffetes, "whom we are judges of Poetry," Livy, 27, 37). However, the Carthaginian suffetes exercised power in an ordinary, regular manner, like the Roman consuls, while the Hebrew judges mentioned in this book were raised up directly by God at irregular intervals, initially to deliver their country from foreign domination. If several of them subsequently held the office of heads of state, it was never universally, but only over a few tribes. — The Septuagint has translated very accurately Šoftim by Krita; the Vulgate slightly lengthened the title, saying: Liber Judicum.
This title perfectly reflects the subject matter, for the Book of Judges recounts, in fact, the exploits of the heroes to whom God entrusted, between the death of Joshua and that of Samson, the mission to save Israel in times of distress. It is therefore not the continuous history of the theocratic nation during this long period that will be recounted; instead of a continuous annals, we will find rather a series of vignettes which, after having placed before our eyes, in vivid and meticulous detail, the exploits of this or that Judge, leave many years in complete obscurity.
Scholars do not entirely agree on the number of figures who are traditionally called Judges. According to the most comprehensive list, there are seventeen: Othoniel, Ehud, Samgar, Jahel, Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Abezan, Ahialon, Abdon, Samson, Eli, and Samuel. However, we will first exclude the last two, either because their story is outside the scope of this book (see 1 Samuel 1:1ff.), or, more importantly, because their role differed significantly from that of the others. Šoftim They exercised a regular magistracy, Eli as high priest, Samuel as prophet (The sacred writer nevertheless uses the verb šâfat to describe their functions. Cf. 1 Samuel 4:18; 7:15-17. But then it would be necessary to admit that Samuel's sons were also judges in the proper sense, since they are given that title (1 Samuel 8:1). Jahel can only be considered separately if passages 4:17 and 5:6:24 refer to two distinct people: the courageous woman who killed Sisera, and a man associated with Samgar; but this opinion is implausible. Finally, Abimelech was a profane usurper of the functions of Judge, and he in no way deserves that title.
The narrative will dwell at varying lengths on the acts of bravery and the judicial career of Ehud (7:12-30); of Deborah and Barak (4:1-5:32), of Gideon (6:1-8:35), of Jephthah (10:6-12:7), and of Samson (13:1-16:31). It will devote only a few lines to the deeds of Othniel (3:7-11), of Samgar (3:31), of Tola (10:1-2), of Jair (10:3-5), of Abeshur (12:8-10), of Ahilon (12:11-12), and of Abdon (12:13-15).
2° The division of the book. — All these details are presented according to a plan that is as clear as it is coherent. It consists of two parts, the first of which, quite short (1:1–3:6), serves as a general introduction, outlining, on the one hand, the political state (1:1–2:5) and, on the other hand, the religious state of Israel (2:6–3:6) throughout the period of the Judges: this is the basis and, so to speak, the key to the second part. This second part (3:7–16:31) contains the main content of the book and recounts, with the nuances indicated above, the story of each of the Israelite Judges. We have subdivided it into four sections: 1. Othniel, Ehud, and Samgar, 3:7–31; 2. Deborah and Barak, 4:1–5:32; 3° Gideon, Tola and Jair, 6, 1-10, 5; 4° Jephthah, Abezan, Ahialo, Abdon and Samson, 10, 6-16, 31.
The remainder of the book, 17:1-21, 2-1, forms a considerable appendix, in which are related, but without being connected to the biography of any judge, two episodes that belong by date to the beginning of the book. These are: 1) the episode of Micah and the idolatry of the Danites, 17:1-18, 31; 2) the episode of the Levite of Ephraim and of the war civil war that nearly wiped out the tribe of Benjamin, 19:1–21:24. The first seems to have taken place in the time of Joshua (cf. Jos. 19, 47); the second is prior to the death of Phinehas, son of the high priest Eleazar (Judges 20, 28).
3° The period of composition and the author— Nothing is absolutely certain on these two points; but, at least, there is data that allows us to decide them approximately and with a high degree of probability. The Book of Judges was composed at the latest before the seventh year of David's reign, at the earliest after Saul's consecration as king of Israel. Indeed, David had reigned for more than six years when he conquered the citadel of Zion (cf. 2 Samuel 56-10), which was still in the hands of the Canaanites (see Josh. 15:63); however, in the course of the narrative (cf. 1:11; 19:10-12), Jerusalem continues to bear its ancient name of Jebus, and it belongs to the Canaanite race of the Jebusites. On the other hand, the narrator repeatedly assumes that the kingship existed in Israel at the time he was writing, and that it had succeeded the judiciary (cf. 17:6; 18:1, 31; 21:24).
It is one and the same author, despite what has been said here and there to the contrary since ancient times and especially in our own day, who composed the entire book. We have as guarantors the unity of the plan, the homogeneity of content and form. A rhapsode or compiler could not have created such a well-coordinated work.
The author made use not only of memories preserved by tradition, but also of a number of written documents: this was the case for the song of Deborah (5:1-31), the parable of Jotham (9:7-21), and also for other passages full of freshness and precision, which could only have come from an eyewitness (see in particular 1:3, 9:15-17, 27-36; 2:3, 19-20, 23, 27-28; 4:5; 5:14-17; 6:2, 4, 15, 33; 8:24, 26; 9:51; 13:25; 14:1, 5, 8; 18:7, 21; 19:10, 12; 20:1, 15; 21, 19)).
To the treaty Baba Bathra (Fol. 14, b), the Talmud specifically attributes the composition of the Book of Judges to the prophet Samuel; an opinion adopted by the rabbis. This is also the view of Saint Isidore of Seville and a great number of Catholic commentators. It is entirely plausible, although rigorous proof is not possible.
4° Chronology of the Book of Judges. — A difficult, delicate question, which cannot be definitively answered (see Fulcran Vigouroux, Bible Manual(ic, t. 2, n. 449). If we add together the dates mentioned in various places in the narrative, we obtain a total of 410 years, as shown in the attached table.
Oppression by Chusan, king of Mesopotamia (3, 8) 8 years
Peace of Israel after the victory of Othniel (3:11) 40
Oppression of Eglon and the Moabites (3:14) 18
Aod delivers the Hebrews (3:30) 80
Jabin's Oppression (4, 3) 20
Deliverance of Israel through the victory of Deborah and Barak (5:32) 40
Oppression of the Midianites (6:1) 7
Gideon's Victory and the Rest of the People (8:28) 40
Usurpation of Abimelech (9, 22) 3
Judicature of Thola (10, 2) 23
Jair (10, 3) 22
Oppression of the Ammonites (10, 8) 18
Jephthah's Victory and Judicature (12:7) 6
Abesan (12, 9) 7
Ahialon (12, 11) 10
Abdon (12, 14) 8
Oppression of the Philistines (13:1) 40
Samson's Judicature (15, 20; 16, 31) 20
Total: 410 years
However, when this figure is compared with other chronological data in the Bible, it appears far too high, and therefore implausible. According to 1 Samuel 6:1, only 480 years had elapsed from the Exodus from Egypt until the beginning of the construction of the temple, that is, until the fourth year of Solomon's reign; it would take more than 600 years for this same interval, if the partial figures in the Book of Judges are accurate: indeed, we would have to add to them first the 40 years of wandering through the desert, then about 50 years between the crossing of the Jordan and the first misfortunes of the time of the Judges (2:7), the 40 years of Eli's government (1 Samuel 4:18), and 40 years for Samuel and Saul (Acts of the Apostles 13, 21), 40 more years for the reign of David (2 Samuel 5, 4), finally the first four years of Solomon.
Furthermore, in Jephthah's time (Judges 11:20), 300 years had passed since Moses' victory over the Amorite king Sihon, that is, since the fortieth year of the Exodus. This figure is also implausible, since, according to the dates in the preceding table, there would be an interval of 301 years between the invasion of King Cushan and Jephthah's jurisdiction.
The most reasonable solution is to admit synchronisms in the book of Judges: each of the chronological data is accurate taken in isolation; but they should not be added together to find a total of the years, given that several of the judicatures, especially those at the end, were simultaneous, and were exercised in different places in the Israelite territory.
5. The study of the Book of Judges offers a special interest, which has often been emphasized since the time of the Church Fathers. — From a theocratic perspective, nothing is more interesting than to consider the reciprocal conduct of God and Israel during this period of transition, which immediately followed the people's settlement in the Promised Land. Infidelities of the Hebrews, divine punishments, conversion and fervent prayers of the chastised people, mercies of the Lord: such is the summary of this writing, which allows us to witness a complete fulfillment of the promises and threats promulgated by Moses (Deut. 28). God continues his plan of formation and education; Israel will emerge better from the crucible of trial. — From a Christological perspective, nothing directly noteworthy; but the Messiah is prefigured by most of these holy heroes, whose victories symbolized his own triumphs over the enemies of his Church (Hebrews 11In Acts 13:32 and following, several Judges are cited as models of faith in the Old Testament. In his first discourse, Acts 13:20, Saint Paul mentions the era of the Judges as a preparatory step towards that of Christ. — From a moral standpoint, there is a great lesson to be learned by individuals from the rigors of God's justice, the indulgences of his mercy, and the watchful attention of his Providence. — From a historical perspective, these pages are among the most compelling in Jewish history, despite their sorrowful aspects. They describe what has been called the heroic age of Israel, the extraordinary period during which the Hebrews gradually established themselves in the newly conquered land, overcoming the difficulties inherent in a first settlement.
6. Works to consult — S. Ephrem, In librum Judicum ; Theodoret, Questions in the Judices.
Judges 1
1 After the death of JoshuaThe children of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who among us will go up first against the Canaanites to fight against them?” 2 The Lord replied, «Judah will go up; behold, I have given the land into their hands.» 3 And Judah said to Simeon, his brother, «Come up with me to the land that the lot has assigned me, and we will fight against the Canaanites; I will also go with you to the land that the lot has assigned you.» And Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 Having found Adoni-Besech at Bezek, they attacked him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bésec fled, but they pursued him and, having seized him, they cut off his thumbs and toes. 7 Adoni-Besech said, "Seventy kings, with their thumbs and toes cut off, used to pick up crumbs under my table; what I have done, God has rewarded me for." They took him to Jerusalem and he died there. 8 The sons of Judah attacked Jerusalem and, having taken it, they struck it with the edge of the sword and set fire to the city. 9 Then the sons of Judah went down to fight the Canaanites who lived in the mountain, the Negev and the Shephelah. 10 Judah marched against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron, formerly called Cariath-Arbe, and he defeated Shesai, Ahiman, and Tolmai. 11 From there he marched against the inhabitants of Dabir, which was formerly called Cariath-Sepher. 12 Caleb said, "To the one who strikes down Cariath-Sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Axah as a wife."« 13 Othoniel, son of Cenez, younger brother of Caleb, took possession of it and Caleb gave him his daughter Axah as a wife. 14 When she went to Othoniel's house, she encouraged him to ask his father for a field. She got off her donkey and Caleb said to her, "What's the matter?"« 15 She replied, "Do me a favor, since you have settled me in a dry land; give me springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 The sons of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up from the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, south of Arad, and they came to settle with the people. 17 Judah set out with Simeon, his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who lived in Sephaath, they devoted the city to anathema and it was called Hormah. 18 Judah also took possession of Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Acharon and its territory. 19 The Lord was with Judah, and Judah took possession of the mountain, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had iron chariots. 20 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out the three sons of Enach. 21 The sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, and the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem with the sons of Benjamin to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph made a reconnaissance to Bethel, a town whose name was formerly Luz. 24 The guards, having seen a man coming out of the city, said to him, "Show us how to get into the city and we will spare you."« 25 He showed them how they could enter the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 This man went to the land of the Hittites, he built a city and named it Luz, and that is its name to this day. 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethsan and its dependencies, nor those of Thanach and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Jeblaam and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Mageddo and its dependencies, and the Canaanites were bold enough to remain in that land. 28 When Israel had become strong enough, it subjected the Canaanites to tribute and did not drive them out. 29 Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gaser, and the Canaanites lived among Ephraim in Gaser. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Ketron, nor the inhabitants of Naalol, and the Canaanites lived among Zebulun, but they were subject to tribute. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Achcho, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor those of Ahalab, Ahazib, Helba, Aphek, and Rehob, 32 and the sons of Asher remained among the Canaanites, inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shamesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he remained among the Canaanites, inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-Shamesh and Beth-Anath were subjected to a tribute in his favor. 34 The Amorites drove the sons of Dan back into the mountains and did not let them come down into the plain. 35 The Amorites dared to remain in Har-Hares, Ajalon, and Shelbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph fell upon them, and they were subjected to tribute. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the ascent of Acrabbim, from Sela and above.
