Judges 21 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: MT 21:14
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
Judges 21
An oath answered with more harm: the need for Christ’s righteous rule
Editorial Christian reading: the rescue schemes, massacre, and seizure of women invite discernment alongside Matthew 5:33–37 and Mark 10:42–45. The closing judgment is heard as a call to righteous service, not an endorsement of the schemes.
21:1–7 | The oath, mourning, and the surviving tribe
Verse MT 21:1 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:1
The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:1
The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both open with the oath against giving daughters to Benjamin.
Verse MT 21:2 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:2
The people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They raised their voices and wept bitterly.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:2
All the people came to Mizpah and Bethel and sat there before God until evening. They raised their voices and wept bitterly.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek names both Mizpah and Bethel; Hebrew names Bethel alone here.
Verse MT 21:3 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:3
They said, “Why, YHWH, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe should be missing today from Israel?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:3
They said, “Why, Lord, God of Israel, has this happened in Israel, that one tribe should be visited today in Israel?”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew speaks of a tribe being missing. Greek uses a visitation or inspection verb; its precise force here is uncertain and may be judicial. Visited preserves that wording provisionally.
Verse MT 21:4 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:4
The next day the people rose early, built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:4
The next day the people rose early, built an altar there, and offered whole burnt offerings of deliverance.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew lists two offering types. The displayed Greek attaches of deliverance to whole burnt offerings without an intervening and. The unusual ritual expression is retained provisionally; compare 20:26.
Verse MT 21:5 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:5
The sons of Israel said, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to YHWH?” For a great oath had been made concerning anyone who did not come up to YHWH at Mizpah: “He shall surely be put to death.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:5
The sons of Israel said, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord?” For there was a great oath concerning anyone who did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely die.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both recall the assembly’s capital oath against absence; Hebrew has the passive put to death, Greek die.
Verse MT 21:6 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:6
The sons of Israel grieved over Benjamin their brother and said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:6
The sons of Israel were comforted concerning Benjamin their brother and said, “Today one tribe has been removed from Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew expresses regret or grief; Greek uses were comforted. The awkwardness of consolation beside the loss is retained rather than harmonized.
Verse MT 21:7 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:7
What shall we do for wives for those who remain? We have sworn by YHWH not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:7
What shall we do for wives for those who remain? We have sworn by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters as wives.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both state the surviving men’s need and the obstacle created by the oath.
21:8–14 | Jabesh-gilead attacked and its women assigned
Verse MT 21:8 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:8
They said, “Which one among the tribes of Israel did not come up to YHWH at Mizpah?” And behold, no man from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:8
They said, “Which one of the tribes of Israel did not come up to the Lord at Mizpah?” And behold, no man from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp, to the assembly.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both identify the absence of any man from Jabesh-gilead.
Verse MT 21:9 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:9
When the people were mustered, behold, no man from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:9
When the people were inspected, behold, no man from the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: The Hebrew muster and Greek inspection establish the same absence.
Verse MT 21:10 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:10
The congregation sent twelve thousand valiant men there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and the children.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:10
The congregation sent twelve thousand mighty men there and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike all the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and the people.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly says all and ends with people, where Hebrew specifies children. Neither wording softens the command to kill.
Verse MT 21:11 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:11
This is what you shall do: devote to destruction every male and every woman who has known a male by lying with him.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:11
This is what you shall do: put under the ban every male and every woman who has known the bed of a male.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both apply the ban to males and sexually experienced women. Greek’s ban verb is translated literally; the surrounding commands make its lethal purpose explicit.
Verse MT 21:12 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:12
Among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgin women who had not known a man by lying with a male. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:12
Among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgin women who had not known a man in the bed of a male. They brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The number, sexual-status description, and destination agree.
Verse MT 21:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:13
The whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:13
The whole congregation sent word and spoke to Benjamin at the rock of Rimmon, and called them to peace.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: The proclamation of peace and the invitation to peace describe the same initiative with a modest change of expression.
