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New Jerusalem Bible with Apocrypha
JudgesThe book covers the two centuries of Israel's history between the settlement in Canaan and the beginning of monarchy. As the first chapter shows, Israel was not in a position of strength: the tribes were struggling to establish themselves against the settled powers in the land. They were fragmented and disunited, constantly under attack from outside. Later tradition represents Israel neatly as twelve federated and fraternal tribes descended from Jacob's twelve sons, but at this time even the names and identity of the groups seem still to be fluid; Deborah's call to arms certainly produces no concerted action. The 'judges' themselves are charismatic figures, inspired by the Spirit of Yahweh either as leaders in war or as authorities to guide some section of the people in peace. They are very varied: some have wide influence, others are territorially very restricted; some appear only for a moment, others almost found a dynasty; one (Samson) seems to have been little more than a legendary strong man, drawing his strength from Yahweh and using it to taunt the Philistines. Towards the end of the period the growing power of the Philistines and the disunited anarchy within Israel show that the time is ripe for a more stable rule. In this varied material the deuteronomic editor sees a repeated fourfold pattern: infidelity to Yahweh leads to punishment until Israel repents and turns to Yahweh, at which he delivers them through a charismatic leader. The religious lesson of the history is this constant failure and return, to which Yahweh equally constantly replies.
Chapter 1
SUMMARY OF THE SETTLEMENT IN CANAAN
The settlement of Judah, Simeon, Caleb and the Kenites1Now after Joshua's death, the Israelites consulted Yahweh, asking, 'Which of us is to march on the Canaanites first, to make war on them?' 2And Yahweh replied, 'Judah is to march on them first; I am delivering the country into his hands.' 3Judah then said to his brother Simeon, 'March with me into the territory allotted to me; we shall make war on the Canaanites, and then I in my turn shall march into your territory with you.' And Simeon marched with him. 4So Judah marched on them, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated them at Bezek'ten thousand of them! 5At Bezek they came upon Adoni'Bezek; they joined battle with him and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6Adoni'Bezek took to flight, but they chased and captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7Adoni'Bezek said, 'Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up the crumbs under my table. As I did, God does to me.' He was taken to Jerusalem, and there he died. 8(The sons of Judah attacked Jerusalem and took it: they put its people to the sword and set fire to the city.) 9After this the sons of Judah went down to make war on the Canaanites who were living in the highlands, the Negeb and the lowlands. 10Judah next marched on the Canaanites living in Hebron'the name of Hebron in olden days was Kiriath'Arba'and beat Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. 11From there, he marched on the inhabitants of Debir'the name of Debir in olden days was Kiriath'Sepher. 12Caleb said, 'To the man who conquers and captures Kiriath'Sepher, I shall give my daughter Achsah as wife.' 13The man who captured it was Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, who gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14When she arrived, he urged her to ask her father for arable land, but when she alighted from the donkey and Caleb asked her, 'What is the matter?' 15she said to him, 'Grant me a blessing! As the land you have given me is the Negeb, give me springs of water, too!' So Caleb gave her what she wanted: the upper springs and the lower springs. 16The sons of Hobab the Kenite, father'in'law of Moses, marched up with the sons of Judah from the City of Palm Trees into the desert of Judah lying in the Negeb of Arad, where they went and settled among the people. 17Judah then set out with his brother Simeon. They beat the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and delivered it over to the curse of destruction; hence the town was given the name of Hormah. 18Judah then captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, Ekron and its territory. 19bAnd Yahweh was with Judah, who made himself master of the highlands; 19ahe could not, however, dispossess the inhabitants of the plain, since they had iron chariots. 20As Moses had directed, Hebron was given to Caleb, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of it. 21As regards the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess them, and the Jebusites have been living in Jerusalem with the sons of Benjamin ever since.
The capture of Bethel
22Similarly, the House of Joseph marched on Bethel, and Yahweh was with them. 23The House of Joseph made a reconnaissance of Bethel. (In olden days, the name of the town was Luz.) 24The scouts saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, 'Show us how to get into the town and we shall show you faithful love.' 25And when he had shown them a way into the town, they put the town to the sword but let the man and his whole clan go. 26The man went off to the country of the Hittites and built a town which he called Luz; and that has been its name ever since.
The northern tribes
27Manasseh did not dispossess Beth'Shean and its dependencies, nor Taanach and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependencies, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependencies; in those parts the Canaanites held their ground. 28But when the Israelites became stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour, although they did not dispossess them. 29Nor did Ephraim dispossess the Canaanites living in Gezer; thus, the Canaanites went on living in Gezer with him. 30Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or of Nahalol. The Canaanites lived on with Zebulun but were subjected to forced labour. 31Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco, nor those of Sidon, of Mahalab, of Achzib, of Helbah, of Aphek or of Rehob. 32So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, not having dispossessed them. 33Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth'Shemesh or of Beth'Anath; they settled among the Canaanite inhabitants of the country, but the inhabitants of Beth'Shemesh and of Beth'Anath were subjected to forced labour for them. 34The Amorites drove the Danites back into the highlands and would not let them come down into the plain. 35The Amorites held their ground at Har'Heres and Shaalbim, but when the hand of the House of Joseph grew heavier, they were subjected to forced labour. 36(The territory of the Edomites begins at the Ascent of Scorpions, runs to the Rock and continues on upwards.)
Chapter 2
The Angel of Yahweh tells Israel of disasters to come
2:1The Angel of Yahweh *[An expression for Yahweh himself in visible form.] went up from Gilgal to Bethel and said, 'I have brought you out of Egypt and led you into this country, which I promised on oath to your ancestors. I said, 'I shall never break my covenant with you. 2You for your part must make no covenant with the inhabitants of this country; you will destroy their altars.' But you have not listened to my voice. What is the reason for this? 3Very well, I now say this, 'I am not going to drive these nations out before you. They will become your oppressors, and their gods will be a snare for you.'
4When the angel of Yahweh had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people began to wail at the top of their voices. 5And they called the place Bochim, and offered sacrifices to Yahweh there.
SECOND INTRODUCTION
GENERAL REFLECTIONS ON THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES6Joshua having dismissed the people, the Israelites then went away, each one to his own heritage, to occupy the country. *[Jos 24:29-31] 7The people served Yahweh throughout the lifetime of Joshua and throughout the lifetime of those elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the great deeds which Yahweh had done for the sake of Israel. 8Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, was a hundred and ten years old when he died. 9He was buried on the estate which he had received as his heritage at Timnath'Heres in the highlands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10And when that whole generation had been gathered to its ancestors, another generation followed it which knew neither Yahweh nor the deeds which he had done for the sake of Israel.
Religious interpretation of the period of the Judges
11The Israelites then did what is evil in Yahweh's eyes and served the Baals. 12They deserted Yahweh, God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt, and they followed other gods, from those of the surrounding peoples. They bowed down to these; they provoked Yahweh; 13they deserted Yahweh to serve Baal and Astartes. *[Canaanite deities, the male and female fertility gods. Astarte is also called Asherah] 14Then Yahweh's anger grew hot against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were no longer able to resist their enemies. 15Whenever they mounted an expedition, Yahweh's hand was there to foil them, as Yahweh had told them and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were in dire distress. 16Yahweh then appointed them judges, who rescued them from the hands of their plunderers. 17But even to their judges they refused to listen. They prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path which their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of Yahweh; they did not follow their example. 18When Yahweh appointed judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, since Yahweh relented at their groans under their persecutors and oppressors. 19But once the judge was dead, they relapsed into even worse corruption than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.
Why foreign nations survived in Canaan
20Yahweh's anger then blazed out against Israel, and he said, 'Since this people has broken the covenant which I laid down for their ancestors, since they have not listened to my voice, 21in future I shall not drive before them any one of those nations which Joshua left when he died, 22in order, by means of them, to put Israel to the test, to see whether or not they would tread the paths of Yahweh as once their ancestors had trodden them.' 23Hence, Yahweh allowed these nations to remain; he did not hurry to drive them out, and did not deliver them into the hands of Joshua.
Chapter 3
3:1These are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, by their means to put all those Israelites to the test who had not experienced any of the Canaanite wars 2(this was only to instruct the Israelites' descendants, to teach them the art of war, those at least who had not experienced it previously): 3the five chiefs of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hittites who lived in the range of the Lebanon, from the uplands of Baal'Hermon to the Pass of Hamath. 4They were used to put Israel to the test and see if they would keep the orders which Yahweh had given their ancestors through Moses. 5The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites and Amorites, the Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites; 6they married their daughters, they gave their own sons to their daughters and they served their gods.
III: HISTORY OF THE JUDGES
OTHNIEL7The Israelites did what is evil in Yahweh's eyes. They forgot Yahweh their God and served Baals and Asherahs. 8Then Yahweh's anger blazed out against Israel: he handed them over to Cushan'Rishathaim king of Edom, and the Israelites were enslaved to Cushan'Rishathaim for eight years. 9The Israelites then cried to Yahweh and Yahweh raised for the Israelites a deliverer who rescued them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10The spirit of Yahweh was on him; he became judge in Israel and set out for war. Yahweh delivered Cushan'Rishathaim king of Edom into his hands, and he triumphed over Cushan' Rishathaim. 11The country then had peace for forty years. Othniel son of Kenaz then died.
