2tn Heb “to all the extended family of the house of the father of his mother.”

3tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

4tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

5tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

6tn Heb “brothers.”

7tn Heb “into the ears of.”

8tn Heb “and all these words.”

9tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

10tn Heb “our brother.”

11tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

12tn Heb “and they followed him.”

13tn Heb “his brothers.”

14tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

15tn Heb “remained.”

16tc The translation assumes that the form in the Hebrew text (מֻצָּב, mutsav) is a corruption of an original מַצֵּבָה (matsevah, “pillar”). The reference is probably to a pagan object of worship (cf. LXX).

17tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

18tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

19tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”

20tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

21tn Or “Rule over us!”

22tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

23tn Or “and rule over us!”

24tn Heb “Should I stop my sweetness and my good fruit and go to sway over the trees? The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

25tn Or “and rule over us!”

26tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

27tn Or “and rule over us!”

28tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

29tn Heb “in my shade.”

30tn Heb “If not.”

31tn Heb “house.”

32tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

33tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.

34tn Heb “hand.”

35tn Heb “have risen up against.”

36tn Heb “house.”

37tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

38tn Heb “your brother.”

39tn Heb “house.”

40tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

41tn Heb “fled and ran away and went.”

42tn Heb “from before.”

43tn Heb “his brother.”

44tn The Hebrew verb translated “commanded” (שָׂרַר, sarar), which appears only here in Judges, differs from the ones employed earlier in this chapter (מָשַׁל [mashal] and מָלַךְ [malakh]).

sn Abimelech commanded Israel. Perhaps while ruling as king over the city-state of Shechem, Abimelech also became a leader of the Israelite tribal alliance (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 175).

45tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

46tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

47tn Heb “their brother.”

48tn Heb “so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal might come, and their blood might be placed on Abimelech, their brother, who murdered them, and upon the leaders of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to murder his brothers.”

49tn Heb “set against him bandits.”

sn Putting bandits in the hills. This piracy certainly interrupted or discouraged trade, and probably deprived Abimelech of tariffs or tribute. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 277; G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 253.

50tn Heb “on the tops of.”

51tn Heb “It was told to Abimelech.”

52sn The name Gaal derives from, or at least sounds like, a Hebrew verb meaning “to abhor, loathe.” His father’s name, Ebed, means “servant.” Perhaps then this could be translated, “loathsome one, son of a servant.” This individual’s very name (which may be the narrator’s nickname for him, not his actual name) seems to hint at his immoral character and lowly social status.

53tn Heb “trusted in him.” Here the verb probably describes more than a mental attitude. It is likely that the Shechemites made an alliance with Gaal and were now trusting him for protection in return for their loyalty (and probably tribute).

54tn Heb “vineyards.”

55tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.

56tn Heb “house.”

57tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

58tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

59tn Heb “people.”

60tn Heb “in my hand.”

sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.

61tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

62tn Heb “Make numerous.”

63tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

64tn Heb “his anger burned.”

65tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (b˙tarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.

66tn Heb “Look!”

67tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.

68tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).

69tn Heb “arise.”

70tn Heb “you and the people who are with you.”

71tn The words “outside the city” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

72tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”

73tn Heb “and all the people who were with him arose.”

74tn Heb “four heads.” The words “they divided into” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

75tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

76tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

77tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

78tn Heb “head.”

79tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

80tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”

81tn Heb “the people.”

82tn Or “despised.”

83tn Heb “So Gaal went out before the leaders of Shechem.”

84tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gaal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

85tn The word “Shechemites” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarification.

86tc Heb “stayed.” Some scholars revise the vowel pointing on this verb from that of the MT, resulting in the translation “and he returned to.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX understands the word in this way.

87tn Heb “drove…out from dwelling in Shechem.”

88tn Heb “the people”; the referent (the Shechemites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

89tn Heb “And they told Abimelech.”

90tn Heb “his people.”

91tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

92tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

93tn Or possibly, “the unit that was with him.”

94tn Heb “stood [at].”

95tn Or “destroyed.”

96tn Heb “sowed it with salt.”

sn The spreading of salt over the city was probably a symbolic act designed to place the site under a curse, deprive it of fertility, and prevent any future habitation. The practice is referred to outside the Bible as well. For example, one of the curses in the Aramaic Sefire treaty states concerning Arpad: “May Hadad sow in them salt and weeds, and may it not be mentioned again!” See J. A. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire (BibOr), 15, 53. Deut 29:23, Jer 17:6, and Zeph 2:9 associate salt flats or salty regions with infertility and divine judgment.

97sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

98tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

99sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

100tn Heb “and it was told to Abimelech.”

101tn Heb “were assembled.”

102tn Heb “his people.”

103tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

104tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

105tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

106tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

107tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

108tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

109tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

110tn Or “went.”

111tn Heb “he camped near Thebez and captured it.”

112tn Or “strong.”

113tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

114sn A hand mill consisted of an upper stone and larger lower stone. One would turn the upper stone with a handle to grind the grain, which was placed between the stones. An upper millstone, which was typically about two inches thick and a foot or so in diameter, probably weighed 25-30 pounds (11.4-13.6 kg). See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 268; C. F. Burney, Judges, 288.

115tn Heb “Abimelech’s.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “his” in the translation in keeping with conventions of English narrative style.

116tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

117tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

118tn Heb “each to his own place.”

119tn Heb “seventy brothers.”

120tn Heb “came.”