Judges 2
1 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, «I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to your ancestors to give you. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,’”, 2 And you will not make a treaty with the inhabitants of this land; you will tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? 3 And I too said: I will not drive them out before you; they will be at your side, and their gods will be a snare to you.» 4 As the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 They named the place Bokim and offered sacrifices to the Lord there. 6 Joshua sent the people away, and the children of Israel went each to their inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the life of Joshua and throughout the lives of the elders who survived Joshua and who had seen all the great work that the Lord had accomplished for Israel. 8 Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten years. 9 He was buried in the territory he had been allotted, at Tamnath-Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaas. 10 This whole generation was also gathered to their fathers, and after them another generation arose who did not know the Lord, nor the work that he had done for Israel. 11 The children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and they served the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who surrounded them, they bowed down before them and they angered the Lord. 13 Abandoning the Lord, they served Baal and the Astartes. 14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, he delivered them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, and they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for their harm, as the Lord had said, as the Lord had sworn to them, and they came to great distress. 16 The Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17 But they did not listen to their judges, for they prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned away from the way their fathers had followed in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do the same. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies, as long as the judge lived, for the Lord relented because of their groaning before those who oppressed and tormented them. 19 But, after the death of the judge, they became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and prostrate themselves before them; they did not abandon their errors and their obstinacy. 20 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he said, «Because this nation has transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors, and because they have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them a single nation that Joshua left behind when he died, 22 "To test Israel through them, to see whether they will be careful to follow the way of the Lord, as their ancestors were careful."» 23 And the Lord left in peace, without hastening to drive them out, those nations whom he had not delivered into the hands of Joshua.
Judges 3
1 These are the nations that the Lord left in peace, to test Israel through them, all those who had not experienced all the wars of Canaan, 2 and this solely for the instruction of the generations of Israel, in order to teach them the war, at least to those who had not known her before. 3 These nations were: the five Philistine princes, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who inhabited the mountain of Lebanon, from the mountain of Baal-Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 4 These peoples were to be used to test Israel, to see if they would obey the commandments that the Lord had prescribed to their fathers through Moses. 5 And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, 6 They took their daughters as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods. 7 The children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, forgetting the Lord, they served the Baals and the Asheroths. 8 The Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of Chusan-Rasathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and the children of Israel were enslaved to Chusan-Rasathaim for eight years. 9 The children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Othniel, son of Kenez, the younger brother of Caleb. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he judged Israel, and he went out to the war, the Lord delivered into his hands Chusan-Rasathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and his hand was mighty against Chusan-Rasathaim. 11 The country was at rest for forty years and Othoniel, son of Cénez, died. 12 The children of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel, because they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 Eglon gathered the sons of Ammon and Amalek and marched out. He defeated Israel and they captured the city of Palm Trees. 14 The children of Israel were enslaved for eighteen years to Eglon, king of Moab. 15 The Israelites cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite, who was left-handed. The Israelites sent a present through him to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Aod made himself a double-edged sword, a cubit long, and he girded it under his clothes, on his right hip. 17 He offered the gift to Eglon, king of Moab, now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When he had finished offering the gift, he sent away the people who had brought the gift. 19 And he himself returned from the idols that are near Gilgal and said, "O king, I have something secret to tell you." The king said, "Silence." And all those who were with him came out. 20 Aod approached him as he sat alone in his summer room and said, "I have a word from God for you." Eglon rose from his seat. 21 Then Aod, extending his left hand, pulled out the sword that was on his right hip and plunged it into his stomach. 22 The handle itself went in after the blade and the grease closed over the blade, because he did not remove the sword from his belly and the blade came out from behind. 23 Aod went out by the outside staircase, closed the doors of the upper room on Eglon and pulled the bolt. 24 When he had gone out, the king's servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the upper room were bolted. They said, "No doubt he is covering his feet in the summer room."« 25 They waited a long time until they were ashamed, and when he did not open the doors of the upper room, they took the key and opened it, and there was their master lying on the floor, lifeless. 26 During their delay, Aod fled, passed the idols and escaped to Seirath. 27 As soon as he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the mountains, and he led them. 28 He said to them, «Follow me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.» So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and let no one pass through. 29 They defeated Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all strong and valiant, and not one escaped. 30 On that day, Moab was humbled under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest for eighty years. 31 After him came Samgar, son of Anath, who defeated six hundred Philistine men with an ox goad; he too was a deliverer of Israel.
Judges 4
1 The children of Israel did again what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the death of Ehud. 2 And the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Ashor, the commander of his army was Sisera and he lived in Haroseth-Goyim. 3 The children of Israel cried out to the Lord, for Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots and for twenty years he had been oppressing the children of Israel severely. 4 At that time, Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was administering justice in Israel. 5 She sat under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel, in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went up to her to be judged. 6 She sent for Barak, son of Abinoëm, from Kedes in Naphtali, and said to him, «Is this not the command given by the Lord, the God of Israel? Go, go to Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and the sons of Zebulun. 7 I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and troops, to the Wadi Zishon, and I will deliver him into your hands.» 8 Barak said to her, «If you come with me, I will go; but if you do not come with me, I will not go.» 9 She replied, «Yes, I will go with you, but in the expedition you are about to undertake, the glory will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.» So Deborah arose and went with Barak to Cedes. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Cedes, and ten thousand men went out after him, and Deborah went with him. 11 Heber the Kinnean had captured the Kinneans, the sons of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak of Sennim, near Kedesh. 12 Sisera was informed that Barak, son of Abinoëm, had gone to Mount Tabor, 13 And Sisera brought from Haroseth-goyim, to the Wadi Zishon, all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, «Get up, for this is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone out before you?» And Barak went down from Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. 15 The Lord routed Sisera, all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword, before Barak, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Haroseth-goyim and all of Sisera's army fell by the edge of the sword, not a man escaped. 17 Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jahel, wife of Heber the Kinnee, for there was peace between Jabin king of Ashor and the house of Heber the Kinnee. 18 Jahel went out to meet Sisara and said to him, «Come in, my lord, come in to me, do not be afraid.» He went into her tent and she hid him under a covering. 19 He said to her, «Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.» She opened the skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. 20 He told him, «Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anyone comes to ask him, »Is there a man here?’ you shall answer, ‘No.’” 21 Jahel, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and, having taken the hammer in her hand, she approached him gently and drove the peg into his temple, which penetrated into the ground, for he was sleeping soundly, being overcome with fatigue, and he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisara, Jahel went out to meet him and said to him, «Come, and I will show you the man you seek.» He went into her house and saw Sisara lying dead with a stake through his temple. 23 On that day, God humiliated Jabin, king of Canaan, before the children of Israel. 24 And the hand of the children of Israel pressed harder and harder on Jabin, king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan.
Judges 5
1 On that day, Deborah and Barak, sons of Abinoëm, sang, saying: 2 The leaders took the lead in Israel, the people willingly offered themselves for the fight, bless the Lord for it. 3 Listen, O kings: princes, give ear. It is I, it is I who will sing to the Lord, I will sing a song to the Lord, the God of Israel. 4 Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you advanced from the fields of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens themselves melted, and the clouds melted into water. 5 Before the Lord the mountains trembled, this Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel. 6 In the days of Samgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jahel, the roads were deserted and travelers took winding paths. 7 The countryside was neglected in Israel, until I, Deborah, rose up, a mother in Israel. 8 New gods were chosen, then the war was at the gates and neither shield nor spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel. 9 My heart goes out to the leaders of Israel, to those of the people who have offered themselves: Bless the Lord. 10 You who ride white donkeys, who sit on carpets and you who travel the roads, sing. 11 Let the archers, by the watering places, proclaim with their voices the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts he has performed in Israel. Then the people of the Lord came down into his gates. 12 Awake, awake, Deborah. Awake, awake, sing the song. Rise up, Barak, and take your prisoners, sons of Abinoëm. 13 Descend now, you remaining nobles of the people. Lord, descend to me among these heroes. 14 From Ephraim came those whose roots are in Amalek, behind you Benjamin joined your troops, from Machir came leaders, from Zebulun commanders, with the scribe's staff. 15 The princes of Issachar are with Deborah, Issachar is beside Barak, in the plain he is sent after him. Near the streams of Reuben, there were great resolutions of the heart: 16 Why did you remain in the middle of your pastures, listening to the pipe of your shepherds? By the streams of Reuben, there were great resolutions of the heart. 17 Gilead did not leave his home beyond the Jordan, and Dan remained in his ships; Asher stayed put on the seashore and remained in his harbors. 18 But Zebulun is a people who expose their soul to death, as is Naphtali, on his high plateaus. 19 The kings came, they fought, so they fought, the kings of Canaan, at Thanac, by the waters of Mageddo, they did not win a single ingot of silver. 20 From the heavens they fought for us, from their paths the stars fought against Sisera. 21 The Cison torrent has carried away their corpses, the torrent of olden times, the Cison torrent. O my soul, advance boldly. 22 Then the hooves of the horses resounded, in the race, the swift race of their warriors. 23 "Curse Meroz," said the angel of the Lord, "curse, curse its inhabitants, for they did not come to the aid of the Lord, to the aid of the Lord, with the mighty ones.". 24 Blessed be between women Jahel, wife of Heber the Cinemate, among the troops who dwell under the blessed tent. 25 He asked for water, she gave milk; in the cup of honor, she offered the purest milk. 26 With one hand she seized the stake and with her right, the workman's hammer. She struck Sisara, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple, 27 At his feet, he sags, he falls, he is stretched out; at his feet he sags, he falls: where he sags, there he lies lifeless. 28 Through the window, through the latticework, she looks at Sisara's mother and cries out: "Why is his chariot delayed? Why is the movement of his chariots so slow?"« 29 The wisest of her ladies answered her, and she repeated their words to herself: 30 «Have they not found the spoils? Have they not divided them among themselves? One young girl, two young girls for each warrior, colored garments as spoils for Sisara, garments of various colors as spoils, one colored garment, two garments of various colors, for the shoulders of the wife.» 31 May all your enemies perish, O Lord. And may those who love him be like the sun when it rises in its strength. 32 The country was at rest for forty years.
Judges 6
1 The children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of Midian for seven years. 2 The hand of Midian was powerful against Israel. Because of Midian, the children of Israel made crevices, caves, and steep places in the mountains. 3 When Israel had sown, Midian came up with Amalek and the sons of the East and they marched against him. 4 Encamped opposite Israel, they devastated the land's produce as far as Gaza and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor oxen, nor donkeys. 5 For they came up with their flocks and their tents, and they came in great numbers like swarms of locusts; they and their camels were countless, and they came into the land to devastate it. 6 Israel was greatly weakened because of Midian, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord about Midian, 8 The Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel. He said to them, «Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I brought you up out of Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage. 9 I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 I told you, »I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you did not listen to my voice.» 11 And the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak in Ephraia, who would bring to Joash of the family of Abiezer. Gideon, his son, was threshing wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, «The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.» 13 Gideon said to him, «Ah, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about, saying, »Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hands of Midian.” 14 The Lord turned to him and said, «Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?» 15 Gideon said to him, «Ah, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Look, my clan is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.» 16 The Lord said to him, «I will be with you, and you will strike down the Midianites as one man.» 17 Gideon said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is you who are speaking to me. 18 »Do not leave this place until I return to you and bring my offering and set it before you.« And the Lord said, »I will stay until you return.” 19 Gideon, having entered, prepared a young goat and, with an ephah of flour, he made unleavened loaves, then, having put the meat in a basket and the juice in a vessel, he brought them to him under the terebinth tree and offered them to him. 20 The Angel of the Lord said to him, «Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock and pour over the juice.» And he did so. 21 The angel of the Lord stretched out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Immediately fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread, and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Gideon saw that it was the Angel of the Lord, and Gideon said, «Woe to me, Lord God, for I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!» 23 The Lord said to him, «Be at peace, do not be afraid, you will not die.» 24 Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it: "the Lord-Shalom," this altar still exists today in Ephrah of Abieser. 25 That night, the Lord said to Gideon, «Take your father’s young bull and the second bull, seven years old. Tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father and cut down the Asherah that is beside it. 26 Then you shall build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold and set it up. You shall take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah tree that you have cut down.» 27 Gideon took ten men from among his servants and carried out what the Lord had told him: but, as he did not dare to do it by day for fear of his father's house and the people of the city, he did it by night. 28 When the people of the city got up the next morning, behold, the altar of Baal was overturned, the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was being offered as a burnt offering on the newly built altar. 29 They asked each other, "Who did this?" and they inquired and made some inquiries. They were told, "Gideon, son of Joash, did this."« 30 Then the people of the city said to Joash, «Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that was beside it.» 31 Joash said to all those who stood against him, «Are you going to take Baal’s side? Or are you going to help him? Whoever takes Baal’s side shall be put to death before morning. If Baal is God, let him take up his own cause, since his altar has been torn down.» 32 On that day Gideon was given the name Jerobaal, and they said, "Let Baal defend himself against him, since he has torn down his altar."« 33 All Midian, Amalek, and the people of the East gathered together and, having crossed the Jordan, they camped in the plain of Jezreel. 34 The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abieserites gathered to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also gathered to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. 36 Gideon said to God, «If you want to save Israel by my hand, as you have said 37 »See, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If only the fleece is covered with dew, and all the surrounding ground is dry, then I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And so it happened. The next day, having risen early in the morning, he squeezed the fleece and brought out the dew, filling a cup with water. 39 Gideon said to God, "Do not let your anger burn against me, so that I may speak just once more: I would like to test the fleece only once more: let the fleece alone remain dry and let the dew fall on all the surrounding ground."« 40 And God did this that night: only the fleece remained dry, and all the ground was covered with dew.