EHUD
12Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and Yahweh strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, since they were doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes. 13Eglon in conjunction with the sons of Ammon and Amalek marched on Israel, beat them and captured the City of Palm Trees. *[Jericho, well within the territory of Benjamin] 14The Israelites were enslaved to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. 15The Israelites then cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite; he was left'handed. The Israelites appointed him to take their tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16Ehud made himself a dagger'it was double'edged and a foot long'and strapped it under his clothes on his right thigh. 17He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. This Eglon was a very fat man. 18Having presented the tribute, Ehud sent away the men who had been carrying it; 19but he himself, on reaching the Idols which are near Gilgal, went back and said, 'I have a secret message for you, O king.' The king commanded silence, and all his attendants withdrew. 20Ehud went up to him; he was sitting in his private room upstairs, where it was cool. Ehud said to him, 'I have a message from God for you, O king.' The latter immediately rose from his seat. 21Then Ehud, reaching with his left hand, drew the dagger he was carrying on his right thigh and thrust it into the king's belly. 22The hilt too went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, since Ehud did not pull the dagger out of his belly again. 23Ehud went out through the privies, having shut and bolted the doors of the upstairs room behind him. 24When he had gone, the servants came back and looked; the doors of the upstairs room were bolted. They thought, 'He is probably covering his feet in the inner part of the cool room.' 25They waited until they became embarrassed, but still he did not open the doors of the upstairs room. Eventually, they took the key and opened the door; and there lay their master, dead, on the ground. 26Meanwhile, Ehud had got away, passed the Idols and made good his escape to safety in Seirah. 27Once there, he sounded the horn in the highlands of Ephraim, and the Israelites came down from the hills with him at their head. 28And he said to them, 'Follow me, because Yahweh has delivered your enemy Moab into your hands.' So they followed him, seized the fords of the Jordan against Moab and allowed no one to cross. 29On that occasion they beat the Moabites, some ten thousand men, all tough and seasoned fighters, and not one escaped. 30That day Moab was humbled under the hand of Israel, and the country had peace for eighty years.
SHAMGAR
31After him came Shamgar son of Anath. He routed six hundred of the Philistines with an ox'goad; he too was a deliverer of Israel.
Chapter 4
DEBORAH AND BARAK
Israel oppressed by the Canaanites4:1Once Ehud was dead, the Israelites again began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, 2and Yahweh handed them over to Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned at Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Haroshet'ha'Goiim. 3The Israelites then cried to Yahweh; for Jabin had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.
Deborah
4Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at the time. 5She used to sit under Deborah's Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the highlands of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for justice. 6She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, 'Has not Yahweh, God of Israel, commanded, 'Go! March to Mount Tabor and with you take ten thousand of the sons of Naphtali and the sons of Zebulun. 7I shall entice Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, to encounter you at the Torrent of Kishon with his chariots and troops; and I shall put him into your power'? ' 8Barak replied, 'If you come with me, I shall go; if you will not come, I shall not go, for I do not know how to choose the day when the angel of Yahweh will grant me success.' 9'I shall go with you then,' she said, 'but, the way you are going about it, the glory will not be yours; for Yahweh will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.' Deborah then stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men marched behind him, and Deborah went with him.
Heber the Kenite
11Heber the Kenite had parted company with the tribe of Kain and with the sons of Hobab, father'in'law of Moses; he had pitched his tent near the Oak of Zaanannim, not far from Kedesh.
Defeat of Sisera
12Sisera was informed that Barak son of Abinoam had encamped on Mount Tabor. 13Sisera summoned all his chariots'nine hundred iron chariots'and all the troops he had, from Harosheth'ha'Goiim to the Torrent of Kishon. 14Deborah said to Barak, 'Up! For today is the day when Yahweh has put Sisera into your power. Is not Yahweh marching at your head?' And Barak charged down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men behind him. 15At Barak's advance, Yahweh struck terror into Sisera, all his chariots and his entire army. Sisera leapt down from his chariot and fled on foot. 16Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth'ha'Goiim. Sisera's whole army fell by the edge of the sword; not one man was spared.
Death of Sisera
17Sisera meanwhile fled on foot towards the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, 'Stay here, my lord, with me; do not be afraid!' He stayed with her in her tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19He said to her, 'Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.' She opened the skin of milk, gave him some to drink and covered him up again. 20Then he said to her, 'Stand at the tent door, and if anyone comes and questions you'if he asks, 'Is there a man here?' say, 'No.'' 21But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent'peg and picked up a mallet; she crept up softly to him and drove the peg into his temple right through to the ground. He was lying fast asleep, worn out; and so he died. 22And now Barak came up in pursuit of Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, 'Come in, and I will show you the man you are looking for.' He went into her tent; and there was Sisera dead, with the tent'peg through his temple.
Israel delivered
23Thus God that day humbled Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24And the Israelites bore down more and more heavily on that king of Canaan, Jabin, until he was utterly destroyed.
Chapter 5
THE SONG OF DEBORAH AND BARAK
5:1They sang a song that day, Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam, and the words were: 2That the warriors in Israel unbound their hair, that the people came forward with a will, bless Yahweh! 3Listen, you kings! Give ear, you princes! From me, from me comes a song for Yahweh. I shall glorify Yahweh, God of Israel. 4Yahweh, when you set out from Seir, when you marched from the field of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens pelted, the clouds pelted down water. 5The mountains melted before Yahweh of Sinai, before Yahweh, God of Israel. 6In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, there were no more caravans; those who went forth on their travels took their way along by'paths. 7The villages in Israel were no more, they were no more until you arose, O Deborah, until you arose, mother of Israel! 8They were choosing new gods when war was at the gates. Was there one shield, one spear to be found among the forty thousand men in Israel? 9My heart is with the leaders of Israel, with the people who came forward with a will! Bless Yahweh! 10You who ride white donkeys and sit on saddle'blankets as you ride, and you who go on foot, 11sing'to the sound of the shepherds at the watering places! There they extol Yahweh's blessings, his saving acts for his villages in Israel! (Then Yahweh's people marched down to the gates.) 12Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, declaim a song! Take heart, to your feet, Barak, capture your captors, son of Abinoam! 13Then Israel marched down to the gates; like champions, Yahweh's people marched down to fight for him! 14The princes of Ephraim are in the valley. Behind you, Benjamin is in your ranks. Captains have come down from Machir, those who wield the commander's staff, from Zebulun. 15The princes of Issachar are with Deborah; Naphtali, with Barak, in the valley follows in hot pursuit. In the clans of Reuben there was much searching of heart. 16Why did you stay among the sheepfolds, listening for the whistle, with the flocks? (In the clans of Reuben, there was much searching of heart.) 17Gilead stayed on the other side of the Jordan, and why should Dan have stayed aboard ship? Asher remained beside the sea, peacefully living within his ports. 18Zebulun is a people who have braved death, Naphtali too, on the high ground of the country. 19The kings came and they fought, how they fought, those kings of Canaan, at Taanach, near the Waters of Megiddo, but no booty of silver did they take! 20The stars fought from heaven, from their orbits they fought against Sisera. 21The torrent of Kishon swept them away, the torrent of old, the torrent of Kishon. 'March on, be strong my soul! 22The horses' hooves then hammer the ground: galloping, galloping go his steeds. 23'Curse Meroz,' said the Angel of Yahweh, 'curse, curse the people living there for not having come to Yahweh's help, to Yahweh's help as warriors!' 24Most blessed of women be Jael (the wife of Heber the Kenite); of tent'dwelling women, may she be most blessed! 25He asked for water; she gave him milk; she offered him curds in a lordly dish. 26She reached her hand out to seize the peg, her right hand to seize the workman's mallet. She hammered Sisera, she crushed his head, she pierced his temple and shattered it. 27Between her feet, he crumpled, he fell, he lay; at her feet, he crumpled, he fell. Where he crumpled, there he fell, destroyed. 28At the window, she leans and watches, Sisera's mother, through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot so long coming? Why so delayed the hoof'beats from his chariot?' 29The wisest of her ladies answers, and she to herself repeats, 30'Are they not collecting and sharing out the spoil: a girl, two girls for each warrior; a booty of coloured and embroidered stuff for Sisera, one scarf, two embroidered scarves for me!' 31So perish all your enemies, Yahweh! And let those who love you be like the sun when he emerges in all his strength! And the country had peace for forty years.
Chapter 6
GIDEON AND ABIMELECH
THE CALL OF GIDEON
Israel oppressed by the Midianites6:1The Israelites did what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and for seven years Yahweh handed them over to Midian; 2and Midian bore down heavily on Israel. To escape from the Midianites *[Nomads based in northwest Sinai, near the Amalekites] the Israelites used the mountain clefts and the caves and shelters. 3Whenever Israel sowed seed the Midianites would march up with Amalek and the sons of the East. They would march on Israel. 4They would pitch camp on their territory and destroy the produce of the country as far as Gaza. They left Israel nothing to live on, not a sheep or an ox or a donkey, 5for they came up as thick as locusts with their cattle and their tents; they and their camels were innumerable, they invaded the country to pillage it. 6Thus, Midian brought Israel to great distress, and the Israelites cried to Yahweh.
