¹tn Heb “by not summoning us.”
²tn Heb “gleanings.”
³sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.
⁴tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”
⁵tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”
⁶tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
⁷tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
⁸tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
⁹tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
¹⁰tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
¹¹tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).
sn The officials of Succoth are hesitant to give (or sell) food to Gideon’s forces because they are not sure of the outcome of the battle. Perhaps they had made an alliance with the Midianites which demanded their loyalty.
¹²tn Heb “Therefore.”
¹³sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.
¹⁴tn Or “flesh.”
¹⁵tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition ta@ (a@t, note the use of b [beth] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that ta@ more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.
¹⁶tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”
¹⁷tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”
¹⁸tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.
¹⁹tn Heb “saying.”
²⁰tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”
²¹tn Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”
²²tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”
²³tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term jf^b# (b#f^j, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.
²⁴tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
²⁵tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”
²⁶tn Or “ascent.”
²⁷tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”
²⁸tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
²⁹tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
³⁰tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”
sn Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying exhausted men rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensitivity of the men of Succoth.
³¹tn Heb “elders.”
³²tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vg) in assuming the form vd*Y`w~ (w~Y`d*v) from the verb voD (Dov, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form ud^Y{w~ (w~Y{d^u, “make known”), a Hiphil form of ud^y` (y`d^u). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”
³³tn Heb “Where are?”
³⁴tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
³⁵tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
³⁶tn Or “Arise!”
³⁷tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”
³⁸tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
³⁹tn Or “Arise.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”
⁴¹tn Heb “arose and killed.”
⁴²tn Heb “hand.”
⁴³tn Heb “said to them.”
⁴⁴tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”
⁴⁵tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁴⁶tn Heb “We will indeed give.”
⁴⁷tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.
⁴⁸sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.
⁴⁹tn Or “pendants.”
⁵⁰tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”
⁵¹tn Heb “made it into.”
⁵²sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.
⁵³tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).
⁵⁴tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”
⁵⁷tn Heb “Gideon had seventy sons who went out from his thigh, for he had many wives.” The Hebrew word Er@y` (y`r@e, “thigh”) is a euphemism here for the penis.
⁵⁸sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).
⁵⁹sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”
⁶⁰tn Heb “good.”
⁶¹sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.
⁶²tn Heb “remember.”
⁶³tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”