Judges 7
1 Jerobaal, who is Gideon, with all the people who were with him, got up early in the morning and went to camp above the spring of Harad. The camp of Midian was north of Gideon's camp, towards the hill of Moreh, in the plain. 2 The Lord said to Gideon, «The people you have with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel boast against me, saying, ‘It was my hand that delivered me.’”. 3 "Therefore proclaim this to the people: 'Whoever is afraid and trembling should return and depart from Mount Gilboa.'" Twenty-two thousand men of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 The Lord said to Gideon, «The people are still too many. Bring them down to the water, and there I will separate them for you. Those I tell you to go with you will go with you, and those I tell you not to go with you will not go with you.» 5 Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, «All those who lap the water with their tongues, like a dog, must be separated, as well as all those who kneel down to drink.» 6 Those who lapped the water in their hands, bringing it to their mouths, numbered three hundred men; all the rest of the people had knelt down to drink. 7 And the Lord said to Gideon, «It is with these three hundred men who have lapped that I will save you and deliver Midian into your hands; let all the rest of the people go home.» 8 The three hundred took food from the people and their trumpets, then Gideon sent all the rest of the men of Israel back to their tents, keeping the three hundred men. The camp of the Midianites was below him in the plain. 9 During that night, the Lord said to Gideon, «Get up, go down to the camp, for I have given it into your hands. 10 If you fear to attack him, go down with Pharaoh, your servant, 11 "You will listen to what they say, and then your hands will be strengthened, and you will go down to the camp without fear." He went down with Phara, his servant, to the outposts of the camp. 12 Midian, Amalek, and all the sons of the East were spread out in the plain, as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number, like the sand on the seashore. 13 Gideon arrived, and behold, a man was telling his companion a dream, saying, «I had a dream, and behold: a barley loaf rolled into the camp of Midian; it came to the tent, struck it, and it fell; it overturned it, and the tent fell.» 14 His companion replied, "It is none other than the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, a man of Israel, with which God delivered Midian and the entire camp."« 15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and, returning to the camp of Israel, said, «Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into our hands.» 16 He divided the three hundred men into three columns and gave each of them trumpets and empty jugs, with torches inside the jugs. 17 And he said to them, «You will watch me and do as I do. As soon as I arrive at the edge of the camp, you will do what I do.”. 18 When I and all who are with me sound the trumpet, you also shall sound the trumpet all around the camp and say, »For the Lord and for Gideon!” 19 Gideon and the hundred men who were with him arrived at the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, as the sentries had just been relieved, they blew the trumpet and broke the jugs that were in their hands. 20 Then the three bodies sounded the trumpets and broke the jugs, and, taking the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right to sound them, they cried out: "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"« 21 They each stayed in their place around the camp and the whole camp began to run, shout and flee. 22 While the three hundred men were blowing the trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to turn their swords against each other and against the whole camp. The camp fled as far as Beth-setta toward Zarerah, to the border of Abel-mehula, near Tebbath. 23 The men of Israel gathered together, those of Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. 24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, «Go down to meet the Midianites and occupy the fords of the Jordan before them, as far as Bethbera.» So all the men of Ephraim gathered together and occupied the fords of the Jordan as far as Bethbera. 25 Having captured two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb, they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and they killed Zeb at the winepress of Zeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gideon, on the other side of the Jordan.
Judges 8
1 The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, "What is this you have done to us, not calling us when you went out to fight against Midian?" And they quarreled with him fiercely. 2 Gideon answered them, «What have I done compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3 "It is into your hands that the Lord has delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeb. What could I do compared to you?" When he had said this, their anger against him subsided. 4 Gideon arrived at the Jordan and crossed it, he and the three hundred men who were with him, tired and continuing to pursue. 5 He said to the people of Soccoth, "Please give some loaves of bread to the people who are with me, for they are tired and I am pursuing Zeba and Shalman, kings of Midian."« 6 The leaders of Soccoth replied, "Is the hand of Zebae and Shalman already in yours, that we should give bread to your troops?"« 7 Gideon said to them, «Well, when the Lord has delivered Zeba and Salmana into my hands, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and thistles.» 8 From there he went up to Phanuel and addressed the people of Phanuel with the same message. The people of Phanuel answered him as the people of Soccoth had answered. 9 And he said to Phanuel's people, "When I return victorious, I will raze this tower."« 10 Zebeah and Salmana were at Carchor and their army with them, about fifteen thousand men, all those who had remained of the whole army of the sons of the East, for one hundred and twenty thousand men had fallen, drawing the sword. 11 Gideon went up by the way of those who dwell in tents, to the east of Nobe and Jegbaa, and he set up camp, thinking himself safe. 12 Zebe and Shalman fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebe and Shalman, and routed the entire camp. 13 Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle by way of the ascent of Hares. 14 Having seized a young man from among the people of Soccoth, he questioned him and he wrote down for him the names of the leaders and elders of Soccoth, seventy-seven men. 15 Then Gideon came to the people of Zoccoth and said, «Here are Zebe and Salman, about whom you insulted me, saying, »Is the hand of Zebe and Salman already in your hand that we should give bread to your weary people?’” 16 He seized the elders of the city and, having taken thorns from the desert and briers, he punished the people of Soccoth. 17 He also razed the tower of Phanuel and killed the men of the city. 18 He said to Zeba and Salman, "What were the men like whom you killed on Tabor?" They replied, "They were like you; each of them looked like a king's son."« 19 He said, "They were my brothers, my mother's sons: as the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not have killed you."« 20 And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the young man did not draw his sword, because he was afraid, for he was still a young boy. 21 Zebeah and Salmanah said, "Get up and attack us, for as the man is, so is his strength." Gideon got up and killed Zebeah and Salmanah, and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels. 22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, «Reign over us, you and your son and your son’s son, because you have delivered us from the hand of Midian.» 23 Gideon said to them, «I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.» 24 Gideon said to them, "I have a request to make of you: give me each of the rings from your plunder." The enemies had gold rings, for they were Ishmaelites. 25 They said, "We will gladly give them." And they spread out a cloak, on which each man threw the rings of his plunder. 26 The weight of the gold rings that Gideon had requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, not counting the crescents, the earrings and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian and not counting the collars that were on the necks of their camels. 27 With this gold, Gideon made an ephod and deposited it in his city, Ephrath. All Israel went there to prostitute themselves, and it became a snare for Gideon and his household. 28 Midian was humiliated before the children of Israel and he did not lift up his head again, and the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. 29 Jerobaal, son of Joash, returned home and remained in his house. 30 Gideon had seventy sons, from him, for he had many wives. 31 His concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him a son who received his from Abimelech. 32 Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash, his father, in Ephrah of Abiezer. 33 When Gideon died, the children of Israel again prostituted themselves to the Baals and they took Baal-Berith as their god. 34 The children of Israel no longer remembered the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies around them. 35 and they showed no loyalty to the house of Jerobaal-Gideon, in spite of all the good he had done for Israel.
Judges 9
1 Abimelech, son of Jerobaal, went to Shechem to his mother's brothers and addressed these words to them and to all the family of his mother's father's house: 2 «Please tell all the inhabitants of Shechem: Which is better for you, that seventy men, all sons of Jerobaal, rule over you, or that one man rule over you? Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.» 3 When his mother's brothers repeated all these words about him to all the inhabitants of Shechem, their hearts inclined toward Abimelech, for they said to one another, "He is our brother."« 4 They gave him seventy shekels of silver, taken from the house of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to bribe worthless people and adventurers, who attached themselves to him. 5 He came to his father’s house in Ephrah and killed his brothers, the sons of Jerobaal, seventy of them, on one stone; only Jotham, the youngest son of Jerobaal, escaped because he had hidden himself. 6 Then all the inhabitants of Shechem and all the house of Melo gathered together, they came and proclaimed Abimelech king, near the terebinth tree of the monument that is in Shechem. 7 When Jotham was informed of this, he went and stood on the summit of Mount Gerizim and, raising his voice, he cried out to them, saying: «Listen to me, inhabitants of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8 The trees set out to anoint a king to rule over them. They said to the olive tree: Reign over us. 9 But the olive tree said to them, “Should I give up my oil, which brings me glory before God and men, to go and sway above the other trees?” 10 And the trees said to the fig tree: Come, you, reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said to them: Should I give up my sweetness and my excellent fruit, to go and sway above the other trees? 12 And the trees said to the vine: Come, you, reign over us. 13 But the vine said to them, “Should I give up my wine, which brings joy to God and men, to go and sway above the other trees?” 14 Then all the trees said to the thorn bush: Come, you, reign over us. 15 And the thorn bush said to the trees: If you truly wish to anoint me for your king, come, trust in my shade; otherwise, may fire come out of the thorn bush and devour the cedars of the Lebanon. 16 Now, if you acted fairly and justly in making Abimelech king, if you dealt well with Jerobaal and his household, and if you treated him according to the merit of his own hands, 17 for my father fought for you, he risked his life and delivered you from the hand of Midian, 18 And you have risen up today against my father's house, you have killed his sons, seventy of them, on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his maidservant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother, 19 If you have acted with fairness and justice this day towards Jerobaal and his house, then let Abimelech be your joy and let you be his too. 20 Otherwise, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume the inhabitants of Shechem and the house of Melo, and let fire come out from the inhabitants of Shechem and the house of Melo and consume Abimelech.» 21 Joatham withdrew and fled, he went to Bera and remained there, for fear of Abimelech, his brother. 22 Abimelech ruled over Israel for three years. 23 And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Shechem, and the inhabitants of Shechem became unfaithful to Abimelech. 24 so that the crime committed against the seventy sons of Jerobaal might be avenged and their blood might fall upon Abimelech, their brother, who had killed them, and upon the men of Shechem who had helped him to kill his brothers. 25 The men of Shechem placed men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, who stripped everyone who passed by them on the road, and this was reported to Abimelech. 26 Gaal, son of Obed, came with his brothers and they crossed over to Shechem. The men of Shechem put their trust in him. 27 They went out into the countryside, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes and held a feast, then, having entered the house of their god, they ate and drank and they cursed Abimelech. 28 Then Gaal son of Obed said, «Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Jerobaal, and is not Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Emor, Shechem’s father, but why should we serve Abimelech?” 29 "Oh, that I were the leader of this people! I would drive out Abimelech!" And he said to Abimelech, "Strengthen your army and go out."» 30 Zebul, the city's governor, heard the words of Gaal, son of Obed, and his anger was kindled. 31 He secretly sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, «Look, Gaal son of Obed has come to Shechem with his brothers, and they are stirring up the city against you. 32 Rise up in the night, you and the people who are with you, and lie in ambush in the countryside. 33 In the morning, at sunrise, get up and rush towards the city, and when Gaal and the people with him come out against you, you will do to them as the opportunity allows.» 34 Abimelech and all the people who were with him got up at night and lay in ambush near Shechem, divided into four companies. 35 Gaal, son of Obed, went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. Immediately Abimelech and all the people who were with him rose from the ambush. 36 When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the top of the mountains." Zebul replied, "You are mistaking the shadows of the mountains for men."« 37 Gaal spoke again and said, «Here is a troop coming down from the middle of the country, and a band arriving by way of the oak of the diviners.» 38 Zebul answered him, «Where is your mouth now, with which you said, »Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are they not the people you despised? Now go out and fight them.” 39 Gaal led a sortie at the head of Shechem's men and gave battle to Abimelech. 40 Abimelech pursued him, and Gaal fled before him, and many of his men fell dead at the entrance of the gate. 41 Abimelech stopped at Aruma and Zebul drove out Gaal and his brothers, who could no longer remain in Shechem. 42 The next day, the people went out into the countryside. Abimelech having been informed, 43 He took his troops, divided them into three corps, and lay in ambush in the countryside. As soon as he saw the people leaving the city, he rose up against them and defeated them. 44 Abimelech and the corps that were with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the city gate; two of these corps rushed upon all those who were in the countryside and defeated them. 45 And Abimelech attacked the city all day long, he captured it and killed the people who were in it, then he razed the city and sowed salt there. 46 Upon hearing this news, all the men from the tower of Shechem went to the fortress of the house of the god Berith. 47 As soon as Abimelech was informed that all the inhabitants of the tower of Shechem had gathered there, 48 Abimelech went up Mount Selmon, he and all the people who were with him. Abimelech took an axe in his hand, cut down a branch from a tree, lifted it up, and put it on his shoulder. He said to the people who were with him, «What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.» 49 And all the people also cut off a branch each and followed Abimelech; they placed the branches against the fortress and set it on fire, along with all those inside. And all the people of the tower of Shechem also perished, about a thousand men and women. 50 From there, Abimelech marched against Thebes, he besieged Thebes and captured it. 51 In the middle of the city there was a strong tower where all the inhabitants of the city, men and women, took refuge; having closed the door behind them, they climbed onto the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came to the tower, attacked it, and approached the tower door to set it on fire. 53 Then a woman threw a piece of millstone onto Abimelech's head and smashed his skull. 54 He immediately called to the young man who carried his weapons and said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me: A woman killed him." The young man pierced him and he died. 55 When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they each went to their own house. 56 So God brought back on Abimelech the evil he had done to his father, by killing his seventy brothers 57 And God brought back upon the heads of the people of Shechem all their wickedness. Thus was fulfilled upon them the curse of Jotham, son of Jerobaal.