A message from a prophet
7When the Israelites cried to Yahweh because of Midian, 8Yahweh sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, 'This is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says, 'It was I who brought you out of Egypt, and led you out of the place of slave'labour. 9I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their country to you. 10And I said to you: I am Yahweh your God. You are not to fear the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. But you have not listened to my voice.' '
The Angel of Yahweh appears to Gideon
11The Angel of Yahweh came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the wine'press, to keep it hidden from Midian, 12and the Angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said, 'Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior!' 13Gideon replied, 'Excuse me, my lord, but if Yahweh is with us, why is all this happening to us? And where are all his miracles which our ancestors used to tell us about when they said, 'Did not Yahweh bring us out of Egypt?' But now Yahweh has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.' 14At this, Yahweh turned to him and said, 'Go in this strength of yours, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you myself?' 15Gideon replied, 'Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important of my father's family.' 16Yahweh replied, 'I shall be with you and you will crush Midian as though it were one man.' 17Gideon said, 'If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that you are speaking to me. 18Please do not go away from here until I come back to you, bringing you my offering and laying it before you.' And he replied, 'I shall stay until you come back.' 19Gideon went away, he prepared a young goat and from an ephah of flour he made unleavened cakes. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the terebinth. As he approached, 20the Angel of Yahweh said to him, 'Take the meat and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth over them.' Gideon did so. 21The Angel of Yahweh then stretched out the tip of the staff which he was carrying, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the Angel of Yahweh vanished before his eyes. 22Gideon then knew that this was the Angel of Yahweh, and he said, 'Alas, my Lord Yahweh! Now I have seen the Angel of Yahweh face to face!' 23Yahweh answered, 'Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.' 24Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh'Peace. This altar stands in our own day at Ophrah of Abiezer.
Gideon against Baal
25Now that night, Yahweh said to Gideon, 'Take your father's bull, the seven'year'old bull, and pull down the altar to Baal belonging to your father and cut down the sacred pole beside it. 26Then, on top of this strong'point, build a proper altar to Yahweh your God. Then take the bull and burn it as a burnt offering on the wood of the sacred pole which you have cut down.' 27Gideon then took ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had ordered him. But, being too frightened of his family and of the townspeople to do it in daylight, he did it at night. 28Next morning, when the townspeople got up, they found that the altar to Baal had been destroyed, the sacred pole standing beside it had been cut down and the bull had been sacrificed as a burnt offering on the newly built altar. 29'Who has done this?' they asked one another. They searched, made enquiries and declared, 'Gideon son of Joash has done it.' 30The townspeople then said to Joash, 'Bring out your son; he must die for having destroyed Baal's altar and cut down the sacred pole which stood beside it.' 31To the people all crowding round him, Joash replied, 'Is it your job to plead for Baal? Is it your job to champion his cause? (Anyone who pleads for Baal must be put to death before dawn.) If he is a god, let him plead for himself, now that Gideon has destroyed his altar.' 32That day, Gideon was given the name Jerubbaal, because, they said, 'Baal must plead against him, because he has destroyed his altar!'
The call to arms
33All Midian and Amalek and the sons of the East joined forces and, having crossed the Jordan, pitched camp in the plain of Jezreel. 34And the spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon around; he sounded the horn and Abiezer rallied behind him. 35He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and Manasseh too rallied behind him; he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, and they marched out to meet him.
The sign of the fleece
36Gideon said to God, 'If it is really you delivering Israel by means of me, as you have said, 37look, I am going to put a woollen fleece on the threshing'floor; if there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground stays dry, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by means of me, as you have said.' 38And so it happened. Early next morning, Gideon got up, squeezed the fleece and wrung enough dew out of the fleece to fill a cup. 39Gideon then said to God, 'Do not be angry with me if I speak just once more. Allow me to make the fleece'test just once more: let the fleece alone be dry and there be dew all over the ground!' 40And God did so that night. The fleece alone stayed dry, and there was dew all over the ground.
Chapter 7
GIDEON'S CAMPAIGN TO THE WEST OF THE JORDAN
Yahweh reduces the numbers of Gideon's army7Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) got up very early, as did all the people who were with him; he pitched camp at En'Harod; the camp of Midian was north of his, under the Hill of Moreh in the valley. 2Yahweh then said to Gideon, 'There are too many people with you for me to put Midian into their power; Israel might claim the credit for themselves at my expense: they might say, 'My own hand has rescued me.' 3So now make this proclamation to the people, 'Anyone trembling with fear is to go back and watch from Mount Gilboa.' ' Twenty'two thousand of the people went back, and ten thousand remained. 4Yahweh said to Gideon, 'There are still too many people. Take them down to the waterside and I shall sort them out for you there. If I say of someone, 'He is to go with you,' that man is to go with you. And if I say of anyone, 'He is not to go with you,' that man is not to go.' 5So Gideon took the people down to the waterside, and Yahweh said to him, 'All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, put these on one side. And all those who kneel down to drink, put these on the other side.' 6The number of those who lapped with their hands to their mouth was three hundred; all the rest of the people had knelt to drink. 7Yahweh then said to Gideon, 'With the three hundred who lapped the water, I shall rescue you and put Midian into your power. Let the people as a whole disperse to their homes.' 8So they took the people's provisions and their horns, and then Gideon sent all the Israelites back to their tents, keeping only the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below his in the valley.
An omen of victory
9Now it happened, that same night, that Yahweh said to him, 'Get up and go down to the camp. I am putting it into your power. 10If, however, you are nervous about going down, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; 11listen to what they are saying, and that will encourage you to go down to the camp.' So, with his servant Purah, he went down to the edge of the outposts of the camp. 12Midian, Amalek and all the sons of the East were deployed in the valley as thick as locusts; their camels were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13Gideon got there just as a man was telling his comrade a dream; he was saying, 'This was the dream I had: a cake made of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent, struck against it and turned it upside down.' 14His comrade replied, 'This can only be the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite. God has put Midian and the whole camp into his power.' 15When Gideon heard the dream thus told and interpreted, he bowed in reverence; he then went back to the camp of Israel and said, 'On your feet, for Yahweh has put the camp of Midian into your power!'
The surprise attack
16Gideon then divided his three hundred men into three groups. To each he gave a horn and an empty pitcher, with a torch inside each pitcher. 17He said to them, 'Watch me, and do as I do. When I reach the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you must do also. 18I shall blow my horn, and so will all those who are with me; you too will then blow your horns all round the camp and shout, 'For Yahweh and for Gideon!'
19Gideon and his hundred companions reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when the new sentries had just been posted; they blew their horns and smashed the pitchers in their hands. 20The three groups blew their horns and smashed their pitchers; with their left hands they grasped the torches, with their right hands the horns for blowing them; and they shouted, 'The sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!' 21And they stood still, spaced out round the camp. The whole camp was thrown into confusion and the Midianites fled, shouting. 22While the three hundred blew their horns, Yahweh made each man turn his sword against his comrade throughout the entire camp. They all fled as far as Beth'ha'Shittah in the direction of Zarethan, as far as the bank of Abel'Meholah opposite Tabbath.
The pursuit
23The men of Israel mustered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh, and pursued Midian. 24Gideon sent messengers throughout the highlands of Ephraim to say, 'Come down to meet Midian, seize the water'points ahead of them as far as Beth'Barah and the Jordan.' All the men of Ephraim mustered and seized the water'points as far as Beth'Barah and the Jordan. 25They captured the two Midianite chieftains, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at Oreb's Rock and Zeeb at Zeeb's Winepress. '[Fragment explaining two place-names and independent of the main story] They pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.
Chapter 8
The Ephraimites take offence
8:1Now the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, 'What do you mean by treating us like this, not summoning us when you went to fight Midian?' And they reproached him bitterly. 2He replied, 'What have I achieved, compared with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim's grapes better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3God delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the chieftains of Midian, into your power. What was I able to do, in comparison with what you have done?' At these words, their anger with him died down.
GIDEON'S CAMPAIGN IN TRANSJORDAN
Gideon pursues the enemy verse beyond the Jordan4Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it, but he and his three hundred companions were exhausted with the pursuit. 5So he said to the men of Succoth, 'Please give my followers some loaves of bread, since they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna the kings of Midian.' 6The headmen of Succoth replied, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we should give bread to your army?' 7'Very well,' retorted Gideon, 'when Yahweh has put Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I shall tear your flesh off with desert'thorn and thistles.' 8From there he went up to Penuel and asked the men of Penuel the same thing; they replied as those of Succoth had done. 9And to those of Penuel he made a similar retort, 'When I return victorious, I shall destroy this tower.'
The defeat of Zebah and Zalmunna
10Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all that was left of the entire army of the sons of the East. Of men bearing arms, a hundred and twenty thousand had fallen. 11Gideon approached them by the tent'dwellers' route, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army when it thought itself in safety. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them; he took the two kings of Midian prisoner'Zebah and Zalmunna'and the whole army he routed in panic.
Gideon's acts of vengeance
13After the battle Gideon came back by the Ascent of Heres. 14He caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him, and the latter wrote down the names of the headmen and elders of Succoth for him'seventy'seven men. 15Gideon son of Joash then went to the people of Succoth and said, 'Here you see Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me and said, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your grasp, that we should give bread to your exhausted troops?' ' 16He then seized the elders of the town and, taking desert'thorn and thistles, tore the men of Succoth to pieces. 17He destroyed the tower of Penuel and slaughtered the townsmen. 18He then said to Zebah and Zalmunna, 'The men you killed at Tabor'what were they like?' They replied, 'They looked like you. Every one of them carried himself like the son of a king.' 19Gideon replied, 'They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if you had spared their lives I would not kill you.' 20To Jether his eldest son he said, 'Stand up and kill them!' But the boy did not draw his sword; he dared not; he was still only a lad. 21Zebah and Zalmunna then said, 'Stand up yourself, and strike us down; for as a man is, so is his strength.' Then Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents from round their camels' necks.
