UTN uW Translation Notes:

Judges 1 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

- Verses 1–10: Judah conquers its assigned territory- Verses 11–16: Caleb and Othniel conquer Debir (Kiriath Sepher)- Verses 12–21: Judah and Simeon conquer territory but leave some hostile nations- Verses 22–29: Ephraim and Manasseh conquer territory but leave some hostile nations- Verses 30–36: Zebulin, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan conquer territory but leave some hostile nations

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Cutting off the thumbs and big toes of captured enemies

In 1:7, Adoni-Bezek describes how he had his soldiers cut off the thumbs and big toes of the kings he had defeated. This prevented a captured enemy from running away or from ever using a weapon again. However, as the context shows, it was also a way of humiliating a captured king. When the Israelites did this to Adoni-Bezek, he acknowledged that he was getting what he deserved for having done this to others. This is an example of irony in the book of Judges, in which the punishment fits the crime. (See the discussion in the General Introduction.)

Complete destruction of a city and its people

In 1:17, the armies of Judah and Simeon completely destroy a Canaanite city and kill all of its people. They call the place “Hormah,” which means “destruction.” Deuteronomy 7:1–4 describes how, when Yahweh was preparing the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, he commanded them to destroy completely the Canaanite people who lived there. They were not to make any treaties with them or to intermarry with them. This was to prevent the Israelites from joining them in worshiping their false gods, which would have led them to develop a culture and society very different from the kind that Yahweh wanted. The book of Joshua describes how the Israelites completely destroyed the major Canaanite cities and their people. In this chapter, 1:17 describes a further instance of that. However, the Israelites left many of the Canaanite people in the land, and they did intermarry with them and worship their gods. This led the Israelites into many evil practices that made Yahweh very angry with them.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Names of people groups, cities, and Israelite tribes meaning their people or armies

In this chapter, the author and characters often use the names of people groups or cities by association to mean the people or armies of those groups or cities. For example, when the author says in 1:1 that the Israelites "fought against Jerusalem,” he means that they fought against the people who lived in that city. The author and characters sometimes also speak of the Israelite tribes as if they were individual people who could talk to one another, go places together, and so forth. For example, the author says in 1:1, “Then Judah said to Simeon, his brother, ‘Go up with me into my allotment.’” If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. For example, instead of saying “Judah,” you could say “the people of the tribe of Judah.” (See: figs-metonymy and figs-personification)

Generic nouns

In this chapter, the author and characters use expressions such as “the Canaanite,” “the Perizzite,” “the Amorite,” and so forth. They are not referring to specific individuals. Rather, they mean in general the people of the nation mentioned. It may be more natural in your language to express this meaning by using plural forms, for example, “the Canaanites.” (See: figs-genericnoun)