Verse MT 21:14 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:14
Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead. But they did not find enough for them in this way.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:14
Benjamin returned to the sons of Israel at that time, and they gave them the women who were from the women of Jabesh-gilead. And this pleased them.
Classification & Notes
Disparate
Text: Hebrew closes with the failure to obtain enough women; Greek closes with their pleasure. Greek also specifies the return to Israel, while Hebrew expressly recalls that the women were kept alive.
21:15–23 | The Shiloh ambush and the dancers seized
Verse MT 21:15 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:15
The people grieved over Benjamin, because YHWH had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:15
The people were comforted concerning Benjamin, because the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: As at 21:6, Hebrew regret or grief corresponds to Greek consolation. The Greek is not silently changed to the expected emotion.
Verse MT 21:16 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:16
The elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women have been destroyed from Benjamin?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:16
The elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women have been made to disappear from Benjamin?”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both describe the absence of women after the destruction of Benjamin’s communities.
Verse MT 21:17 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:17
They said, “There must be an inheritance for Benjamin’s survivors, so that a tribe may not be blotted out from Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:17
They said, “An inheritance is preserved for Benjamin, and a tribe shall certainly not be blotted out from Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew’s compressed phrase is taken as inheritance for survivors; Greek explicitly describes an inheritance preserved and strengthens the ensuing negative.
Verse MT 21:18 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:18
But we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the sons of Israel have sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:18
But we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for we, the sons of Israel, have sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek makes the speakers’ participation in the oath explicit with we.
Verse MT 21:19 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:19
They said, “Look, there is a feast of YHWH at Shiloh year after year. It is north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:19
They said, “There is a feast for the Lord at Shiloh year after year. It is north of Bethel, toward the sunrise on the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebanon, of Lebona.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew places Shiloh east of the highway and south of Lebonah. The displayed Greek has on the road and the unusual double geographical wording Lebanon, of Lebona; the latter is preserved provisionally without identifying it with the distant mountain range.
Verse MT 21:20 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:20
They commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:20
They commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, “Go over and lie in ambush in the vineyards.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both command an ambush in the vineyards.
Verse MT 21:21 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:21
Watch, and when the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, come out of the vineyards and seize for yourselves, each man his wife, from the daughters of Shiloh. Then go to the land of Benjamin.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:21
Watch, and when the daughters of the inhabitants of Shiloh come out in Shiloh to dance in the dances, come out of the vineyards and seize, each man for himself, a wife from the daughters of Shiloh. Then go to the land of Benjamin.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek expands the identification and location of the dancers. Both explicitly command seizure, not an agreement to marry.
Verse MT 21:22 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:22
When their fathers or brothers come to contend with us, we shall say to them, ‘Grant us favor concerning them, for we did not take a wife for each man in the war. You did not give the women to them; otherwise you would now incur guilt.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:22
When their fathers or brothers come to dispute with you, we shall say to them, ‘Have mercy on them, for they did not each take a wife in the war. For you have not given the women to them; at that time you committed an offense.’”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The difficult argument remains provisional. Hebrew has contend with us and we did not take; Greek has with you and they did not take. Hebrew’s final clause is rendered as the oath’s hypothetical liability, while the displayed Greek has an affirmative past-tense offense. No negative has been supplied to the Greek.
Verse MT 21:23 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:23
The sons of Benjamin did so and carried off wives according to their number from the dancers whom they seized. They went and returned to their inheritance, rebuilt the cities, and lived in them.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:23
The sons of Benjamin did so and took wives according to their number from the dancers whom they snatched away. They went and returned to their inheritance, built cities for themselves, and lived in them.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both describe the women as seized. Hebrew refers to rebuilding the cities; Greek says they built cities for themselves.
21:24–25 | Return to the inheritances; the book’s final refrain
Verse MT 21:24 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:24
The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, each to his tribe and his clan. They went out from there, each to his inheritance.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:24
The sons of Israel went away from there at that time, each to his tribe and his kindred. They departed from there, each to his inheritance.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both preserve the twofold departure notice and the return to tribe, family, and inheritance.