Latter days of Gideon
22The men of Israel said to Gideon, 'Rule over us, you, your son and your grandson, since you have rescued us from the power of Midian.' 23But Gideon replied, 'I will not rule you, neither will my son. Yahweh shall rule you.' 24Gideon went on, however, 'Let me make you one request. Each of you give me one ring out of his booty''for the vanquished had had gold rings, being Ishmaelites. 25'We shall give them gladly,' they replied. So he spread out his cloak, and on it each of them threw a ring from his booty. 26The weight of the gold rings which he had asked for amounted to seventeen hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents and the earrings and purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars round their camels' necks. 27From this Gideon made an ephod '[Here a cult'object, cf. Ex 28:6] and set it up in his town, in Ophrah. All Israel, following his example, prostituted themselves to it, and it was a snare for Gideon and his family. 28Thus Midian was humbled before the Israelites. He did not raise his head again, and the country had peace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived. 29So Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live at home. 30Gideon had seventy sons begotten by him, for he had many wives. 31His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, to whom he gave the name Abimelech. 32Gideon son of Joash died after a happy old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of Abiezer.
Israel relapses into idolatry
33After Gideon's death, the people of Israel again began to prostitute themselves to the Baals, taking Baal'Berith for their god. 34The Israelites no longer remembered Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies round them. 35And to the family of Jerubbaal'Gideon'they showed no faithful gratitude for all the good which it had done for Israel.
Chapter 9
THE REIGN OF ABIMELECH
9:1Abimelech son of Jerubbaal confronted his mother's brothers at Shechem and, to them and to the whole clan of his maternal grandfather's family, he said, 2'Please put this question to the leading men of Shechem: Which is better for you: to be ruled by seventy people'all Jerubbaal's sons'or to be ruled by one? Remember too that I am your own flesh and bone.' 3His mother's brothers said all this on his behalf to all the leading men of Shechem, and their feelings swayed them to follow Abimelech, since they argued, 'He is our brother.' 4So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal'Berith, and with this Abimelech paid violent adventurers to follow him. 5He then went to his father's house at Ophrah and put his brothers, Jerubbaal's seventy sons, to death on one and the same stone. Jotham, however, Jerubbaal's youngest son, escaped by going into hiding. 6All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth'Millo then met and proclaimed Abimelech king at the oak of the cultic stone at Shechem.
Jotham's diatribe
7News of this was brought to Jotham. He went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted at the top of his voice: Hear me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may also hear you! 8One day the trees went out to anoint a king to rule them. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king!' 9The olive tree replied, 'Must I forgo my oil which gives honour to gods and men, to stand and sway over the trees?' 10Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and be our king!' 11The fig tree replied, 'Must I forgo my sweetness, forgo my excellent fruit, to go and sway over the trees?' 12Then the trees said to the vine, 'You come and be our king!' 13The vine replied, 'Must I forgo my wine which cheers gods and men, to go and sway over the trees?' 14Then the trees all said to the thorn bush, 'You come and be our king!' 15And the thorn bush replied to the trees, 'If you are anointing me in good faith to be your king, come and shelter in my shade. But, if not, fire will come out of the thorn bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' 16'Now then, if you have acted in sincerity and good faith in making Abimelech king, if you have dealt honourably with Jerubbaal and his family, and have treated him as his actions deserved, 17my father having fought for you, risked his life and rescued you from the power of Midian, 18and you today having risen up against my father's family, murdered his sons'seventy of them on one and the same stone'and appointed Abimelech, his slave'girl's son, to rule the leading men of Shechem, because he is your brother!' 19if, I say, you have acted in sincerity and good faith towards Jerubbaal and his family, then may Abimelech be your joy and may you be his! 20If not, may fire come out of Abimelech and devour the leading men of Shechem and Beth'Millo, and fire come out of the leading men of Shechem and Beth'Millo to devour Abimelech!' 21Jotham then took to his heels; he fled and made his way to Beer; and there he stayed, to be out of his brother Abimelech's reach.
Shechem revolts against Abimelech
22Abimelech ruled Israel for three years. 23God then sent a spirit of discord between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem betrayed Abimelech. 24And this was so that the crime committed against Jerubbaal's seventy sons should be avenged, and their blood recoil on their brother Abimelech who had murdered them, and on those leaders of Shechem who had helped him to murder his brothers. 25The leaders of Shechem put men to ambush him on the mountain tops, and these robbed anyone travelling their way. Abimelech was told of this. 26Gaal son of Obed, with his brothers, happened to pass through Shechem and win the confidence of the leaders of Shechem. 27These went out into the countryside to harvest their vineyards; they trod the grapes and made merry and went into the temple of their god. They ate and drank there and cursed Abimelech. 28Gaal son of Obed said, 'Who is Abimelech, and what is Shechem, for us to be his slaves? Should not Jerubbaal's son and his lieutenant, Zebul, be serving the men of Hamor, father of Shechem? Why should we be his slaves? 29Who will put this people under my command, so that I can expel Abimelech? I should say to him, 'Reinforce your army and come out!'' 30Zebul the governor of the town was told what Gaal son of Obed had said, and he was furious. 31He sent messengers secretly to Abimelech to say, 'Look! Gaal son of Obed has come to Shechem with his brothers, and they are stirring up the town against you. 32So, move under cover of dark, you and the men you have with you, and take up concealed positions in the countryside; 33then in the morning at sunrise, break cover and rush on the town. When Gaal and his supporters come out to meet you, treat them as occasion offers.' 34So Abimelech set off under cover of dark with all his own supporters and took up concealed positions over against Shechem, in four groups. 35As Gaal son of Obed was coming out and pausing at the entrance of the town gate, Abimelech and his supporters rose from their ambush. 36Gaal saw these men and said to Zebul, 'Look, there are men coming down from the tops of the mountains!' Zebul answered, 'You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.' 37But Gaal insisted, 'Look, there are men coming down from the Navel of the Earth and another group is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak.' 38Zebul then said, 'Where are your mouthings now about 'Who is Abimelech, for us to be his slaves?' Are not these the men you made light of? Sally out, then, and fight him.' 39Gaal sallied out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and engaged Abimelech. 40Abimelech drove Gaal off, who turned tail, many of his men falling dead before they could reach the gate. 41Abimelech then stayed at Aruma, and Zebul expelled Gaal and his brothers and prevented them from living in Shechem.
Destruction of the town and citadel of Shechem
42Next day, when the people went out into the countryside, Abimelech was told of this. 43He took his men, divided them into three groups and lay in wait in the fields. When he saw the people leaving the town, he bore down on them and slaughtered them. 44While Abimelech and his group rushed forward and took position at the entrance to the town gate, the two other groups fell on everyone in the fields and slaughtered them. 45All that day Abimelech attacked the town. He stormed it and slaughtered the people inside, razed the town and sowed it with salt. 46On hearing this, all the leading men inside Migdal'Shechem took refuge in the crypt of the temple of El'Berith. 47As soon as Abimelech heard that the leading men inside Migdal'Shechem had all gathered there, 48he went up Mount Zalmon with all his men. Then taking an axe in his hands, he cut off the branch of a tree, picked it up and put it on his shoulder, and said to the men with him, 'Hurry and do what you have seen me do.' 49Each of his men similarly cut off a branch; then, following Abimelech, they piled the branches over the crypt and set it on fire over those who were inside; so that all the people in Migdal'Shechem died too, about a thousand men and women.
Siege of Thebez and death of Abimelech
50Abimelech then marched on Thebez, besieged it and captured it. 51In the middle of the town there was a fortified tower in which all the men and women and all the leading men of the town took refuge. They locked the door behind them and climbed up to the roof of the tower. 52Abimelech reached the tower and attacked it. As he was approaching the door of the tower to set it on fire, 53a woman threw down a millstone on his head and cracked his skull. 54He instantly called his young armour'bearer and said, 'Draw your sword and kill me, so that it will not be said of me that 'A woman killed him'.' His armour'bearer ran him through, and he died. 55When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they dispersed to their homes. 56Thus God made to recoil on Abimelech the evil he had done his father by murdering his seventy brothers, 57and all the evil that the men of Shechem had done God made recoil on their heads too. And so the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came true for them.
Chapter 10
JEPHTHAH AND THE 'MINOR' JUDGES
TOLA10:1After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah, son of Dodo, rose to deliver Israel. He belonged to Issachar and lived at Shamir in the mountain country of Ephraim. 2He was judge in Israel for twenty'three years; he then died and was buried at Shamir.
JAIR
3After him rose Jair of Gilead, who judged Israel for twenty-two years. 4He had thirty sons who rode on thirty young donkeys and who owned thirty towns, still known today as the Encampments of Jair, in the territory of Gilead. 5Jair then died and was buried at Kamon.