Judges 10
1 After Abimelech, Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to deliver Israel; he lived in Samir, in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He was a judge in Israel for twenty-three years, then he died and was buried in Samir. 3 After him arose Jair of Gilead, who judged Israel for twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys and who owned thirty towns still called today Boroughs of Jair and located in the land of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Camon. 6 The children of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; they served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syriathe gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines, and they forsook the Lord and no longer served him. 7 The Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the Ammonites. 8 They oppressed and crushed the children of Israel in that year, and this oppression lasted eighteen years for all the children of Israel who lived on the other side of the Jordan, in the land of the Amorites in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, and Israel was brought to a great distress. 10 The Israelites cried out to the Lord, saying, «We have sinned against you, for we have abandoned our God and served the Baals.» 11 The Lord said to the children of Israel, «Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, and the Philistines? 12 And when the Sidonians, Amalek, and Maon oppressed you, and you cried out to me, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have abandoned me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. 14 Go, invoke the gods you have chosen, that they may deliver you in your time of distress.» 15 The children of Israel said to the Lord, «We have sinned; do to us all as you see fit. Only deign to deliver us this day.» 16 And they removed the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and his soul could not bear the sufferings of Israel. 17 The Ammonites gathered together and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites gathered together and camped at Maspha. 18 The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin the attack against the Ammonites? He will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead."«
Judges 11
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior. He was the son of a courtesan, and it was Gilead who fathered Jephthah. 2 Gilead's wife bore him sons, and her sons grew up and drove Jephthah out, saying to him, "You will not inherit in our father's house, because you are the son of another woman."« 3 And Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Some scoundrels gathered around Jephthah and went on raids with him. 4 Some time later, the sons of Ammon did the war to Israel. 5 While the sons of Ammon were doing the war In Israel, the elders of Gilead went to the land of Tob to find Jephthah. 6 They said to Jephthah, "Come, you will be our general and we will fight the Ammonites."« 7 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, «Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why then do you come to me now that you are in distress?» 8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we are now returning to you, so that you may march with us, fight against the Ammonites, and be our leader, the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead."« 9 Jephthah answered the elders of Gilead, «If you bring me back to fight against the Ammonites and the Lord delivers them into my hands, I will be your leader.» 10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "May the Lord be our witness: we will certainly do as you say."« 11 And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people appointed him as their leader and general, and Jephthah repeated all his words before the Lord at Maspha. 12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What have you to do with me, that you have come against me to do the war to my country? 13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "Because Israel, when they came up out of Egypt, took possession of my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now give it back willingly."« 14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and he said to him, «Thus says Jephthah: Israel has not taken possession of the land of Moab, nor of the land of the sons of Ammon. 16 For when Israel went up from Egypt, they walked in the desert as far as the Red Sea and they arrived at Kadesh. 17 So Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your country,” but the king of Edom refused. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, who likewise refused, and Israel remained in Kadesh. 18 Then, marching through the desert, he went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and came to the east of the land of Moab. And they camped beyond the Arnon and did not come to the border of Moab, for the Arnon is the border of Moab. 19 From there, Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”. 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel enough to let them pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people, they camped at Jasa, and he fought against Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hands of Israel, who defeated them, and Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites who lived in that region., 22 They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jaboc and from the desert to the Jordan. 23 Now that the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, you would drive them out. 24 That which your God Shamash has given you as a possession, do you not possess it? And all that the Lord our God has put before us as a possession, we would not possess it. 25 Are you then better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Has he contended with Israel, or has he done to them the war ? 26 For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon and its dependencies, in Aroer and its dependencies, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you not taken them away from them during that time? 27 I have not sinned against you, but you are acting wrongly towards me by making me the warMay the Lord, the Supreme Judge, judge today between the children of Israel and the sons of Ammon. 28 The king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words that Jephthah had sent him to say. 29 The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went on to Maspha of Gilead, and from Maspha of Gilead he marched against the Ammonites. 30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying: 31 «If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whoever comes out of the gates of my house to meet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer him as a burnt offering.» 32 Jephthah advanced against the Ammonites, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. 33 He defeated them from Aroer to Mennith, capturing twenty of their cities, and as far as Abel-keramin; it was a very great defeat. And the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites. 34 Jephthah went back up to his house in Maspha, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She was his only child; apart from her, he had neither son nor daughter. 35 As soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, «Ah, my daughter, you overwhelm me and are among those who trouble me. I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot turn back.» 36 She said to him, «My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has come out of your mouth, since the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, the Ammonites.» 37 And she said to her father, "Grant me this favor only, let me go free for two months, I will leave, I will go down to the mountains and I will mourn my virginity with my companions."« 38 He replied, "Go," and he let her go for two months. She and her companions went away and wept over her virginity on the mountains. 39 Two months later, she returned to her father, and he fulfilled the vow he had made to her, and she had not known a man. From this came the custom in Israel: 40 Each year the daughters of Israel celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days a year.
Judges 12
1 The men of Ephraim gathered together, passed by Zaphon, and said to Jephthah, «Why did you go to fight against the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you.» 2 Jephthah answered them, «I and my people were in great conflict with the Ammonites, so I called you, but you did not deliver me from their hands. 3 Seeing that you did not come to my aid, I risked my life and marched against the Ammonites, and the Lord delivered them into my hands. Why then have you come up to me today to make me the war ? » 4 Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and went into battle against Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated those of Ephraim, for the latter had said, «You Gileadites are nothing but fugitives from Ephraim, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.» 5 Gilead seized the fords of the Jordan on the side of Ephraim, and when one of the fleeing Ephraims said, "Let me pass," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" He answered, "No.". 6 They would tell him, «Say »Shibboleth.«» But he would say, “Sibboleth,” though he could not pronounce it correctly. So they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, forty-two thousand Ephraimites died. 7 Jephthah judged Israel for six years, then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. 8 After him, Abesan, of Bethlehem, was a judge in Israel. 9 He had thirty sons, he married thirty daughters outside his household, and he brought thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years, 10 then Abesan died and was buried at Bethlehem. 11 After him, Ahilon of Zebulun was a judge in Israel; he was a judge in Israel for ten years., 12 Then Ahialon of Zebulun died and was buried in Ahialon in the land of Zebulun. 13 After him, Abdon, son of Ilel, of Pharathon, was judge in Israel. 14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He served as a judge in Israel for eight years., 15 Then Abdon, son of Ilel, of Pharathon, died and was buried in Pharathon, in the land of Ephraim, on the mountain of the Amalekites.
Judges 13
1 The children of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. 2 There was a man from Saraa, of the family of the Danites, named Manué; his wife was barren and had not borne children. 3 The Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, «Behold, you are barren and childless, but you will conceive and bear a son. 4 And now, be very careful, drink neither wine nor strong drink and eat nothing unclean, 5 For you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor will touch his head, for he will be a Nazirite, a member of God from his mother’s womb, and he will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.» 6 The woman went and told her husband, «A man from God came to me. He had the appearance of an angel of God, and he was very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name.” 7 But he said to me, «You will conceive and give birth to a son, and now drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, because this child will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.» 8 Then Manué called upon the Lord and said, «I pray to you, Lord, that the man of God whom you have sent may come to us again and teach us what we should do for the child who will be born.» 9 God answered Manué's prayer, and the Angel of God came again to the woman; she was seat in a field and Manué, her husband, was not with her. 10 The woman immediately ran to inform her husband and said, "Look, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me."« 11 Manué got up and, following his wife, went to the man and said to him, "Were you the one who spoke to this woman?" He replied, "It was me."« 12 Manué said, «Now, when your word comes true, what must be done for this child, and what must be done for him?» 13 The Angel of the Lord answered Manué: «The woman must abstain from everything I have told her: 14 She shall eat nothing that comes from the vine, she shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and she shall eat nothing unclean: all that I have commanded her, she shall observe.» 15 Manué said to the Angel of the Lord, «Please let us detain you and prepare a young goat for you.» 16 The Angel of the Lord answered Manué, «Even if you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you wish to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.» Manué did not know that it was the Angel of the Lord. 17 And Manué said to the Angel of the Lord, «What is your name, so that we may honor you when your word comes true?» 18 The Angel of the Lord answered him, «Why do you ask me about my name? It is wonderful.» 19 Manué took the kid with the offering and offered it to the Lord on the rock, and the Lord performed a miracle while Manué and his wife watched. 20 As the flame rose from above the altar to heaven, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. At this sight, Manué and his wife fell facedown to the ground. 21 And the Angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manué and his wife. Then Manué understood that it was the Angel of the Lord. 22 And Manué said to his wife, "We are going to die, for we have seen God."« 23 His wife replied, "If the Lord had wanted us to die, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from our hands, he would not have shown us all this, he would not have told us such things today."« 24 The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The child grew up and the Lord blessed him., 25 the spirit of the Lord began to drive him to Machaneh-Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.
Judges 14
1 Samson went down to Thamna and he saw in Thamna a woman from among the daughters of the Philistines. 2 When he had gone up, he told his father and mother, saying, «I have seen in Thamna a woman from among the daughters of the Philistines; now take her to be my wife.» 3 His father and mother said to him, «Is there no woman among the daughters of your brothers or in all our people, that you must go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?» And Samson said to his father, «Get her for me, for she pleases me.» 4 His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord, for he was looking for an opportunity to quarrel with the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel. 5 Samson went down with his father and mother to Thamna. When they arrived at the vineyards of Thamna, behold, a roaring young lion came to meet him. 6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon Samson, and with nothing in his hand, Samson tore the lion apart as one tears a young goat. And he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7 He went downstairs and spoke to the woman, and she pleased him. 8 Some time later, having gone back to Thamna to take it, he made a detour to see the lion's corpse and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the lion's body. 9 He took some in his hands and ate it as he went along, and when he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them and they ate it, but he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's body. 10 Samson's father went down to the woman's house and there Samson gave a feast, for that was the custom of young men. 11 As soon as they saw him, they invited thirty companions to be with him. 12 Samson said to them, «I will give you a riddle. If you explain it to me during the seven days of the feast and solve it, I will give you thirty tunics and thirty changes of clothing, 13 But if you cannot explain it to me, you will give me thirty tunics and thirty changes of clothing.» They said to him, «Tell us your riddle, so that we may hear it.» 14 He told them, "Out of the eater came something to be eaten, and out of the strong came something sweet." For three days they could not explain the riddle. 15 On the seventh day, they said to Samson's wife, "Persuade your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father's house. Is it to rob us that you invited us?"« 16 Samson's wife wept beside him and said, "You hate me and do not love me. You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me." He replied, "I have not explained it to my father or my mother, but I will explain it to you."« 17 She wept before him for the seven days that the feast lasted; on the seventh day, as she tormented him, he explained the riddle to her, and she explained it to the children of her people. 18 The people of the town said to Samson on the seventh day, before sunset, «What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?» And he said to them, «If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle.» 19 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he went down to Ascalon. There he killed thirty men and, having taken their spoils, gave the changes of clothing to those who had solved the riddle. Then, burning with anger, he went up to his father's house. 20 Samson's wife was given to one of his companions whom he had chosen as a friend.
Judges 15
1 Some time later, at harvest time, Samson went to see his wife, bringing a young goat. He said, «I want to go to my wife’s room.» But his father would not let him in. 2 And her father said, "I thought you hated her, so I gave her to your friend. Isn't her younger sister more beautiful than she? Let her be your wife instead."« 3 Samson told them, "This time I will be innocent before the Philistines if I harm them."« 4 And Samson went away. He caught three hundred foxes and, having taken torches, he turned the foxes tail to tail and put a torch between the two tails, in the middle. 5 He then lit the torches and released the foxes into the Philistines' crops, setting fire to everything from the sheaves of grain to the standing wheat and the olive groves. 6 The Philistines said, "Who did this?" They answered, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Thamnean, because he took his wife and gave her to his friend." And the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. 7 Samson said to them, "Is this how you act? Well, I will not stop until I have taken my revenge on you."« 8 And he made a great slaughter of them, breaking their thighs and hips, then he went down and remained in the cavern of the Etam rock. 9 Then the Philistines went up and camped in Judah, spreading out into Lehi. 10 The men of Judah said, «Why have you turned against us?» They replied, «We have come up to bind Samson, so that we may treat him as he has treated us.» 11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, «Don’t you know that the Philistines are our masters? What have you done to us?» He answered them, «I treated them as they treated me.» 12 They told him, "We have come down to bind you, so that we may hand you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not kill me."« 13 They answered him, saying, "No, we only want to bind you and hand you over to them, but we will not kill you." And having bound him with two new ropes, they brought him up from the rock. 14 When he arrived at Lehi, the Philistines shouted for joy to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and the cords on his arms became like flax that has been burned with fire, and his bonds fell off his hands. 15 Finding a fresh donkey jawbone, he stretched out his hand, seized it, and struck a thousand men with it. 16 And Samson said, "With a donkey's jawbone, I thrashed them well; with a donkey's jawbone, I struck a thousand men."« 17 When he had finished speaking, he threw down his jawbone and named the place Ramath-Lehi. 18 Consumed by thirst, he called upon the Lord and said, «It is you who have granted this great deliverance through the hand of your servant, and now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?» 19 And God split open the hollow rock that is at Lehi, and water came out. Samson drank, his spirit revived, and he came back to life. That is why the spring was called En-Hakkore; it exists at Lehi to this day. 20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years during the time of the Philistines.
