¹tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
²tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”
³tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
⁴tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”
⁵tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.
⁶tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”
⁷tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that Wlu*w+ (w+u*lW) is dittographic (note the following wyl*u* [u*l*yw]).
⁸tn Heb “They encamped against them.”
⁹tn Heb “destroyed.”
¹⁰tn Heb “the crops of the land.”
¹¹tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”
¹²tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
¹³tn Heb “came up.”
¹⁴tn Heb “numerous.”
¹⁵tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”
¹⁶tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.
¹⁷tn Heb “the Lord”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
¹⁸tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
¹⁹tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” Jr#a#m@ (m@a#r@J, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following <y]r^x=M!m! [m!M!xr^y]<, “from Egypt”]).
²⁰tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
²¹tn Heb “hand” (also a second time later in this verse).
²²tn Heb “Do not fear.”
²³tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”
²⁴tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.
sn The Lord’s angelic messenger is also mentioned in Judg 2:1.
²⁵tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.
²⁶tn Heb “beating out.”
²⁷sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
²⁸tn Heb “Midian.”
²⁹tn Heb “But my lord.”
³⁰tn Heb “all this.”
³¹tn Heb “saying.”
³²sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).
³³tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”
³⁴tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”
³⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³⁶tn Note the switch to yn`d{a& (a&d{n`y, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as yn]d{a& (a&d{n]y, “my lord”) in v. 13.
³⁷tn Heb “with what.”
³⁸tn Heb “in my father’s house.”
³⁹tn Or “certainly.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “You will strike down Midian as one man.” The idiom “as one man” emphasizes the collective unity of a group (see Judg 20:8, 11). Here it may carry the force, “as if they were just one man.”
⁴¹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴²tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”
⁴³tn Heb “perform for me.”
⁴⁴tn The Hebrew text adds “to you,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁴⁵tn Heb “and I will bring out my gift.” The precise nuance of the Hebrew word hj*n+m! (m!nj*h, “gift”) is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a gift offered as a sign of goodwill or submission. In some cases it is used of a gift offered to appease someone whom the offerer has offended. The word can also carry a sacrificial connotation.
⁴⁶tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”
⁴⁷tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
⁴⁸tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”
⁴⁹tn Heb “and he did so.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
⁵¹tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
⁵²tn Heb “saw.”
⁵³tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
⁵⁴tn Or “Ah!”
⁵⁵tn The Hebrew text reads hw]hy+ yn`d{a& (a&d{n`y y+hw]h, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).
⁵⁶tn Heb “Peace to you.” For a similar use of this idiom to introduce a reassuring word, see Gen 43:23.
⁵⁷tn Heb “The Lord is peace.” Gideon’s name for the altar plays on the Lord’s reassuring words to him, “Peace to you.”
⁵⁸tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.
⁵⁹tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.
⁶⁰tn Heb “men from among his servants.”
⁶¹tn Heb “house.”
⁶²tn Heb “so he did it at night.”
⁶³tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.
⁶⁴tn Heb “each one to his neighbor.”
⁶⁵tn Heb “this thing.”
⁶⁶tn Heb “they inquired and searched.” The synonyms are joined to emphasize the care with which they conducted their inquiry.
⁶⁷tn Heb “and said.” Perhaps the plural subject is indefinite. If so, it could be translated, “they were told.”
⁶⁸tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.
⁶⁹tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”
⁷⁰tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”
⁷¹tn Heb “fights for him.”
⁷²sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.
⁷³tn Heb “fight for himself.”
⁷⁴tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).
⁷⁵tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”
⁷⁶tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”
⁷⁷tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
⁷⁸tn Heb “clothed.”
⁷⁹tn That is, “mustered an army.”
⁸⁰tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”
⁸¹tn Heb “and he also was summoned after him.”
⁸²tn More literally, “you are about to deliver Israel by my hand.”
⁸³tn The words “then give me a sign as proof” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
⁸⁴tn Heb “all the ground.”
⁸⁵tn Or “know.”
⁸⁶tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”
⁸⁷tn Heb “And it was so.”
⁸⁸tn Heb “dew dripped from the fleece—a bowl full of water.”
⁸⁹tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”
⁹⁰tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”
⁹¹tn Heb “God did so that night.”