JEPHTHAH
Oppression by the Ammonites6The Israelites again began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes. They served Baal and Astarte, and the gods of Aram and Sidon, the gods of Moab and those of the Ammonites and Philistines. They deserted Yahweh and served him no more. 7Yahweh's anger then grew hot against Israel and he gave them over into the power of the Philistines and the power of the Ammonites, 8who from that year onwards crushed and oppressed the Israelites for eighteen years'all those Israelites living on the other side of the Jordan in Amorite territory, in Gilead. 9Furthermore, the Ammonites would cross the Jordan and also make war on Judah, Benjamin and the House of Ephraim, so that Israel was in distress. 10The Israelites then cried to Yahweh and said, 'We have sinned against you, because we have turned from Yahweh our God to serve Baals.' 11And Yahweh said to the Israelites, 'When Egyptians and Amorites, Ammonites and Philistines, 12when the Sidonians, Amalek and Midian oppressed you and you cried to me, did I not rescue you from their power? 13But it is you who have forsaken me and served other gods; and so I shall rescue you no more. 14Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen. Let them rescue you in your time of trouble.' 15The Israelites replied to Yahweh, 'We have sinned. Treat us as you see fit, but please rescue us today.' 16They got rid of their foreign gods and served Yahweh, who could bear Israel's suffering no longer. 17The Ammonites gathered and pitched camp in Gilead. The Israelites rallied and pitched camp at Mizpah. 18The people, the chieftains of Gilead, then said to one another, 'Who will volunteer to attack the Ammonites? He shall be chief of all who live in Gilead!'
Chapter 11
Jephthah lays down his terms
11:1Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior. He was a prostitute's son. Gilead was Jephthah's father, 2but Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and the sons of this wife, when they grew up, drove Jephthah away, saying, 'No share of the paternal heritage for you, since you are a son of another woman.' 3Jephthah fled far from his brothers and settled in the territory of Tob. Jephthah enlisted a group of adventurers who used to go raiding with him. 4It was some time after this that the Ammonites made war on Israel. 5And when the Ammonites had attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah from the territory of Tob. 6'Come', they said, 'and be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites.' 7Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, 'Didn't you hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why come to me now, when you are in trouble?' 8The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, 'That is why we are turning to you now. Come with us; fight the Ammonites and be our chief, chief of all the people living in Gilead.' 9Jephthah then said to the elders of Gilead, 'If you bring me home to fight the Ammonites and Yahweh defeats them for me, I am to be your chief?' 10And the elders of Gilead then said to Jephthah, 'Yahweh be witness between us, if we do not do as you have said!' 11So Jephthah set off with the elders of Gilead. The people put him at their head as chief and commander; and Jephthah repeated all his conditions at Mizpah in Yahweh's presence.
Jephthah negotiates with the Ammonites
12Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to say to him, 'What do you have against us, for you to come and make war on my country?' 13The king of the Ammonites replied to Jephthah's messengers, 'The reason is that when Israel came up from Egypt, they seized my country from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; so now restore it to me peacefully.' 14Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the Ammonites 15with this answer, 'Jephthah says this, 'Israel seized neither the country of Moab nor the country of the Ammonites. 16When Israel came out of Egypt, they marched through the desert as far as the Sea of Reeds and, having reached Kadesh, 17Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom to say: Please let me pass through your country, but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent similarly to the king of Moab, but he refused, and Israel remained at Kadesh; 18later, moving on through the desert and skirting the countries of Edom and Moab until arriving to the east of Moabite territory, the people camped on the other side of the Arnon but did not enter Moabite territory, the Arnon being the Moabite frontier. 19Israel then sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon. Israel's message was: Please let me pass through your country to my destination. 20But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory; he mustered his whole army; they encamped at Jahaz, and he then joined battle with Israel. 21Yahweh, God of Israel, delivered Sihon and his whole army into the power of Israel, who defeated them; as the result of which, Israel took possession of the entire territory of the Amorites living in that region. 22Israel took possession of all the Amorite territory from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. 23And now that Yahweh, God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can dispossess us? 24Will you not keep as your possession whatever Chemosh, your god, has given you? And, just the same, we shall keep as ours whatever Yahweh our God has given us, to inherit from those who were before us! 25Are you a better man than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he pick a quarrel with Israel? Did he make war on them? 26When Israel settled in Heshbon and its dependencies, and in Aroer and its dependencies, or in any of the towns on the banks of the Arnon (three hundred years ago), why did you not recover them then? 27I for my part have done you no harm, but you are wronging me by making war on me. Let Yahweh the Judge give judgement today between the Israelites and the king of the Ammonites.' ' 28But the king of the Ammonites took no notice of the message that Jephthah sent him.
Jephthah's vow and his victory
29The spirit of Yahweh was on Jephthah, who crossed Gilead and Manasseh, crossed by way of Mizpah in Gilead, and from Mizpah in Gilead crossed into Ammonite territory. 30And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, 'If you deliver the Ammonites into my grasp, 31the first thing to come out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from fighting the Ammonites shall belong to Yahweh, and I shall sacrifice it as a burnt offering.' 32Jephthah crossed into Ammonite territory to attack them, and Yahweh delivered them into his grasp. 33He beat them from Aroer to the border of Minnith (twenty towns) and to Abel'Keramim. It was a very severe defeat, and the Ammonites were humbled by the Israelites. 34As Jephthah returned to his house at Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, dancing to the sound of tambourines. She was his only child; apart from her, he had neither son nor daughter. 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and exclaimed, 'Oh my daughter, what misery you have brought upon me! You have joined those who bring misery into my life! I have made a promise before Yahweh which I cannot retract.' 36She replied, 'Father, you have made a promise to Yahweh; treat me as the promise that you have made requires, since Yahweh has granted you vengeance on your enemies the Ammonites.' 37She then said to her father, 'Grant me this! Let me be free for two months. I shall go and wander in the mountains, and with my companions bewail my virginity.' 38He replied, 'Go,' and let her go away for two months. So she went away with her companions and bewailed her virginity in the mountains. 39When the two months were over she went back to her father, and he treated her as the vow that he had uttered bound him. She had remained a virgin. And hence, the custom in Israel 40for the daughters of Israel to leave home year by year and lament over the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days every year.
Chapter 12
War between Ephraim and Gilead
The death of Jephthah12:1The men of Ephraim mobilised; they crossed the Jordan near Zaphon and said to Jephthah, 'Why did you go and make war on the Ammonites without asking us to go with you? We shall burn down your house over your head!' 2Jephthah replied, 'My people and I were in serious conflict with the Ammonites. I summoned you, but you did not come to rescue me from them. 3When I saw that no one was coming to rescue me, I took my life in my hands and marched against the Ammonites, and Yahweh handed them over to me. So why advance on me today to make war on me?' 4Jephthah then mustered all the men of Gilead and made war on Ephraim, and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim'since the latter used to say, 'You are only fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.' 5Gilead then cut Ephraim off from the fords of the Jordan, and whenever Ephraimite fugitives said, 'Let me cross,' the men of Gilead would ask, 'Are you an Ephraimite?' If he said, 'No,' 6they then said, 'Very well, say Shibboleth.' *[The word (='ear of corn') is chosen simply to show up local pronunciation.] If anyone said, 'Sibboleth', because he could not pronounce it, then they would seize him and kill him by the fords of the Jordan. Forty'two thousand Ephraimites fell on this occasion. 7Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Jephthah the Gileadite then died and was buried in his town, in Gilead.
I: IBZAN
8After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem was judge in Israel. 9He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty brides from outside for his sons. He was judge in Israel for seven years. 10Ibzan then died and was buried in Bethlehem.
ELON
11After him, Elon of Zebulun was judge in Israel. He was judge in Israel for ten years. 12Elon of Zebulun then died and was buried at Aijalon in the territory of Zebulun.
ABDON
13After him, Abdon son of Hillel of Pirathon was judge in Israel. 14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode seventy young donkeys. He was judge in Israel for eight years. 15Abdon son of Hillel of Pirathon then died and was buried at Pirathon in the territory of Ephraim, in the Amalekite highlands.