Judges 16
1 Samson went to Gaza, saw a courtesan there, and entered her house. 2 The news was announced to the people of Gaza, saying, «Samson has come here.» And they surrounded him and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They remained quiet all night, saying, «Let’s wait until morning and then we’ll kill him.» 3 Samson remained lying down until midnight, at midnight he got up and, taking hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts, he tore them down with the bar, put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the mountain that overlooks Hebron. 4 After that, he fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorec, her name was Dalila. 5 The Philistine princes went up to her and said, «Flatter him and see where his great strength lies and how we can overpower him, bind him, and subdue him, and we will each give you one thousand and one hundred shekels of silver.» 6 Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me, I pray you, where does your great strength lie, and with what must I bind you to subdue you?"« 7 Samson said to him, "If I were bound with seven fresh ropes that were not yet dry, I would become weak and be like any other man."« 8 The Philistine princes brought Delilah seven fresh ropes, which were not yet dry, and she bound him with these ropes. 9 But she had men lying in ambush in the room. She said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And he broke the ropes, as a cord of tow breaks when it feels the fire, and the secret of his strength was not known. 10 Delilah said to Samson, "Look, you have mocked me and told me lies. Now please tell me how I should bind you."« 11 He told him, "If I were bound with new ropes that had never been used, I would become weak and be like any other man."« 12 Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them. Then she said to him, «The Philistines are upon you, Samson.» Now some men were lying in wait in the room, and he snapped the ropes that were on his arms like a thread. 13 Delilah said to Samson, "So far you have deceived me and lied to me. Tell me how I should bind you." He said to her, "Just weave the seven braids of my head with the cloth."« 14 And she fastened them with the peg. Then she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." And, waking from his sleep, he pulled the peg out of the loom and the cloth. 15 She said to him, "How can you say 'I love you' when your heart is not with me? This is the third time you have deceived me and failed to show me where your true strength lies."« 16 She tormented him thus every day and wearyed him with her entreaties; finally, his soul grew impatient until he died., 17 He opened his heart to her and said, «No razor has ever touched my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I were shaved, my strength would leave me, I would become weak, and I would be like all other men.» 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the Philistine princes, saying, «Come up this time, for he has told me everything.» So the Philistine princes came up to her, bringing the money in their hands. 19 She lulled him to sleep on her knees and, having called the man, she shaved off the seven braids of Samson's head and began to subdue him, and his strength departed from him. 20 She then said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson." He awoke from his sleep and said, "I will get out of this as at other times and free myself," for he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. 21 The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and, having brought him down to Gaza, they bound him with a double bronze chain. He was grinding in the prison. 22 However, the hair on his head had begun to grow back since he had been shaved. 23 The Philistine princes gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon, their god, and to rejoice. They said, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands."« 24 The people saw it and they praised their god, for they said, "Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy, the one who ravaged our land and killed so many of us."« 25 When their hearts had become joyful, they said, «Bring Samson here to entertain us.» So they brought Samson from the prison And he danced before them. He had been placed between the columns. 26 Samson said to the young man who was holding his hand: "Let me touch the pillars on which the house stands and lean against them. 27 Now the house was full of men and women, all the princes of the Philistines were there, and there were about three thousand people on the roof, men and women, watching Samson dance. 28 Then Samson called upon the Lord and said, «Lord God, remember me, I pray, and give me strength just this once, O God, so that with one blow I may take revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.» 29 And Samson, embracing the two middle pillars on which the house stood, leaned on them, on one with his right hand, on the other with his left hand. 30 And Samson said, «Let me die with the Philistines!» And he bent down with great force, and the house collapsed on the princes and all the people who were in it. Those whom he killed when he died were more than those whom he had killed during his life. 31 His brothers and all his father's household went down to Gaza and brought him back. When they returned, they buried him between Sarah and Eshtaol, in the tomb of Manuah, his father. He had judged Israel for twenty years.
Judges 17
1 There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Micah. 2 He said to his mother, «The 1,000 shekels of silver that were taken from you, about which you pronounced a curse, and even pronounced it in my hearing—here, the silver is in my possession; I have taken it myself.» And his mother said, «May my son be blessed by the Lord.» 3 He returned the 1,100 shekels of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I dedicate this silver to the Lord for my son, to make a carved image and a cast object, and now I give it back to you."« 4 When he had returned the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels and gave them to the metalworker, who made a carved image and a cast object, and they were in the house of Micah. 5 For this Micah had a house of God, he made an ephod and teraphim and he consecrated one of his sons, who served him as priest. 6 At that time there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes. 7 There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, of the family of Judah, he was a Levite and resided in that city. 8 This man left the city of Bethlehem from Judah, to find a place to stay. So he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micah. 9 Michas asked him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am a Levite, from Bethlehem from Judah, and I am traveling to find a place to stay.” 10 Michas said to him, «Stay with me, be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver a year, a supply of clothing and food.» And the Levite went in. 11 The Levite agreed to stay with this man, and the young man was like one of his sons to him. 12 Michas installed the Levite and the young man served as his priest and remained in Michas's house. 13 And Michas said, «Now I know that the Lord will do me good, since I have this Levite as my priest.»
Judges 18
1 At that time there was no king in Israel. At that time the tribe of Dan was seeking a possession to settle on, for until that day no inheritance had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. 2 The sons of Dan, having taken five valiant men from their families, sent them from Sarah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. They told them, «Go, explore the land.» The five men arrived in the hill country of Ephraim as far as the house of Micah and spent the night there. 3 As they were near the house of Michas, recognizing the voice of the young Levite, they approached him and said, «Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place and what do you have here?» 4 He replied to them, "Michas has done such and such for me, he gives me a salary, and I serve as his priest."« 5 They told him, "Well, consult God, so that we may know whether our journey will be successful."« 6 And the priest replied to them, "Go in peace, the journey you are making is under the Lord's gaze."« 7 Having set out, the five men arrived at Laish. They saw the people who were in that city, living securely in the manner of the Sidonians, peaceful and quiet, and there was no one in the country who, invested with authority, harassed them in any way; they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 They returned to their brothers at Sarah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"« 9 They replied, «Get up and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And you are standing here without saying a word? Do not be lazy, but set out and go and take possession of this land.”. 10 Upon entering, you will arrive among a people in safety. The land is vast, and God has given it into your hands; it is a place where nothing is lacking of all that is on earth.» 11 Six hundred men from the family of Dan set out from Saraa and Esthaol, armed with their weapons of war. 12 They went up and camped at Cariathariam in Judah, therefore that place has been called Machaneh-Dan to this day, behold, it is west of Cariathariam. 13 From there they went into the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. 14 The five men who had been exploring the land of Laish spoke up and said to their brothers, «Do you know that in these houses there is an ephod, teraphim, a carved image, and a cast object? Now consider what you must do.» 15 They went in that direction and, entering the house of the young Levite, the house of Michas, they asked him how he was doing. 16 The six hundred men from among the sons of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 And the five men who had gone to explore the land went up and, having entered the sanctuary, they took the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim and the cast object, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men with their weapons of war. 18 When they had entered the house of Micah and had taken the carved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the cast object, the priest said to them, «What are you doing?» 19 They answered him, «Be quiet, put your hand over your mouth, and come with us, and you will be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the household of one man, or for a tribe and a clan in Israel?» 20 The priest's heart became joyful, he took the ephod, the teraphim and the carved image and came into the midst of the company. 21 They set out again and left, having placed before them the children, the livestock, and all the valuables. 22 They were already far from Michas' house when the people who lived in the houses near Michas' house gathered together and pursued the sons of Dan. 23 They shouted at the sons of Dan, and the sons turned around and said to Micah, "What is this you want, that you have gathered these men together?"« 24 He replied, "My gods that I made, you have taken them away, along with the priest, and you have left: what do I have left? How then can you say to me: What do you need?"« 25 The sons of Dan said to him, «Do not let us hear your voice, lest angry men attack you and you lose your life and the lives of your household.» 26 And Dan's sons continued on their way. Seeing that they were stronger than him, Micah turned back and returned to his house. 27 So the Danites took away what Micah had made and the priest who was in his service, and they marched against Laish, against a people at peace and secure, they put them to the edge of the sword and burned the city. 28 There was no one to deliver it, for it was far from Sidon and its inhabitants did not deal with other men: it was in the valley that stretches toward Beth-rohob. The sons of Dan rebuilt the city and lived there, 29 They called it Dan, after the name of Dan, their father, who was born of Israel, but the city was originally called Laish. 30 The sons of Dan set up the carved image for them, and Jonathan, son of Gersam, son of Moses, he and his sons were priests of the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. 31 They set up for themselves the carved image that Micah had made, during all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Judges 19
1 At that time, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite, who was staying in the hill country of Ephraim, took a woman as his concubine. Bethlehem of Judah. 2 His concubine was unfaithful to him and left him to go to her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, where she stayed for four months. 3 Her husband got up and went to her, to speak tenderly to her and bring her back to him. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She brought him into her father's house, and when the young woman's father saw him, he went joyfully to meet him. 4 His stepfather, the young woman's father, kept him there and he stayed at his house for three days; they ate and drank and they stayed there. 5 On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning and the Levite was preparing to leave. But the young woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Strengthen your heart by taking a piece of bread and then you can leave."« 6 Having sat down, they both ate and drank together. Then the young woman's father said to the husband, "Please agree to spend the night and let your heart rejoice."« 7 The husband got up to leave, but, at the urging of his father-in-law, he returned and spent another night there. 8 On the fifth day, he got up early in the morning to leave. Then the young woman's father said, "Strengthen your heart, I beg you, and delay until the end of the day." And they both ate. 9 The husband was getting up to leave, he, his concubine, and his servant, but his father-in-law, the young woman's father, said to him, "Look, the day is drawing to a close; please stay here all night. The day is almost over; stay here and be glad. Tomorrow you will get up early and go to your tent."« 10 The husband did not agree to spend the night; he got up and left. He came as far as Jebus, which is Jerusalem, with the two donkeys with their saddles and his concubine. 11 When they approached Jebus, the day was far over. The servant then said to his master, «Come, please, let us turn aside and go to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night there.» 12 His master replied, «We will not turn aside to a foreign city where there are no Israelites; we will go on to Gibeah.» 13 He also said to his servant, "Come, let us try to reach one of these places to spend the night, either Gabaa or Rama."« 14 They continued walking and the sun set when they were near Gabaah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned off in that direction to spend the night at Gibeah. The Levite, having entered, stopped in the city square, and there was no one who received them into his house to spend the night. 16 But behold, an old man was returning in the evening from working in the fields; he was a man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was staying in Gibeah, and the people of the place were Benjamites. 17 Looking up, he saw the traveler in the town square and the old man said, "Where are you going and where are you coming from?"« 18 He replied, "We are going to Bethlehem from Judah to the far reaches of the hill country of Ephraim, where I am from. I had gone to Bethlehem of Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord and there is no one who receives me in his house. 19 However, we have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for myself, your maid, and the young man who is with your servants; we lack nothing.» 20 The old man said: Peace "Be with me. I will provide for all your needs, but do not spend the night in the square." 21 He brought him into his house and gave fodder to the donkeys, the travelers washed their feet, then they ate and drank. 22 While they were rejoicing, some wicked men from the city surrounded the house and, striking loudly at the door, said to the old man, the master of the house, «Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may have relations with him.» 23 The master of the house went out to them and said, «No, my brothers, do not do this evil, I beg you, since this man has entered my house, do not commit this shameful act. 24 »Here is my daughter, who is a virgin, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you, you may rape them and treat them as you please, but do not commit such an infamous act against this man.” 25 These men refused to listen to him. So the man took his concubine and brought her outside to them. They had sex with her and abused her all night until morning, and they sent her away at daybreak. 26 Towards morning, this woman came and fell at the entrance of the house of the man with whom her husband was staying, and she remained there until daybreak. 27 Her husband got up in the morning and, having opened the door of the house, went out to continue on his way. And behold, his wife, his concubine, was lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, "Get up and let's go." But no one answered. So the husband put her on his donkey and set off for home. 29 When he arrived home, he took a knife and, seizing his concubine, he cut her limb by limb into twelve pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel. 30 All who saw this said, «Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen since the Israelites came up out of Egypt until this day. Consider it, consult with one another, and decide.»