Verse MT 21:25 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The book ends in both texts with the absence of a king and conduct governed by each person’s own judgment.
Saints: Editorial canonical connection: Mark 10:42–45 places rule under the demand of service, culminating in the Son of Man’s self-giving. This offers a Christian response to the final refrain; it is not an ancient lectionary claim.
Sources, Method & Decisions
Version 2 • 11 September 2026. Final review: all declared Hebrew and Greek running texts, both translations, existing notes, cited reception passages, and three published liturgical selections were personally reviewed. Historical V1 access is distinguished below where a source was unavailable in this review. No manuscript image, Göttingen apparatus, or full critical apparatus was collated.
The translation process and its limits
The work proceeded through independent Hebrew and Greek drafts, subject and verse alignment, comparison classification, attributed reception, consistent terminology, and complete-book structural review. Coverage checks account for every declared source unit once. Page rendering verifies the document’s layout; it does not certify disputed lexical judgments or establish an original text.
English is newly drafted for this volume from the declared ancient-language texts. Existing Saints Translation manuscripts and the updated reference document supply editorial conventions, not replacement base texts. Modern English versions printed beside ancient texts or in lectionary pages were not copied as the translation. Brief modern reception paraphrases identify their sources.
Source register
[H] Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph; fifth corrected edition, Adrian Schenker, 1997. German Bible Society publisher web running text: Judges 1–21, personally reviewed on 11 September 2026, including all forty verses of chapter 11. The full critical apparatus was not collated. Direct chapter links follow. Source
[H-S] Mechon Mamre, pointed Masoretic Hebrew, Judges 11:1–40. This was the explicitly provisional chapter 11 base in V1. All forty verses have now been compared with the preferred BHS running text; no translation change was required by that substitution check. The Hebrew qere at 11:37 was also checked here. Source
[G] Septuaginta, Alfred Rahlfs, revised by Robert Hanhart, second revised edition, 2006. German Bible Society publisher web running text: Judges 1–21, personally reviewed on 11 September 2026. Its declared displayed A-form readings continue to govern the Greek column. Alternative B-form and full apparatus collation remain outside this review. Source
[I] Philip E. Satterthwaite, “To the Reader of Judges,” in A New English Translation of the Septuagint, 2007; corrected electronic Judges file, 2009, pp. 195–200. V1 records consultation of the introduction for A/B background and selected English readings for orientation, not as a translation base. The PDF could not be retrieved during the final review; no fresh NETS collation is claimed. Source
[R4] Rashi on Judges 4:4–5, Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi, Chabad.org. Selected commentary read in its Hebrew and English presentation; English translation credited on the site to Judaica Press. Source
[R6] Rashi on Judges 6:8, 13, 19, Chabad.org. Selected commentary read; reception paraphrases only. Source
[R11] Rashi on Judges 11:37, 39–40, Chabad.org. Selected commentary read; the interpretation of the vow is attributed to Rashi. Source
[R13] Rashi on Judges 13:18, Chabad.org. Commentary on the name read; the same page also displays the written/read distinction at 13:17. Source
[R18] Rashi on Judges 18:30, Chabad.org. Suspended-nun explanation read; no manuscript image was examined. Source
[A1] Ambrose, On the Holy Spirit, Book I, opening address/preface §§1–5, 11–12. H. de Romestin, E. de Romestin, and H. T. F. Duckworth translation, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 10 (1896), New Advent transcription. Source
[A2] Ambrose, On the Holy Spirit, Book II, Introduction §§5–16, same NPNF translation, New Advent. These paragraphs precede Chapter 1, which begins at §17. Source
[NT] Hebrews 11:32–40 directly remembers Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. V1 records a check of the German Bible Society NA28 page, which was unavailable during this final review. The passage was now read in the official SBLGNT text and the USCCB presentation. Other New Testament headings remain expressly editorial canonical associations. V1 source