Chapter 13
SAMSON
Samson's birth foretold13:1Again the Israelites began doing what is evil in Yahweh's eyes, and Yahweh delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years. 2There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren; she had borne no children. 3The Angel of Yahweh appeared to this woman and said to her, 'You are barren and have had no child, but you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. 4From now on, take great care. Drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean. 5For you are going to conceive and give birth to a son. No razor is to touch his head, for the boy is to be God's nazirite from his mother's womb; and he will start rescuing Israel from the power of the Philistines.' 6The woman then went and told her husband, 'A man of God has just come to me, who looked like the Angel of God, so majestic was he. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 7But he said to me, 'You are going to conceive and will give birth to a son. From now on, drink no wine or fermented liquor, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy is to be God's nazirite from his mother's womb to his dying day.' '
The Angel appears a second time
8Manoah then pleaded with Yahweh and said, 'I beg you, Lord, let the man of God that you sent come to us again and instruct us what to do about the child when he is born.' 9Yahweh heard Manoah's prayer, and the Angel of Yahweh visited the woman again while she was sitting in a field and when her husband Manoah was not with her. 10The woman quickly ran and told her husband, 'Look,' she said, 'the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me again.' 11Manoah got up, followed his wife, came to the man and said to him, 'Are you the man who spoke to this woman?' He replied, 'I am.' 12Manoah then said, 'When your words come true, what will be the boy's way of life?' 13The Angel of Yahweh replied to Manoah, 'From everything that I forbade this woman, let her abstain. 14Let her swallow nothing that comes from the vine, let her drink no wine or fermented liquor, let her eat nothing unclean and let her obey all the orders that I have given her.' 15Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'Allow us to detain you while we prepare a kid for you'' 16bfor Manoah did not know that this was the Angel of Yahweh. 16aThe Angel of Yahweh said to Manoah, 'Even if you did detain me, I should not eat your food; but if you wish to prepare a burnt offering, offer it to Yahweh.' 17Manoah then said to the Angel of Yahweh, 'What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?' 18The Angel of Yahweh replied, 'Why ask my name? It is a name of wonder.' 19Manoah then took the kid and the oblation and offered it on the rock as a burnt offering to Yahweh the Wonderworker. Manoah and his wife looked on. 20Now, as the flame rose heavenwards from the altar, the Angel of Yahweh ascended in this flame before the eyes of Manoah and his wife, and they fell face downwards on the ground. 21After this, the Angel of Yahweh did not appear any more to Manoah and his wife, but Manoah understood that this had been the Angel of Yahweh. 22And Manoah said to his wife, 'We are certain to die, because we have seen God.' 23His wife replied, 'If Yahweh had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and oblation from us, he would not have let us see all this and, at the same time, have told us such things.' 24The woman gave birth to a son and called him Samson. The child grew, and Yahweh blessed him; 25and the spirit of Yahweh began to stir him in the Camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Chapter 14
Samson marries
14:1Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he noticed a woman, a Philistine girl. 2He went home again and told his father and mother this. 'At Timnah', he said, 'I noticed a woman, a Philistine girl. So now get her for me, to be my wife.' 3His father and mother said to him, 'Is there no woman among your brothers' daughters or in our entire nation, for you to go and take a wife among these uncircumcised Philistines?' But Samson said to his father, 'Get that one for me; she is the one I am fond of.' 4His father and mother did not know that all this came from Yahweh, who was seeking grounds for a quarrel with the Philistines, since at this time the Philistines dominated Israel. 5Samson went down to Timnah and, as he reached the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a young lion coming roaring towards him. 6The spirit of Yahweh seized on him and he tore the lion to pieces with his bare hands as though it were a kid; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7He went down and talked to the woman, and he became fond of her. 8Not long after this, Samson went back to marry her. He went out of his way to look at the carcase of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the lion's body, and honey. 9He took up some honey in his hand and ate it as he went along. On returning to his father and mother, he gave some to them, which they ate too, but he did not tell them that he had taken it from the lion's carcase. 10His father then went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there, as is the custom for young men. 11And when the Philistines saw him, they chose thirty companions to stay with him.
Samson's riddle
12Samson then said to them, 'Let me ask you a riddle. If you can give me the answer during the seven days of feasting, I shall give you thirty pieces of fine linen and thirty festal robes. 13But if you cannot tell me the answer, then you in your turn must give me thirty pieces of fine linen and thirty festal robes.' 'Ask your riddle,' they replied, 'we are listening.' 14So he said to them: Out of the eater came what is eaten, and out of the strong came what is sweet. But three days went by and they could not solve the riddle. 15On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife, 'Cajole your husband into explaining the riddle to us, or we shall burn you and your father's family to death. Did you invite us here to rob us?' 16Samson's wife then went to him in tears and said, 'You only hate me, you do not love me. You have asked my fellow countrymen a riddle and told not even me the answer.' He said to her, 'I have not told even my father or mother; why should I tell you?' 17She wept on his neck for the seven days that their feasting lasted. She was so persistent that on the seventh day he told her the answer, and she told her fellow'countrymen. 18So on the seventh day, before he went into the bedroom, the men of the town said to him: What is sweeter than honey, and what stronger than a lion? He retorted: If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you would never have solved my riddle. 19Then the spirit of Yahweh seized on him. He went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty men there, took what they wore and gave the festal robes to those who had answered the riddle, then burning with rage returned to his father's house. 20Samson's wife was then given to the companion who had acted as his best man.
Chapter 15
Samson burns the Philistines' harvest
15:1Not long after this, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, with a kid; he said, 'I wish to go to my wife in her room.' But her father would not let him enter. 2'I felt sure', he said, 'that you had taken a real dislike to her, so I gave her to your companion. But would not her younger sister suit you better? Have her instead.' 3But Samson answered them, 'I can get my revenge on the Philistines now only by doing them some damage.' 4So Samson went off and caught three hundred foxes, then took torches and, turning the foxes tail to tail, put a torch between each pair of tails. 5He lit the torches and set the foxes free in the Philistines' cornfields. In this way he burned both sheaves and standing corn, and the vines and olive trees as well. 6The Philistines asked, 'Who has done this?' and received the answer, 'Samson, who married the Timnite's daughter; his father'in'law took the wife back again and gave her to his companion instead.' The Philistines then went and burned the woman and her father's family to death. 7Samson said to them, 'If that is how you behave, I swear I will not rest till I have had my revenge on you.' 8And he fell on them systematically and caused great havoc. Then he went down to the cave in the Rock of Etham and lived there.
The donkey's jawbone
9The Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a foray against Lehi. 10The men of Judah said to them, 'Why are you attacking us?' They replied, 'We have come to seize Samson and to treat him as he has treated us.' 11Three thousand men of Judah then went down to the cave of the Rock of Etham and said to him, 'Don't you know that the Philistines have us in their power? Now what have you done to us?' He replied, 'I have treated them only as they treated me.' 12They then said, 'We have come down to take you, to hand you over to the Philistines.' He said, 'Swear to me not to kill me yourselves.' 13They replied, 'No; we only want to bind you and hand you over to them; we certainly do not want to kill you.' They then bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the Rock. 14As he was approaching Lehi, and the Philistines came running towards him with triumphant shouts, the spirit of Yahweh was on him; the ropes on his arms became like burnt strands of flax and the cords round his hands came untied. 15Coming across the fresh jawbone of a donkey, he reached out and snatched it up; and with it he slaughtered a thousand men. 16And Samson said: With the jawbone of a donkey I have laid them in heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey I have felled a thousand men. 17And with that he hurled the jawbone away; and that is why the place was called Ramath'Lehi. *[Lit. 'hill of the jawbone'] 18And as he was very thirsty, he called on Yahweh and said, 'You yourself have worked this great deliverance by the hand of your servant; and now must I die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?' 19Then God opened a hollow in the ground, the hollow there is at Lehi, and water gushed out of it. Samson drank; his vigour returned and he revived. And therefore this spring was called En'ha'Kore; *['The Spring of the Caller', where Samson called on Yahweh] it is still at Lehi today. 20Samson was judge in Israel in the days of the Philistines for twenty years.
Chapter 16
The gates of Gaza
16:1Samson then went to Gaza and, seeing a prostitute there, went in to her. 2The men of Gaza being told, 'Samson has arrived,' surrounded the place and kept watch for him the whole night at the town gate. All that night they were going to make no move, thinking, 'Let us wait until daybreak, and then kill him.' 3Till midnight, however, Samson stayed in bed, and then at midnight he got up, seized the doors of the town gate and the two posts as well; he tore them up, bar and all, hoisted them on to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill overlooking Hebron.
Samson is betrayed by Delilah
4After this, he fell in love with a woman in the Vale of Sorek; she was called Delilah. 5The Philistine chiefs visited her and said, 'Cajole him and find out where his great strength comes from, and how we can master him, so that we can bind him and subdue him. In return we shall each give you eleven hundred silver shekels.' 6Delilah said to Samson, 'Please tell me where your great strength comes from, and what would be needed to bind and subdue you.' 7Samson replied, 'If I were bound with seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.' 8The Philistine chiefs brought Delilah seven new bowstrings which had not yet been dried and she took them and bound him with them. 9She had men concealed in her room, and she shouted, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' Then he snapped the bowstrings as a strand of tow snaps at a touch of the fire. So the secret of his strength remained unknown. 10Delilah then said to Samson, 'You have been laughing at me and telling me lies. But now please tell me what would be needed to bind you.' 11He replied, 'If I were bound tightly with new ropes which have never been used, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.' 12Delilah then took new ropes and bound him with them, and she shouted, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' She had men concealed in her room, but he snapped the ropes round his arms like thread. 13Delilah then said to Samson, 'Up to now you have been laughing at me and telling me lies. Tell me what would be needed to bind you.' He replied, 'If you wove the seven locks of my hair into the warp of a cloth and beat them together tight with the reed, I should lose my strength and become like any other man.' 14She lulled him to sleep, then wove the seven locks of his hair into the warp, beat them together tight with the reed and shouted, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' He woke from his sleep and pulled out both reed and warp. So the secret of his strength remained unknown. 15Delilah said to him, 'How can you say that you love me, when your heart is not with me? Three times now you have laughed at me and have not told me where your great strength comes from.' 16And day after day she pestered him with her talk, nagging him till he grew sick to death of it. 17At last he confided everything to her; he said to her, 'A razor has never touched my head, because I have been God's nazirite from my mother's womb. If my head were shorn, then my power would leave me and I should lose my strength and become like any other man.' 18Delilah then realized that he had really confided in her; she sent for the Philistine princes with the message, 'Come just once more: he has confided everything to me.' And the Philistine chiefs came to her with the money in their hands. 19She lulled Samson to sleep in her lap, summoned a man and had him shear off the seven locks from his head. Thus for the first time she got control over him, and his strength left him. 20She cried, 'The Philistines are on you, Samson!' He awoke from sleep, thinking, 'I shall break free as I have done time after time and shake myself clear.' But he did not know that Yahweh had left him. 21The Philistines seized him, put out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. They fettered him with a double chain of bronze and he spent his time turning the mill in the prison. 22But his hair began to grow again when it had been cut off.