Judges 20
1 All the children of Israel went out, from Dan to Beersheba and to the land of Gilead, and the assembly gathered as one man before the Lord at Masphah. 2 The leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God: four hundred thousand foot soldiers drawing swords. 3 And the sons of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah. The children of Israel said, «Tell me: how was this crime committed?» 4 Then the Levite, the husband of the woman who had been killed, spoke up and said: «I and my concubine had entered Gibeah of Benjamin to spend the night there. 5 The people of Gabaa rose up against me and surrounded the house where I was during the night; they intended to kill me and they assaulted my concubine and she died. 6 I seized my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed a crime and an outrage in Israel. 7 "Here you all are, children of Israel, consult together and decide right here."» 8 All the people rose up as one, saying, «None of us will go to his tent, none of us will return to his house. 9 Here is what we will do to Gabaa: Against her according to the spell. 10 We will take from all the tribes of Israel ten men out of every hundred, one hundred out of every thousand, and one thousand out of every ten thousand; they will go and find provisions for the people, so that when they arrive, Gibeah of Benjamin may be dealt with according to all the infamy she has committed in Israel.» 11 Thus all the men of Israel gathered together against the city, united as one man. 12 The tribes of Israel sent men to all the families of Benjamin to say, «What is this crime that has been committed among you? 13 "Now hand over the wicked men who are at Gibeah, so that we may put them to death and remove the evil from the midst of Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel. 14 The sons of Benjamin, leaving their cities, assembled at Gibeah to go to war against the children of Israel. 15 The sons of Benjamin, who came out of the cities, were counted that day as twenty-six thousand, drawing their swords, not counting the inhabitants of Gibeah, seven hundred elite men. 16 Among all these people there were seven hundred elite left-handed men; all these fighters could throw a stone with a sling at a distance of one hair, without missing. 17 The number of Israelite men counted, not including those of Benjamin, was four hundred thousand who drew the sword, all of them fighting men. 18 And the children of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, saying, «Which of us shall go up first to fight against the sons of Benjamin?» The Lord answered, «Let Judah go up first.» 19 The children of Israel set out early in the morning and they camped near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel advanced to fight those of Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up in battle formation against them before Gibeah. 21 Then the sons of Benjamin went out from Gibeah and that day they laid down twenty-two thousand men of Israel. 22 The people, namely the men of Israel, strengthened their courage and they again drew up in battle formation in the place where they had positioned themselves on the first day. 23 And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord, saying, «Shall I go up again to fight against the sons of Benjamin, my brother?» The Lord answered, «Go up against him.» 24 The Israelites approached the Benjaminites on the second day, 25 And on that second day, the sons of Benjamin came out from Gibeah to meet them and they laid down another eighteen thousand men of the children of Israel, all of them drawing their swords. 26 All the children of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, they wept, sitting there before the Lord, they fasted that day until evening and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 27 And the children of Israel inquired of the Lord; in those days the ark of the covenant of God was there. 28 And Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, stood before her in those days, and they said, «Shall I go on to fight against the sons of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I stand still?» The Lord answered, «Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.» 29 So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah 30 And on the third day, the children of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin, they drew up in battle array before Gibeah, as at other times. 31 And the sons of Benjamin went out to meet the people, allowing themselves to be drawn away from the city. They began to strike and kill among the people, as at other times, on the roads, one of which leads up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, in the countryside; they killed about thirty men of Israel. 32 The sons of Benjamin said, "Look, they are defeated before us as before." And the children of Israel said, "Let's flee and lure them away from the city, to these roads."« 33 All the men of Israel left their position and lined up at Baal-Tamar, at the same time the Israelite ambush set out from its post, from the plain of Gibeah. 34 Ten thousand elite men from all over Israel arrived from before Gibeah. The battle was fierce, and the sons of Benjamin had no idea that misfortune was about to befall them. 35 The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the children of Israel killed twenty-five thousand and one hundred men at Benjamin that day, all of them drawing their swords. 36 The sons of Benjamin thus saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had, in fact, only given ground to Benjamin because they had confidence in the ambush they had set against Gibeah. 37 As for the men of the ambush, they quickly rushed upon Gabaah, and then, advancing, the men of the ambush struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now there was this agreed sign between the men of Israel and those in the ambush, that the latter would raise a cloud of smoke from the city. 39 The men of Israel then turned back in the battle. The Benjamites had already killed about thirty of their men, and they were saying, "Surely they are defeated before us as in the first battle."« 40 But the cloud began to rise from the city like a column of smoke, and the Benjamites, looking behind them, saw the whole city rising in flames toward the sky. 41 The men of Israel turned back, and the men of Benjamin were terrified to see that misfortune had befallen them. 42 They turned their backs on the men of Israel, by way of the desert, but the fighters pressed them closely and massacred those in the cities. 43 They surrounded Benjamin, they pursued him, they crushed him where he stopped, as far as opposite Gabaah, on the side of the rising sun. 44 Eighteen thousand of Benjamin's men fell, all valiant men. 45 Those who remained turned their backs and fled towards the desert, towards the rock of Remmon. The men of Israel killed five thousand men on the roads, they pressed them closely as far as Gideon and they killed two thousand. 46 The total number of Benjamites who perished that day was twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all valiant men. 47 Six hundred men who had turned their backs and fled into the desert, towards the rock of Remmon, remained at the rock of Remmon for four months. 48 The men of Israel returned to the sons of Benjamin and struck them down with the edge of the sword, destroying cities, men, livestock, and everything else they could find. They also set fire to all the cities they found.
Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Masphah, saying, "None of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."« 2 The people came to Bethel and remained there before God until evening. Raising their voices, they made a great lamentation and said: 3 «Why, O Lord, God of Israel, has it come to pass in Israel that today one tribe of Israel is missing?» 4 The next day, the people having risen early in the morning, they built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 And the children of Israel said, «Which of all the tribes of Israel has not come up to the assembly before the Lord?» For they had taken a solemn oath against the one who would not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, «He shall surely be put to death.» 6 The children of Israel had compassion for Benjamin, their brother, and they said, «A tribe has been cut off today from Israel. 7 What shall we do for them, to provide wives for those who remain? For we have sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.» 8 So they said, «Is there a single tribe of Israel that has not gone up to the Lord at Maspha?» And behold, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly. 9 They took a census of the people and behold, there was none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead there. 10 Then the assembly sent twelve thousand valiant men against them, giving them this order: “Go and strike down the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with women and the children. 11 This is what you shall do: you shall devote to anathema every man and every woman who has known the bed of a man.» 12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead four hundred virgin girls, who had not known a man by sharing his bed, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13 Then the whole assembly sent messengers to speak to the sons of Benjamin who were refugees at the rock of Remmon and to tell them peace. 14 The Benjamites returned at that time and were given women to whom life had been spared among women from Jabesh-Gilead, but not enough was found for them. 15 The people had compassion on Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16 The elders of the assembly said, “What shall we do to provide wives for those who remain, since women "Were Benjamin's destroyed?" 17 And they said, «Let the inheritance of those who escaped remain with Benjamin, so that no tribe may be wiped out of Israel. 18 But we cannot give them any of our daughters as wives, because the Israelites have sworn an oath, saying, «Cursed be anyone who gives his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite!» 19 And they said, «This is the feast of the Lord, which is celebrated every year in Shiloh, a town north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.» 20 Then they gave this order to the sons of Benjamin: «Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. 21 You will watch, and when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance together, you will come out of the vineyards and each of you will take your wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 If their fathers or brothers come to us to plead, we will tell them, “Leave them to us, for we have not taken a wife for each one in the warAnd it wasn't you who gave them to them; in that case, you would be guilty. 23 The sons of Benjamin did this: they took wives according to their number from among the dancers, whom they abducted, and having set out, they returned to their inheritance, they rebuilt the cities and they lived there. 24 At that time, the Israelites went out from there, each to his own tribe and family, and returned from there, each to his own inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right.
Notes on the Book of Judges
1.2 Judah, etc. The tribe of Judah will set an example for the others. It was the most numerous and the most valiant (see Genesis, 49, 8). ― the Canaanites.
1.3 The two tribes of Judah and Simeon were neighbors; their lots were in a way the same.
1.4 Bézec, a Canaanite city, capital of Adonibezek, also became a city of Judah.
1.6 cut, etc. This type of torture was used by the ancients; its purpose was to render prisoners unable to bear arms.
1.9 In the plains of the Philistines, the Sephelah.
1.10 See Joshua, 15, 14. ― Hebron. See Genesis, 13, 18.
1.11-12 Cariath-Sepher or Dabir, in the Negev, south of Hebron.
1.14 The field. The determinative article found in the Hebrew text presupposes a particular, well-known field, or a field that has already been mentioned. In the first case, it would probably be the field adjoining the arid land that Axa had received from his father-in-law; and in the second, the sacred author would simply be referring back to the field already mentioned in the text. Book of Joshua (15, 18); and consequently this fact would only be reported here by way of recapitulation.
1.16 The City of Palm Trees, Jericho. ― Arad. See Numbers, 21, 1. ― Filmmaker. See Genesis, 15, 19.
1.18 Gaza, Ascalon, Accaron, three of the five major Philistine cities, in the plain of Sephelah. The conquest of Judah was not lasting.
1.19 Tanks iron. See Joshua, 11, 4.
1.20 See Numbers, 14, 24; Joshua, 15, 14.
1.22 Bethel. See Genesis, 12, 8.
1.26 The Hittites, then masters of the Syria.
1.27 Bethsan, not far from the Jordan, east of Mount Gelboeh. ― Thanac, south of Mageddo. ― Jeblaam, in the vicinity of Engannim, south of that city. ― Mageddo, in the Esdrelon plain.
1.29 With him ; That is, with Ephraim. Gazer, west of Béthoron, northeast of Accaron.
1.31 Accho, also called Acre, Saint John of Acre and Ptolemais, a Phoenician city and seaport on the Mediterranean, near Mount Carmel, at the mouth of the Belus River, south of Tyre. ― Sidon, the first capital of Phoenicia, on the Mediterranean, north of Tyre. ― Ahalab, an unknown city, mentioned only here. ― Achazib, Ecdippe, north of Accho, on the Mediterranean. ― Helba, not found. ― Aphec, Rohob, unknown site.
1.33 Beth-samès. See Joshua, 21, 16. ― Beth-anath, unknown.
1.35 The power ; literally the hand. The Hebrew word encompasses both of these meanings. Ajalon. See Joshua, 10, 11.
2.4 cried ; at the place which was later called the Place of Weepers (verses 4 and 5). ― Galgala, west of the Jordan, between that river and the city of Jericho.
2.6 See Joshua, 24, 28.
2.9 Thamnath-Heres. See Joshua, 19, 50.
2.11 Baals, Hebrew plural of Baal, that's to say master, lord, refers to the idols of this false god. ― On Baal and the Baalim, see Judges 6, 25. The main center of Baal worship was in Phoenicia and Tyre, but he was worshipped before the conquest of Joshuathroughout the land of Canaan.
2.13 the Astartes, Astaroth. See Judges 3, 7.
2.19 Their errors ; Their wanderings of mind and heart; according to the Hebrew text, their actions bad.
3.3 The five princes of the Philistines, etc. These words relate to: These are the nations, etc., 1er of the verse of which they are the explanatory; but they are in the accusative case, because they can also be considered as complements of the verb, which immediately precedes them, to give battle, Or give up (verse 1). ― Baal-Hermon. See Joshua, 11, 17. ― Hamath. See 2 Kings 7, 9.
3.7 Baals. See Judges 2:11. Ascheroth, means the idols of the deity, which in the original text occurs in the form ashtoreth, or better haschthoreth, and in the Vulgate under that of’Astharthe. The Hebrew reads here Asheroth, which means sacred wood, Because she was particularly worshipped in the woods. Astoreth or Astarte bore many similarities to Venus. She is often mentioned in the Book of Judges, alongside Baal. Moreover, there were several Astoreths or Astartes, just as there were several Baals: each Baal had his Astarte, the multiplication of the god implying the multiplication of the goddess. Just as Baal was sometimes the sky, Astarte was also the earth fertilized by the sky. But numerous indications also show that she is often the moon, emblem of feminine beauty, just as the sun, which makes plants grow and withers, is the symbol of strength and destruction; she is the passive and productive principle, the mother, just as Baal is the active and generative principle, the father. An alabaster figurine in the Louvre Museum depicts Astarte wearing a golden crescent above her head, but she is most often represented in the form of a symbolic stake.
3.8 Chusan-Rasathaïm is known to us only through this passage from the Book of Judges. — On Amalek, see Exodus, 17, 8.
3.9 A liberator who delivered them ; which would seem to give this verb the word Lord for the subject. But see Joshua, 24, 7.
3.13 The City of Palm Trees, probably Jericho.
3.15 The Benjamites, to whose tribe Aod belonged, were famous as archers and slingers, equally skilled in using their left and right hands, and able to strike a hair with their sling, see Judges 20:16; 1 Chronicles 12:2. Mucius Scaevola, who became famous among the Romans by an act similar to that of Aod, was also left-handed; and this is the very meaning of his surname Scaevola.
3.19 De Galgala. See Judges 2:1. Where were the idols?, It might be a place name.
3.19-22 If we were obliged to justify Aod's conduct, we could say that he believed, according to the prejudices of the time, and the right of the warThe law was far more rigorous in those distant times than it is today, and he was not permitted to resort to such a stratagem. Is it not possible, moreover, that God raised up this general to save his people, without inspiring him to commit this murder? Among all peoples and in all times, the composure, audacity, courage, and devotion demonstrated in their perpetrators by acts like those of Aod have been admired, even though these acts are not reprehensible. The Athenians sang the praises of Harmodius and Aristogiton, the Romans glorified Mucius Scaevola.
3.26 Seirath, an unknown locality in the mountains of Ephraim.
3.28 Person ; That is to say, none of the Moabites. — There were no bridges over the Jordan; it could only be crossed by fording.
3.31 Philistines. On the Philistines, see Judges 13, 1.
4.2 See 1 Samuel 12:9. Asor ; Rebuilt by some descendant of the ancient Jabin. Compare to Joshua, 11, 10-11. ― Haroseth-Goïm Haroseth of the nations ; city so named because there were many people of various nations, or because it was populated by Canaanites and idolatrous peoples, or finally because it was located in the Galilee of the nations.
4.3 Nine hundred iron chariots. See Joshua 11, 4.
4.4 Deborah means bee. Likewise, doe, cat, While today they are terms of endearment, the names of graceful animals have always been used as women's names. Jahel means doe ; Sebia, see 2 Kings 12, 1, and Tabitha Or Dorcas, see Acts of the Apostles, 9, 36, gazelle ; Rachel, lamb Or sheep ; Sephora, Moses' wife, bird. We even find a woman's name, that of King Joakim's mother, see 2 Kings 24, 8, Nohesta, which means snake, no doubt alluding to the bronze serpent erected by Moses in the desert and which Hezekiah had destroyed, whose name was Nohestan, see 2 Kings 13, 4. Among the names of men borrowed from animals, we find Caleb, dog, referring to different characters, Oreb, crow, Zeb, wolf, Aïa, vulture, Sual, jackal, Jonas, dove, Ariel, lion of God. See Leon, etc. The name Debora was also that of Rebecca's nurse. It corresponds to the Greek and the Latin Melissa, in German Emma, which also means bee.