[NT-current] SBL Greek New Testament, Michael W. Holmes, 2010, official plain-text release: Hebrews 11:32–40 and the stated editorial New Testament associations were checked in context. Source
[L1] USCCB daily readings, 20 August 2025, Memorial of Saint Bernard, Lectionary 421: Judges 9:6–15; Gospel Matthew 20:1–16. Exact selections verified; no modern lectionary translation reproduced. Source
[L2] USCCB daily readings, 21 August 2025, Memorial of Saint Pius X, Lectionary 422: Judges 11:29–39a; Gospel Matthew 22:1–14. Exact selections verified. Source
[L3] USCCB daily readings, 19 December 2025, Friday of the Third Week of Advent, Lectionary 195: Judges 13:2–7, 24–25a; Gospel Luke 1:5–25. Exact selections verified. Source
[Q7] Mechon Mamre, Judges 7:21, written/read check for fled. This targeted check is not a replacement base for chapter 7. Source
[Q16] Mechon Mamre, Judges 16:18, written her / read me in Delilah’s speech. Targeted Hebrew qere check. Source
[Q19] Mechon Mamre, Judges 19:3, written masculine suffix / read feminine suffix in bring her back. Targeted Hebrew qere check. Source
[X1] Liddell–Scott–Jones, Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. phlox, sense 3: blade, with Judges 3:22 expressly cited. The coordinating reviewer directly checked the LSJ section reproduced by StudyLight on 11 September 2026; its unrelated Strong/Mounce headings and malformed automatic links are not the authority. Source
[X2] Liddell–Scott–Jones, Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. traumatias, sense II: a person slain; Judges 16:24 is expressly cited. Scaife ATLAS primary lexicon presentation personally checked on 11 September 2026. Source
Direct chapter access for the base texts
BHS publisher presentation [H]: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21
Rahlfs–Hanhart publisher presentation [G]: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21
Historical Mechon Mamre base [H-S]: Judges 11
Apostolic references are cited by biblical book, chapter, and verse in the headings and notes. Direct reception of Judges is distinguished from thematic connections to other New Testament passages. No new New Testament translation or New Testament apparatus review is claimed.
Numbering and source alignment
Navigation follows Judges 1–21. The declared Hebrew source contains 618 verses and the Greek publisher presentation contains 618 numbered verses. All appear once in the comparison. Both preserve the same chapter sequence; unequal material is accounted for within the corresponding verse rows.
Location | Relationship | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
3:30 and 4:1 | The Greek includes Ehud’s judging and death at 3:30; Hebrew mentions his death at 4:1. | Both remain at their source locations, with cross-referenced notes. No extra verse is invented. |
5:10–11 | The Greek command to speak continues into verse 11. | Read the two Greek rows together; all words remain in their numbered verse. |
16:13–14 | The Greek expands the weaving instruction and its execution. | The additional clauses remain within Greek 16:13–14; Hebrew receives no invented counterpart. |
17:10–11; 20:15–16 | Greek sentences continue across verse boundaries. | The English remains grammatically continuous across the separate rows. |
19:28, 30 | Greek expressly states the woman’s death and expands the emissaries’ instructions. | The additional material remains in the Greek cells, with Divergent notes. |
21:14, 22 | The source readings differ in outcome and in the difficult argument about the oath. | Both are independently translated; the unresolved syntax of 21:22 is marked provisional. |
Source-unit counts establish coverage and uniqueness, not certainty in every lexical choice. MT labels identify the Hebrew numbering, now checked throughout against BHS; LXX labels identify the selected Greek presentation, not every Septuagint manuscript.
Contextual term record
The table records decisions in this Judges volume, not universal Hebrew–Greek equivalences. The supporting evidence is the declared running text at the cited passages; reception sources are used only where identified. Transliteration here is a reading aid, not a formal critical transliteration system.