Samson's revenge and death
23The Philistine chiefs assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god. And amid their festivities they said: Into our hands our god has delivered Samson our enemy. 24And as soon as the people saw their god, they acclaimed him, shouting his praises: Into our hands our god has delivered Samson our enemy, the man who laid our country waste and killed so many of us. 25And as their hearts were full of joy, they shouted, 'Summon Samson out to amuse us.' So Samson was summoned from prison, and he performed feats in front of them; then he was put to stand between the pillars. 26Samson then said to the boy who was leading him by the hand, 'Lead me where I can touch the pillars supporting the building, so that I can lean against them.' 27Now the building was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine chiefs were there, while about three thousand men and women were watching Samson's feats from the terrace. 28Samson called on Yahweh and cried out, 'Lord Yahweh, I beg you, remember me; give me strength again this once, O God, and let me be revenged on the Philistines at one blow for my two eyes.' 29And Samson took hold of the two central pillars supporting the building, and braced himself with his right arm round one and his left round the other; 30and he shouted, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' He then heaved with all his might, and the building fell on the chiefs and on all the people there. Those whom he brought to their death by his death outnumbered those whom he had done to death during his life. 31His brothers and the whole of his father's family came down and carried him away. They took him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel for twenty years.
Chapter 17
THE SANCTUARY OF MICAH AND THE SANCTUARY OF DAN
Micah's domestic shrine17:1In the highlands of Ephraim there was a man called Micayehu. 2He said to his mother, 'The eleven hundred silver shekels which were taken from you and concerning which you uttered a curse, having said in my hearing . . . *[The words of the curse are omitted lest even to quote them might have its effect.] Look, I have got that silver. I was the one who took it.' His mother said, 'May Yahweh bless my boy!' 3He gave the eleven hundred shekels back to his mother, who said, 'I have indeed vowed to give this silver to Yahweh for my son, to have a statue carved and an idol cast in metal, but now I should like to give it back to you.' He, however, returned the money to his mother. 4His mother then took two hundred silver shekels and gave them to the metalworker. With them, he carved a statue (and cast an idol in metal) which was put in Micayehu's house. 5This man Micah owned a shrine; he made an ephod and some domestic images, and installed one of his sons to be his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did as he saw fit. 7There was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah, who was a Levite and resided there as a stranger. 8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to settle wherever he could find a home. On his travels he came to the highlands of Ephraim and to Micah's house. 9Micah asked him, 'Where do you come from?' The other replied, 'I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am travelling, and am going to settle wherever I can find a home.' 10Micah said to him, 'Stay here with me; be my father and priest and I shall give you ten silver shekels a year, and clothing and food.' 11The Levite agreed to remain in the man's house, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12Micah installed the Levite; the young man became Micah's priest and stayed in his house. 13And Micah said, 'Now I know that Yahweh will treat me well, since I have this Levite as priest.'
Chapter 18
The Danites in search of a territory
18:1In those days there was no king in Israel. Now in those days the tribe of Dan was in search of a territory to live in, for until then no territory had fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. 2From their clan the Danites sent five brave men from Zorah and Eshtaol to reconnoitre the country and explore it. They said to them, 'Go and explore the country.' The five men came to the highlands of Ephraim, as far as Micah's house, and spent the night there. 3When they were near Micah's house, they recognised the voice of the young Levite and, going nearer, said to him, 'Who brought you here? What are you doing here? What is keeping you here?' 4He replied, 'Micah has made certain arrangements with me. He pays me a wage and I act as his priest.' 5They replied, 'Then consult God, so that we may know whether the journey we are on will lead to success.' 6The priest replied, 'Go in peace; Yahweh is watching over your journey.' 7The five men then left and, arriving at Laish, saw that the people living there had an untroubled existence, according to the customs of the Sidonians, peaceful and trusting, that there was no lack or shortage of any sort in the territory, that they were a long way away from the Sidonians and that they had no contact with the Aramaeans. 8They then went back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol and, when the latter asked them, 'What have you to report?' 9they said, 'Up! we must go against them, since we have looked at the country and it is excellent, though you take no action! Waste no time in setting out and taking possession of the country. 10When you get there, you will find a trusting people. The country is wide, and God has put it at your mercy. It is a place where there is no lack of anything on earth.'
The migration of the Danites
11From these places, consequently, from the clan of Danites at Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men set out equipped for war. 12They went up and camped at Kiriath'Jearim in Judah; and for this reason the place is still called the Camp of Dan today. It lies to the west of Kiriath'Jearim. 13From there they entered the highlands of Ephraim and came to Micah's house. 14The five men who had been to reconnoitre the country then spoke to their brothers. 'Do you know', they said, 'that in these houses there is an ephod, some domestic images, a carved statue and an idol cast in metal? So now work out what you have got to do!' 15So, turning off the road, they went to the young Levite's dwelling, to Micah's house, and greeted him peacefully. 16While the six hundred men of the Danites, equipped for war, stood at the threshold of the gate, 17the five who had been to reconnoitre the country went on into the house and took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal; meanwhile the priest remained at the threshold of the gate with the six hundred men equipped for war. 18These men, having entered Micah's house, took the carved statue, the ephod, the domestic images and the idol cast in metal. The priest, however, said, 'What are you doing?' 19'Be quiet,' they replied. 'Put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and become our father and priest. Are you better off as domestic priest to one man, or as priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?' 20The priest was delighted; he took the ephod, the domestic images and the carved statue, and went off among the people. 21Resuming their original line of march, they set off, having put the women, children, livestock and baggage out in front. 22They had gone some distance from Micah's house, when the people living in the houses near Micah's house raised the alarm and set off in pursuit of the Danites. 23As they shouted after the Danites, the latter, turning about, said to Micah, 'What is the matter with you, that you are shouting like this?' 24He replied, 'You have taken away my god, which I have had made, and the priest as well. You are going away, and what have I got left? And now you ask me, 'What is the matter?' ' 25The Danites said, 'Let us hear no more from you, or quick'tempered men may set about you, and this might cost you your life and the lives of your family!' 26So the Danites went on their way; and Micah, seeing that they were the stronger, turned and went home.
Capture of Laish
Foundation of Dan and the sanctuary there27So, having taken the god made by Micah, and the priest who had been his, the Danites marched on Laish, on a peaceful and trusting people. They put it to the sword and they burned down the town. 28There was no one to come to the rescue, since it was a long way from Sidon and had no contact with the Aramaeans. It lay in the valley running towards Beth'Rehob. They rebuilt the town and settled in it 29and called it Dan, from the name of Dan their ancestor who had been born to Israel; originally, however, the town had been called Laish. 30The Danites erected the carved statue for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons after him were priests for the tribe of Dan till the day when the inhabitants of the country were carried away into exile. 31The carved statue made by Micah they installed for their own use, and there it stayed as long as the house of God remained at Shiloh.
Chapter 19
THE CRIME AT GIBEAH AND THE WAR AGAINST BENJAMIN
The Levite of Ephraim and his concubine19:1In those days, when there was no king in Israel, there was a man, a Levite, whose home was deep in the highlands of Ephraim. He took as concubine a woman from Bethlehem in Judah. 2In a fit of anger his concubine left him and went back to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and she stayed there for some time'four months. 3Her husband then set out after her, to appeal to her affections and fetch her back; he had his servant and two donkeys with him. As he was arriving at the house of the girl's father, the father saw him and came happily to meet him. 4His father'in'law, the girl's father, kept him there; and he stayed with him for three days; they ate and drank and spent the nights there. 5On the fourth day they got up early, and the Levite was preparing to leave when the girl's father said to his son'in'law, 'Have something to eat to gather strength; you can leave later.' 6So they sat down and began eating and drinking, the two of them together; then the girl's father said to the young man, 'Please agree to spend tonight here too and enjoy yourself.' 7And when the man got up to leave, the father'in'law pressed him again, and he spent another night there. 8On the fifth day, the Levite got up early to leave, but the girl's father said to him, 'Please gather strength first!' So they stayed on until the sun began to go down, and the two men had a meal together. 9The husband was getting up to leave with his concubine and his servant when his father'in'law, the girl's father, said, 'Look, day is fading into evening. Please spend the night here. Look, the day is nearly over. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Then, early tomorrow, you can leave on your journey and go back home.' 10But the man, refusing to stay the night, got up and went on his way, until he arrived within sight of Jebus'that is, Jerusalem. He had with him two donkeys saddled, his concubine and his servant.