4.5 Rama, probably southwest of Bethel. ― Bethel. See Genesis, 12, 8.
4.6 Cedes of Naphtali. The towns of the mountainous region of Naphtali all share this common feature: they are situated on high rocks amidst the hills, above green and peaceful valleys. Of these towns, the most remarkable is Cedes of Naphtali, the homeland of Barac. go to Mount Tabor. Mount Tabor is located in the territory of the tribe of Issachar, on the border of Zebulun. It is distinguished from the other mountains of Palestine by its shape and abundant vegetation. Seen from the southwest, it rises before the observer like a gigantic, completely isolated dome. It takes nearly an hour's walk to reach its summit. Its slopes are covered with trees that provide cover for those who seek refuge there. The summit, which can be circled in half an hour, is partly covered with trees and partly with grass. From there, one has a commanding view of the entire plain of Ezra: no movement of the Canaanites could escape Barak and Deborah. Moreover, Sisera's chariots could not reach the Hebrews from there. — The sides of Mount Tabor are uneven, steep, with a sharp incline, covered with fragrant trees and shrubs that grow in the crevices of the rocks: wherever grass can grow, the earth is carpeted with greenery and flowers. The paths are almost impassable.
4.7 Cison torrent, in the plain of Ezrael. The plain is about ten leagues long from Carmel to the Jordan Valley, and five leagues wide, between the mountains of Gilboa and those of Nazareth. It is uneven, especially to the east and west. It is widest and most level from Mageddo, where Sisera was, in the direction of Nazareth, to the north. Mageddo, which commands the entrance to the plain in the southwest, and Bethsan, which commands it in the east, remained fortresses until the time of the Romans, under the names of Legio and Scythopolis. In the time of Sisera, the Canaanites still lived in large numbers in these two cities and must have been the masters there. — The Cishon River rises on the northeast slope of Tabor; It flows along its entire length, from northeast to northwest, across the Jezreel plain and empties into the Mediterranean north of Mount Carmel. It has a large number of tributaries, which are completely dry in summer, but form considerable torrents during the rainy season.
4.11 The Filmmaker. See Genesis 15, 19 ― Sennim, means change the tent, properly load the mounts (to change camps). Sennim It is therefore probably a place where caravans usually camped.
4.15 See Psalms, 82, 10.
4.18 under a cover. Orientals have always used their coats for sleeping.
4.19 Jahel opened the milk skin and gave him something to drink.. The Bedouins know how to prepare curdled milk in a delicious way; this preparation is called Leben ; It is offered to guests, but is generally considered a delicacy. It is very refreshing for the traveler burdened by fatigue and heat, but it also has a strange soporific effect. It was no doubt with full awareness of its probable effects that Jahel gave his exhausted guest this seductive beverage, which was supposed to bring him a deep and restful sleep.
4.21 The stake from the tent. The nailProbably the main point, the biggest one—As for Jahel's conduct toward Sisara, there are at least some circumstances that cannot be justified, for example, his outright lie, his lack of good faith; things that are wrong in themselves. But this does not prevent us from acknowledging his intentions, which were praiseworthy. See Aod, Judges 3:19-22. Saint AugustineAgainst Faustus L.12, c.32, sees in it an image of the victory of Jesus over the empire of the pierced demon of the Holy Cross.
5.1 The Song of Deborah is a beautiful poem; it is one of the most remarkable literary monuments of antiquity, but what characterizes it above all is that the prophetess dedicates it to the praise of the God of battles who conquered through Israel, and not to the glorification of the victors: the leaders and soldiers appear only in the background; it is God who holds the foreground. This admirable song is composed of three parts, each of three stanzas: I. Introduction, chapter 5, verses 2 to 8; 1. Address of the poem, verses 2 and 3; 2. Power of God, guarantee of victory for the faithful Hebrews, verses 4 and 5; 3. Woes of Israel before Deborah, verses 6 to 8. ― II. Preparations for the battle, verses 9 to 17; 1. New exhortation to all those who must sing and bless God, verses 9 to 12; 2. Enumeration of the combatants, verses 12 to 15c; 3. Reproaches to the tribes who did not come to the aid of their brothers, verses 15d to 17. — III. Description of the battle and its aftermath, verses 18 to 31; 1. Description of the battle, verses 18 to 22; 2. Curse of Meroz, blessing of Jahel, verses 23 to 27; 3. Anxiety and illusions of Sisera's mother and wives; final wish, verses 28 to 31. — This poem has been called the most beautiful heroic song of the Hebrews. In Deborah's poem, everything is present, alive, and active.
5.10 In Palestine, the judges and leading men of the land rode only donkeys. See Judges 10:4; 12:14.
5.24-27 See what we have said about the action of Jahel, Judges 4:21.
5.26 Stake. See Judges 4:21.
6.3 the sons of the East. In Hebrew, Benê-Qédem, In the Bible, the term always refers to the nomadic Arabs or Bedouins who inhabit the Arabian desert, from Perea to the Euphrates. See Judges 6, vv. 3, 33; 7, 12; Job, 1, 3; 1 Samuel 5, 10; Isaiah, 11, 14; Jeremiah 49, 28 (where Benê-Qédem specifically refers to Benê-Qêdar or inhabitants of Hauran); Ezekiel 25, vv. 4, 10.
6.4 Up to almost Gaza. See Joshua, 10, 41.
6.11 Ephra, a locality situated west of the Jordan River, in the tribe of Manasseh, but whose precise location is unknown. ― In the press. In Palestine, wine presses consisted of two types of vats at different levels. The grapes were trodden in the upper vat, and the juice flowed through a channel carved in the stone into the lower, generally larger vat, where men and provisions could be hidden. To avoid being noticed by the Midianites, who may already have been prowling nearby, Gideon threshed the ears of grain not in the threshing floor, but in the winepress, and probably then placed the grain in the vat intended for the wine.
6.11-24 Whatever the unbelievers and mythologists of our time may say, there is nothing in the story of Gideon that allows us to regard it as a tissue of falsehoods and ridiculous adventures, nor as a pure mythical fiction.
6.14 See 1 Samuel 12:11.
6.19 A kid goat. See 1 Samuel 16, 20.
6.20-21 Some say they were there to offer him food, because he didn't know it was an angel; others, in greater numbers, say they were there to offer a sacrifice to God. But the details given, see Judges 6, 19, indicate a meal, not a sacrifice, because in a sacrifice the cooked victim was not brought.
6.24 Compare to Judges 1:26.
6.25 Baal. Baal was the principal Canaanite god. Baal means the Lord, the Master, and this name was to be one of the original names of the true God. He was first represented in the form of a conical stone, see 2 Kings 3, 2. In later times, he was depicted with his head surrounded by rays. He was, in effect, the deified sun, and also nature considered as a god. A great number of Baals were distinguished, who were gradually considered different gods, but who were in reality only personifications of the attributes of the principal Baal, or else this Baal was honored in different places. Considered as presiding over treaties and alliances, he became Baal-Berith, see Judges 9, 4; as king, he took among the Ammonites the name Moloch, Milcom, or Malkom; as god of flies, those insects so numerous and so unpleasant in Palestine, he was called Beelzebub, see 2 Kings 1, 2. On Mount Hermon, he was called Baalhermon, see Judges 3, 3, and Baalgad: in Hazor, it became Baalhazor, see 2 Samuel, 13, 23; to Peor or Phegor, Beelphegor; as master of the heavens, it was Baal-samaïm ; as a sun god, it was Baal-salakh, the god who casts his rays or Baal-haman, the blazing god. Baal, father of the other Baals, when the memory of the original unity of God had been forgotten, was called with the article the Baal par excellence. He exerted his influence on the fruits of the earth, and the other Baals, who were supposed to be younger, represented the special influences of the sun and the earth. His cult was celebrated with great pomp, since in the time of the prophet Elijah, under Ahab, the sacred text tells us of four hundred and fifty priests of Baal and four hundred priests of Asherah, see 1 Samuel 18, 19-40; Jeremiah 2, 28. His altars were numerous, see Jeremiah 11, 13; 1 Samuel 16, 32; 2 Kings 11, 18. They offered him burnt offerings and even human victims, see Jeremiah 19, 5. The priests performed frenzied dances around the altar, accompanied by wild cries: they bruised themselves and tore off strips of flesh with sharp instruments to attract the god's attention, by the sight of their bloodied bodies, see 1 Samuel 18, 26-28. Nature and the sun were worshipped by the Moabites and the Ammonites under the name of Moloch.
6.26 We can assume that only the second bull is mentioned because it was the one that Gideon sacrificed as a burnt offering for the sins of the nation; while he had offered with the first a special sacrifice for himself and his family.
6.33 They camped in the plain of Jezreel. The Jezreel Valley has always held an irresistible fascination for the children of the desert. Since time immemorial, at the beginning of spring, they cross the Jordan River and head towards Bethsan, which, for them, is like the gate of heaven. The Jezreel Valley is indeed a small paradise and worthy of its name, "seed of God." It charms all travelers with the richness of its soil and the exuberance of its vegetation. This exuberance is such that a man on horseback almost disappears amidst the tall grasses. In April, the wheat ripples across the vast countryside.
7.1 towards the hill of Moré, in the plain. This hill is called Mount Moreh in Hebrew; it is the little Hermon, north of Mount Gelboeh.
7.3 See Deuteronomy 20:8; 1 Maccabees 3:56. So have this published for the people to hear., in accordance with the law of Deuteronomy, 20, 8.
7.5 Abundant spring at the foot of Mount Gelboé, to the northwest. It emerges from beneath a large rock, hollowed out internally like a cavern, and overlooking the large, semi-circular basin where the water spreads out in a sheet, and where many fish play. It then divides into two channels.
7.11 Your hands, etc. You will become stronger; you will feel more vigorous.
7.13 At the tent, principal, that of the king, according to the historian Josephus; or to my tent ; because in Hebrew as in French, the determinative article is often used for the possessive pronoun.
7.22 See Psalms, 82, 10.
7.22 Abelméhula, the homeland of Elisha, was in the tribe of Issachar, south of Bethsan, on the road that leads from the western end of the Sea of Galilee to Shechem. ― Tebbath, Location unknown.
7.24 the crossing of the waters to Bethbera, as well as the fords of the Jordan. There were neither bridges nor boats on the Jordan. Therefore, to cross it, one had to seek out places where the water was shallow. As far as Bethbera, perhaps the Bethabara of Jeans 1, 18.
7.25 See Psalms 82:12; Isaiah 10:26. Oreb (crow) and Zeb (wolf), two names or nicknames indicative of their rapacity and ferocity. ― At the Oreb rock, etc., subsequently named after the princes who had been killed there. The wine press. See Judges 6:11. Zeb had hidden in the lower vat of a winepress and that is where he was killed.
8.1-3 This episode is recounted in anticipation of the events, in order to put an end to the Ephraimites at once, whose exploits in the capture of Oreb and Zeb the author has just described. The Ephraimites' complaints could only have been voiced after the expedition had ended.
8.2 Ephraim's Grazingetc. The meaning is: Isn't the tribe of Ephraim better than the entire Abiezrite family to which I belong? Or again: Isn't what you have just done better than my exploit? I began the warAnd you have completed it.
8.11 See Hosea, 10, 14.
8.19 The Lord is alive. oath formula which is quite commonly rendered by Long live the Lord! and which is equivalent to: I swear that.
8.21 See Psalms 82:12. the croissants that were on the necks, ornaments of gold, silver or other metal that were worn around the necks by people as well as animals.
8.26 One thousand seven hundred shekels of gold. The shekel, at least after the captivity, weighed 14.20 grams; 1,700 shekels were therefore equivalent to 24.140 kilograms. With this weight, Gideon undoubtedly had not only an ephod but several other sacred objects made.
8.27 See on the’ephod, sacred ornament, Exodus, 28, 4.
8.33 Baals. See Judges 6, 25.
9.1 At Shechem. See Genesis 12, 6.
9.4 The word century is here, as in many other places, understood to be for its weight and value. ― Seventy shekels The silver weighs nearly a kilogram. Baal-berith, the Baal of the Covenant. See Judges 6, 25.
9.7-15 This parable recalls that of the limbs and the stomach which Menenius Agrippa addressed to the rebellious Roman people, Livy, II, 30; La Fontaine, I. III, fable II.
9.13 Who pleases God ; a figurative expression, which should be taken in the same sense as, the smell of the victims is a pleasing aroma to the Lord, that the perfumes recreate him. So Joatham could very well have used this expression, since the pagans to whom he was speaking believed that their gods truly took pleasure in the smoke of the victims and the smell of their perfumes and libations.
9.21 Béra, in the tribe of Judah, according to some; Beeroth, in the tribe of Benjamin, according to others.
9.25 Mountain peak of Hebal and Gerizim.
9.31 They raise the city against you ; That is to say, they are pressuring the city to declare itself against you; or else they are fortifying themselves there to resist you.
9.37 The oak ; probably the one mentioned in verse 6.
9.45 Salt thrown in large quantities onto the ground renders it barren. That is why Scripture says a land of salt, a salty land, to refer to barren land. Secular authors sometimes use the same expression.
9.46 Berith in Hebrew means pact, alliance.
9.50 Thebes, now Tûbas, was on the road that leads from Shechem to Bethsan, a four-hour walk from Shechem, to the northeast.
