¹tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
²tn Heb “son.”
³tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”
⁴tn Traditionally, “judged.”
⁵sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.
⁶tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day—which are in the land of Gilead.”
⁷tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”
⁸tn Or “served;” or “followed.”
⁹sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Ashtar (i.e., Astarte).
¹⁰map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
¹¹tn Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”
¹²tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”
¹³tn Or “the Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”
¹⁴tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
¹⁵tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (Ju^r* [r*u^J] and Jx^r* [r*x^J]) is for emphasis; Jx^r* appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
¹⁶tn The phrase hn`v* hr@c=u# hn\m)v= (v=m{n\h u#cr@h v*n`h) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
¹⁷tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”
¹⁸tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”
¹⁹tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
²⁰tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”
²¹tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord’s frustration.
²²tn Heb “hand.”
²³tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
²⁴tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”
²⁵tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”
²⁶sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”
²⁷tn Heb “from their midst.”
²⁸tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
²⁹tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun vp#n\ (n\p#v) also appears as the subject of the verb rx^q* (q*x^r) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).
³⁰tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”
³¹tn Heb “the people, the officers.”
³²tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”