The crime of the men of Gibeah
11By the time they were near Jebus, the light was going fast. The servant said to his master, 'Come on, please, let us turn off into this Jebusite town and spend the night there.' 12His master replied, 'We shall not turn off into a town of foreigners, of people who are not Israelites; we shall go on to Gibeah.' 13He then said to his servant, 'Come on, we shall try to reach one or other of those places, either Gibeah or Ramah, and spend the night there.' 14So they kept going and went on with their journey. As they approached Gibeah in Benjamin, the sun was setting. 15So they turned that way to spend the night in Gibeah. Once inside, the Levite sat down in the town square, but no one offered to take them in for the night. 16Eventually, an old man came along at nightfall from his work in the fields. He too was from the highlands of Ephraim, although he was living in Gibeah; the people of the place, however, were Benjaminites. 17Looking up, he saw the traveller in the town square. 'Where are you going?' said the old man, 'And where have you come from?' 18'We are on our way', the other replied, 'from Bethlehem in Judah to a place deep in the highlands of Ephraim. That is where I come from. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going home, but no one has offered to take me into his house, 19although we have straw and provender for our donkeys, and I also have bread and wine for myself, and this maidservant and the young man who is travelling with your servant; we are short of nothing.' 20'Welcome,' said the old man. 'I shall see that you have all you want. You cannot spend the night in the square.' 21So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys provender. The travellers washed their feet, then ate and drank. 22While they were enjoying themselves, some townsmen, scoundrels, came crowding round the house; they battered on the door and said to the old man, master of the house, 'Send out the man who went into your house, we should like to have intercourse with him!' 23The master of the house went out to them and said, 'No, brothers, please, do not be so wicked. Since this man is now under my roof, do not commit such an infamy. 24Here is my daughter; she is a virgin; I shall bring her out to you. Ill'treat her, do what you please with her, but do not commit such an infamy against this man.' 25But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took hold of his concubine and brought her out to them. They had intercourse with her and ill'treated her all night till morning; when dawn was breaking they let her go. 26At daybreak the girl came and fell on the threshold of her husband's host, and she stayed there until it was light. 27In the morning her husband got up and, opening the door of the house, was going out to continue his journey when he saw the woman, his concubine, lying at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28'Get up,' he said, 'we must leave!' There was no answer. He then loaded her on his donkey and began the journey home. 29Having reached his house, he took his knife, took hold of his concubine and cut her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces; he then sent her throughout the territory of Israel. 30He gave instructions to his messengers, 'This is what you are to say to all the Israelites, 'Has anything like this been done since the day when the Israelites came out of Egypt until today? Take this to heart, discuss it; then give your verdict.' ' And all who saw it declared, 'Never has such a thing been done or been seen since the Israelites came out of Egypt until today.'
Chapter 20
The Israelites vow to avenge the crime at Gibeah
20:1The Israelites then all turned out and, as one man, the entire community from Dan to Beersheba, including Gilead, assembled in Yahweh's presence at Mizpah. 2The leaders of the entire people, of all the tribes of Israel, were present at this assembly of God's people, four hundred thousand trained infantry. 3The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites then said, 'Tell us how this crime was committed.' 4The Levite, husband of the murdered woman, spoke in reply and said, 5'The men of Gibeah ganged up against me and, during the night, surrounded the house where I was lodging. They intended to murder me. They raped my concubine to death. 6I then took my concubine, cut her up and sent her throughout the entire territory of the heritage of Israel, since these men had committed a shameful act, an infamy, in Israel. 7Now, all you Israelites, discuss the matter and give your decision here and now.' 8The whole people stood up as one man and said, 'None of us will go home, none of us will go back to his house! 9And this is what we are now going to do to Gibeah. We shall draw lots 10and, throughout the tribes of Israel, select ten men out of a hundred, a hundred out of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand to collect food for the people, so that, on their arrival, the latter may treat Gibeah in Benjamin as this infamy perpetrated in Israel deserves.' 11Thus, as one man, all the men of Israel mustered against the town.
Obduracy of the Benjaminites
12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin to say, 'What is this crime which has been committed in your territory? 13Now, give up these men, these scoundrels, living in Gibeah, so that we can put them to death and wipe out this evil from Israel.' The Benjaminites, however, would not listen to their brother Israelites.
The first engagements
14The Benjaminites left their towns and mustered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites. 15At the time, a count was made of the Benjaminites from the various towns: there were twenty'six thousand swordsmen; and the count excluded the inhabitants of Gibeah. 16In this great army there were seven hundred first'rate left'handers, every man of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss it. 17A count was also held of the men of Israel, excluding Benjamin: there were four hundred thousand men, all experienced swordsmen. 18They moved off, up to Bethel, to consult God. The Israelites put the question, 'Which of us is to go first into battle against the Benjaminites?' And Yahweh replied, 'Judah is to go first.' 19In the morning, the Israelites moved off and pitched their camp over against Gibeah. 20The men of Israel advanced to do battle with Benjamin; they drew up their battle line in front of Gibeah. 21But the Benjaminites sallied out from Gibeah and that day massacred twenty'two thousand Israelites. 23The Israelites went and wept before Yahweh until evening; they then consulted Yahweh; they asked, 'Shall we join battle again with the sons of our brother Benjamin?' Yahweh replied, 'March against him!' 22The army of the men of Israel then took fresh heart and again drew up their battle line in the same place as the day before. 24This second day, the Israelites advanced against the Benjaminites, 25and, this second day, Benjamin sallied out from Gibeah to meet them and massacred another eighteen thousand Israelites, all experienced swordsmen. 26Then all the Israelites and the whole people went off to Bethel; they wept and sat in Yahweh's presence; they fasted all day till the evening and presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices before Yahweh. 27The Israelites then consulted Yahweh. In those days, the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28and Phinehas son of Eleazer, son of Aaron was its minister at the time. They said, 'Ought I to go into battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin again, or should I stop?' Yahweh replied, 'March! For tomorrow I shall deliver him into your hands.'
Defeat of Benjamin
29Israel then positioned troops in ambush all round Gibeah. 30On the third day the Israelites marched against the Benjaminites and, as before, drew up their line in front of Gibeah. 31The Benjaminites sallied out to engage the people and let themselves be drawn away from the town. As before, they began by killing those of the people who were on the roads, one of which runs up to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah through open country: some thirty men of Israel. 32The Benjaminites thought, 'We have beaten them, as we did the first time,' but the Israelites had decided, 'We shall run away and draw them away from the town along the roads.' 33All the Israelites then retreated and reformed at Baal'Tamar, while the Israelite troops in ambush surged from their positions to the west of Gibeah. 34Ten thousand picked men, chosen from the whole of Israel, launched their attack on Gibeah. The battle was fierce; and the others knew nothing of the disaster impending. 35Yahweh defeated Benjamin before Israel and that day the Israelites killed twenty'five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them trained swordsmen. 36The Benjaminites saw that they were beaten. The Israelites had given ground to Benjamin, since they were relying on the ambush which they had positioned close to Gibeah. 37The troops in ambush threw themselves against Gibeah at top speed; fanning out, they put the whole town to the sword. 38Now it had been agreed between the Israelites and those of the ambush that the latter should raise a smoke signal from the town, 39whereupon the Israelites in the thick of the battle would turn about. Benjamin began by killing some of the Israelites, about thirty men, and thought, 'We have certainly beaten them, as we did in the first battle.' 40But the signal, a column of smoke, began to rise from the town, and the Benjaminites looking back saw the whole town going up in flames to the sky. 41The Israelites then turned about, and the Benjaminites were seized with terror, for they saw that disaster had struck them. 42They broke before the Israelite onslaught and made for the desert, but the fighters pressed them hard, while the others coming out of the town took and slaughtered them from the rear. 43They hemmed in the Benjaminites, pursued them relentlessly, crushing them opposite Gibeah on the east. 44Of Benjamin, eighteen thousand men fell, all of them brave men. 45They then turned tail and fled into the desert, towards the Rock of Rimmon. Five thousand of them were picked off on the roads, and the rest were relentlessly pursued as far as Gideon, two thousand of them being killed. 46The total number of Benjaminites who fell that day was twenty'five thousand swordsmen, all of them brave men. 47Six hundred men, however, turned tail and escaped into the desert, to the Rock of Rimmon, and there they stayed for four months. 48The men of Israel then went back to the Benjaminites, and put them to the sword'people, livestock and everything else that came their way in the town. And they fired all the towns involved.
Chapter 21
Remorse of the Israelites
21The men of Israel had sworn this oath at Mizpah, 'None of us is to give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.' 2The people went to Bethel and stayed there until evening, sitting before God and raising their voices, made a great lament, 3and exclaiming, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel that a tribe should be missing from Israel today? 4The next day the people got up early and built an altar there; they presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices. 5The Israelites then said, 'Out of all the tribes of Israel, who has not come to Yahweh, to the assembly?''for they had sworn a solemn oath that anyone who did not come to Yahweh at Mizpah would certainly die. 6Now the Israelites felt sorry about Benjamin their brother. 'Today', they said, 'a tribe has been amputated from Israel. 7What shall we do to provide wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by Yahweh not to give them any of our own daughters in marriage?'
The girls of Jabesh given to the Benjaminites
8They then asked, 'Out of the tribes of Israel, who is it that has not come to Yahweh at Mizpah?' It was discovered that no one from Jabesh in Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly; 9for, a muster having been called of the people, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead was present. 10The community then despatched twelve thousand of their bravest men there, with these orders: 'Go and slaughter all the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead, including the women and children. 11This is what you are to do. All males and all those women who have ever slept with a man, you will put under the curse of destruction, but the lives of the virgins you will spare.' And this they did. 12Among the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and brought them to the camp (to Shiloh in the territory of