9.53 See 2 Samuel 11:21.
9.54 See 1 Samuel 31:4; 1 Chronicles 10:4. Secular history praises some servants who rendered similar service to their masters; while David put to death the Amalekite, who boasted of having rendered it to Saul at his earnest request. Christianity It also condemns both the one who requests this service and the one who provides it. A death like Abimelech's, at the hands of a woman, was considered particularly ignominious. See 2 Samuel 11:21.
10.3 Jair of Gilead. Compare to Number 26, 29.
10.4 Who were going up, etc. See Judges 5:10. Towns of Jair : Havoth-Jair, in the land of Argob. See Deuteronomy, 3, 4.
10.5 Camon, in the land of Gilead.
10.6 The Baals. See Judges 6, 25.
10.17 Maspha of Gilead, northeast of Jabesh-gilead.
11.3 The land of Tob. Its location is unknown, but it was probably situated on the borders of the Ammonite kingdom, even if it was not part of it.
11.7 See Genesis, 26, 27.
11.11 Jephtha repeatetc. He renewed the assurances that the princes of Gilead had given him, and, for his part, he solemnly called upon God as witness to loyalty with which he would keep his commitments.
11.13 See Numbers, 21, 24. ― Arnon, a river that forms the northern border of Moab (see verse 18) and flows into the Dead Sea after a course of 75 kilometers. ― Jacob. See Genesis 32, 22.
11.16 Cadès. See Numbers, 20, 1.
11.17 See Numbers, 20, 14.
11.18 See Numbers, 21, 13.
11.19 To our place ; that is to say, as far as the Jordan. ― Hesebon. See Numbers, 21, 25.
11.24 Your god Chamos. See 1 Samuel 11, 7. ― Your god. The Israelites attribute true divinity only to their one God; they call false gods all those worshipped by foreign nations. When Jephthah said Chamos, your GodHe speaks diplomatic language. This expression is therefore not a profession of faith and does not prove that Jephthah believed in the divinity of Hamos. It only proves that the judge of Israel wanted to speak to the king of the Ammonites in a way that would be agreeable to him, in order to obtain his favor. peace that he was requesting.
11.25 See Numbers, 22, 2.
11.26 At Hesebon. See Numbers, 21, 25. ― A Aroer, on the Arnon, which formed the southern border of the kingdom of Sehon.
11.31-40 Contrary to the opinion of all the ancients, several modern scholars claim that Jephthah's daughter was not actually sacrificed, but merely consecrated to the service of the sanctuary. Whatever opinion one adopts, nothing can be concluded against the divinity of the Hebrew religion. For Jephthah's vow is an entirely personal act. It was not commanded by law, since the law, on the contrary, so expressly forbade the sacrifice of human victims. It is an isolated event, in which the high priest and the majority of the people played no part.
11.33 From Aroer, not probably Aroer on the Arnon, but Aroer of Gad, east of Rabbath-Ammon, up to the entrance of Mennith, to the south, and as far as Abel, which is planted with vines or Abel-Keramim, on the road that goes from Aroer to Bosra.
11.35 I opened my mouth to the Lord ; I made a vow to the Lord.
11.37 It was considered a misfortune to die without leaving descendants.
12.6 Born unable to pronounce correctly, etc.; that is to say, unable to express the word shibboleth, which means ear, by pronouncing the letter as it should be sch ; For in Hebrew, these three characters form a single letter or articulation. Note that the Ephrathites were not killed because they did not know how to pronounce the word. shibboleth, But because they were enemies in war, and in an unjust war waged against Jephthah and the Israelites, their brothers. The pronunciation of this word was merely a marker by which one could recognize if they were telling the truth, when they denied being Ephrathites.
12.7 Gilead or Maspha of Gilead.
13.1 See Judges 10:6. Into the hands of the PhilistinesThe Philistines originated in Crete and had migrated from the city of Caphtor or Cydonia. They formed a large confederation which, under Ramses III, king of Egypt, had invaded the SyriaRamses III defeated them and established their remnants in the land that later took their name. At the end of the 20the Taking advantage of the pharaohs' weakness, the Egyptian dynasty became sole masters of the entire fertile plain of Sephela. They thus possessed three cities near the Mediterranean: Gaza in the south, Azotus in the north, and Ascalon in the center. Inland, they also held two other principal cities, Geth and Accaron. These five cities, with the exception of Geth, were the capitals of five powerful principalities, each ruled by a different ruler. serim or confederate princes. It is from the name of the Philistines that the Egyptians and the Greeks, who knew them before the inhabitants of the interior of the land, derived the name of Palestine.
13.3 See Genesis 16:11; 1 Samuel 1:20; Luke 1:31. — The graces that God granted to Samson and the favors he showed him were not intended to reward him for his virtue, but to protect and defend his people against the tyranny and oppression of his enemies.
13.4 See Numbers, 6, 3-4.
13.5 Nazarene of God ; that is to say, consecrated to God as a Nazarene.
13.13-14 Your wife should abstain, etc. The verbs in these two verses being feminine in Hebrew, can only have as their subject Samson's mother, and not Samson himself.
13.15 A kid goat. See 1 Samuel 16, 20.
13.18 See Genesis 32:29.
13.19 On the rock, which was located in the very same spot in the countryside where Manué was.
13.22 Hebraism We will die of death.
13.24 Samson, in Hebrew Schismchon, appears to be a diminutive of schemesch, sun.
14.2 A woman from among the girls ofthe Philistines. In Samson's time, Thamna was under the control of the Philistines. At least the Philistines lived there in large numbers and acted as masters.
14.5 A young roaring lion came. Thamna is an hour west of Bethsames. It was on the descent from Bethsames to Thamna, perhaps in the very gorge near the stream he had to cross, that Samson encountered and killed the lion cub. It was also in this mountain range that he later captured the three hundred jackals with which he burned the Philistines' grain fields.
14.6 The Spirit of the Lord does not mean here divine inspiration, Or love of virtue, But this spirit of strength with which the Lord filled Samson to fight and defeat the Philistines, who were the enemies of Israel. Scripture itself teaches us that Samson's strength was not natural, but was given to him by God in a miraculous way, although there have been men endowed with prodigious physical strength.
14.8 Some time later, etc. We know that bees flee from corpses, but they do not flee from desiccated bones. The expression after a few days The word is used more than once in Holy Scripture to designate a considerable period of time, even several years. Samson may have remained betrothed to the young woman for several months, who was perhaps still too young. Herodotus, V, 114, recounts that bees made honey from the skull of Onesilous, tyrant of the island of Cyprus, whose head had been hung by the inhabitants of Amathus. — The woods of Palestine are filled with countless swarms of wild bees that not only inhabit tree hollows, but also, for lack of other places, gather their stores of honey in rock crevices and underground caverns, with no other purpose than to find shelter in their shade.
14.11 It was formerly the custom to provide the groom with a more or less considerable number of young men to accompany him. The Greeks called them paranymphs. These are probably those whom the Gospel refers to as...’friends of the groom.
14.12 During the seven days of the feast. The celebrations that accompanied the weddings lasted a whole week and were enlivened by all kinds of entertainment.
14.19 Ascalon, one of the five great cities of the Philistines, on the Mediterranean, north of Gaza and south of Azot, in a very strong and very fertile position.
15.1 Bringing a kid. See 1 Samuel 16:20.
15.4 The foxes which are being discussed here are the jackals, A species of animal that is intermediate between the common fox, the dog, and the wolf. They are found in groups in Palestine; they seek out human company and are easily caught.
15.5 In the harvests of the Philistines. The five Philistine cities were situated in a vast plain that the Hebrew text calls Sephela or the The Netherlands. On the shore of the Mediterranean Sea stretches a wide band of barren sand, but the rest of the plain is nothing but an immense field of wheat, of marvelous yield, dotted here and there with slight hillocks, covered with green gardens and rich orchards.
15.8 In the cavern of Etam rock. This cavern was probably one of the many excavations found at the eastern end of the Sephelah plain, in the last foothills of the Judah mountains.
15.19 Source En-Hakkore Fountain of the Summoner. It should not be far from Etam.
16.1 Gaza. See Joshua, 10, 41.
16.3 He took the two leaves of the door with its posts and its bolt. City gates are usually arched; they are guarded and closed at night. They are wide, massive, and double-leafed (see Isaiah, 45, 1), constructed of solid wood and clad with iron (see Acts of the Apostles, (12:10). A strong iron bar, hooked at one end, is suspended from a heavy ring of the same metal, fixed to a sturdy post firmly embedded in the wall on either side of the gate. When the gate is closed, the hook of the flying buttresses engages in an iron ring attached behind each leaf, so that the gate can withstand considerable pressure from the outside. The lock is massive, of wrought iron, and the long-handled key, very heavy, is worn on the belt by the gatekeeper or hung on a nail in the small apartment nearby. It took the strength of Samson to pull the gates of Gaza from their hinges, with both posts, bar, and everything, and carry them to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron. A tower, sometimes two, flanks the gate. Benches are fixed on either side of the entrance and are often occupied by guards who live in apartments opening onto the porch. This porch is the favorite meeting place of the inhabitants, especially the wealthier ones, who are drawn there by the cool breeze that blows through the shaded doorway, and by the distraction they find in watching the constant coming and going of men and beasts… Judges and even the governor often come to this place to settle the most important matters: civil and criminal cases are frequently discussed and judged here… The city gates are closed at sunset or shortly thereafter. Some of them have, in one of their leaves, a small door, which remains open for an hour or even more after sunset, to allow pedestrians who are accidentally late to enter or leave the city. It can also be opened later, for a fee. But animals must remain outside, and delayed travelers are thus frequently forced to camp outside the walls, if they do not reach the gate before sunset. Hebron. See Genesis 13, 18.
16.4 The Sorec Valley. The valley that separates Bethsames from Saraa is very likely the valley where Delilah lived. The grapevines of the Sorek Valley were the most famous in Palestine.
16.21 He was turning the millstone. One cannot imagine a more tedious and tiring occupation. Therefore, whoever was forced to engage in it was considered the most wretched of creatures, and among ancient peoples, captives were often condemned to turn the millstone, like Samson. It is thus impossible to conceive of anything more humiliating for the Israelite hero than this woman's and slave's work. On the hand mill, see Deuteronomy 24, 6.
16.23 Dagon their god. Dagon was the chief god of the Philistines. On this idol, see 1 Samuel 5, 2.
16.25-27 Played singing and dancing to entertain them, according to the custom of that time.
17.5 He made an ephod. See Exodus, 28, 4. ― That is to say, priestly clothing and idols.
18.7 To Laïs. See verse 27. Sidon, capital of Phoenicia, before Tyre; seaport on the Mediterranean.
18.8 A Saraa. See Judges 13:2. A Esthaol. See Judges 16:31.
18.14 An ephod. See Exodus 28, 4.
18.27 Laïs. A city on the northern border of Palestine, at one of the sources of the Jordan River.
18.28 Beth-Rohob is only vaguely known from the information given here. It was south of Emath, on the road to that town.
18.30 Son of Gersam ; that is to say grandson or descendant; because the word son In Hebrew, it is susceptible to these different meanings.
18.31 The house of God, means the holy tabernacle. ― Was at Silo. See Joshua 18, 1.
19.1 Bethlehem. See Ruth, 1, 1.
19.18 At the house of the Lord ; near the holy tabernacle, which is at Shiloh; or at Shiloh where the tabernacle is; for sometimes Shiloh itself is called the house of God. See Judges 20:18.
19.22 See Genesis 19:5. Pervert. According to etymology, Belial means useless, good-for-nothing. Compare 2 Corinthians 6, 15.
19.29 Throughout the territory of Israel ; in all the places occupied by the children of Israel; that is to say, he sent a portion to each of the tribes of Israel.
20.1 See Hosea 9:9. From Dan to Beersheba ; from one end of the country to the other; Dan being situated at the northern end of the land of Canaan, and Beersheba at the southern end. ― In the land of Gilead ; elliptical expression for the inhabitants of the land of Gilead ; which here means the tribe that was beyond the Jordan. ― The people of Israel often assembled at Masphah, and we read in the First Book of Maccabees (3, 46) that this city was a place of prayer.
20.2 The leaders of all the people ; literally : the angles of the people ; Those who were like the cornerstones that supported the entire edifice of the nation. This metaphor is often used in Scripture.
20.4 Gabaa. See Judges 19:12.
20.33 Baal-Thamar, a city of the tribe of Benjamin, in the vicinity of Gabaa.
20.47 At Remmon Rock, 15 Roman miles north of Jerusalem, according to Eusebius of Caesarea.
21.1 See Judges chapter 20.
21.6 Benjamin, their brother ; That is to say, their brothers from the tribe of Benjamin. Here, as often elsewhere, the founder of the tribe mistakes himself for the tribe itself.
21.8 Jabez in Gilead, in the vicinity of Pella. The exact location of this town is unknown.
21.11 See Numbers, 31, 17-18.
21.16 Women Benjamin's belongings were destroyed , under the blows of the sword. See verses 10 and 11.
21.19 Bethel. See Genesis, 12, 8. ― Lebona, a town north of Silo.
21.23 They rebuilt. The cities in question already existed; and moreover, as we have noted elsewhere (see Numbers, 32, 34), the Hebrew verb build, often means by extension rebuild, reconstruct, restore, beautify one's building.