Term or source expression | English rendering | Context and reason |
|---|---|---|
YHWH / kyrios | YHWH / Lord | Divine names follow each source. God is retained where the source says God. Clear divine pronouns are capitalized; uncertain messenger references do not receive a doctrinal identification through typography. |
shophet / kritēs; yashaʿ / sōzō | Judge; save, deliver; deliverer / savior | A judge may lead militarily as well as adjudicate. Source-specific saving agents remain explicit, especially 2:16 and 3:9. Savior does not automatically identify Jesus. |
ʿeved / doulos | Servant / slave, contextually | Joshua’s divine-service title at 2:8 uses servant in both columns; Greek doulos does not require a changed civil status. At 19:19 Greek doulē is deferential maidservant. Other service nouns follow their own contexts. |
Pelishtim / allophyloi | Philistines / foreigners | Foreigners identifies the Philistine population in these contexts. It is the selected Greek ethnonym, not a new group inferred by the translator. |
sar / satrapēs; satrapeia | Ruler or commander / satrap; satrapy | Greek sometimes names a district or collective satrapy rather than an individual ruler (3:3; 16:18). Those unusual shifts are retained and noted. |
mas / phoros | Forced labor / tribute | The two expressions remain distinct in the settlement notices of chapter 1. The note concerns this context and does not impose a universal social or monetary equivalence. |
gulloth / lytrōsis | Springs / redemption | At 1:15 the Greek’s unexpected release/redemption noun is retained provisionally rather than silently made into springs. |
gomed / spithamē | Gomed / span | The rare Hebrew length in 3:16 receives no fixed modern conversion; Greek explicitly has a span. |
ʾitter yad-yamin / amphoterodexios | Restricted in the right hand / skilled with both hands | At 3:15 and 20:16 the Hebrew idiom is conventionally left-handedness; the Greek explicitly describes ambidexterity. |
perazon; phrazōn; mosphathaim; Amadarōth | Village life; borrowed Greek forms retained | Judges 5 contains exceptional poetic difficulties. Phrazōn, mosphathaim, and Amadarōth are provisional source-based transliterations; their presence is a declared unresolved reading, not omitted translation work concealed as certainty. |
ephod / ephoud; teraphim / theraphin | Ephod; teraphim | The Greek borrows these cultic terms. Familiar English spelling is used for corresponding objects; the object’s exact form is not reconstructed from the name alone. |
Silver or gold without a denomination | Pieces of silver; one thousand seven hundred in gold | No shekel is inserted into the main text where the selected source leaves the unit implicit. Greek 8:26 explicitly supplies shekels; Hebrew does not. |
ḥerem-related verbs / anathematizō | Devote to destruction / put under the ban | The destructive purpose is explicit in 1:17 and 21:10–11. Greek ban terminology is not reduced to a nonlethal verbal curse. |
ʿolah and shelamim / holokautōmata sōtēriou | Burnt offerings and peace offerings / whole burnt offerings of deliverance | At 20:26 and 21:4 the displayed Greek has a compressed genitive phrase. It is preserved provisionally rather than supplied with the Hebrew conjunction. |
naḥam / parakaleō | Relent, grieve; be moved or be comforted | Context governs these broad verbs. At 2:18 the divine response is rendered was moved in Greek; at 21:6, 15 its literal consolation wording is displayed and its awkward contextual force noted. |
Lehi / siagōn | Lehi / jawbone | Chapter 15 plays on the jawbone and place-name. Each column preserves its own naming, object, and water-source expressions. |
Shibboleth / Sibboleth | Shibboleth / Sibboleth; Greek Password | At 12:6 the Hebrew pronunciation contrast is preserved. The selected Greek uses synthēma, password, and reports failure to speak in that way without reproducing Sibboleth. |
to this day | To this day | A narrator’s temporal marker, not a claim about conditions in 2026. Ancient durations and casualty counts are preserved without a reconstructed harmonized chronology. |
phlox | Blade (3:22) | LSJ expressly cites this verse for the blade sense [X1]. This contextual rendering does not replace flame elsewhere. |
moschos | Bull (6:25–28) | The animal is seven years old. Greek fattened and Hebrew second remain distinct; the young-animal rendering at 6:4 is not changed globally. |
traumatias | Slain (9:40; 16:24; 20:39) | A documented lexical sense in casualty contexts [X2], not a universal replacement of wounded. The attack produces the casualties. |
oligopsycheō | Grow weary (10:16; 16:16) | The Greek finite verb has distressed or fainthearted force; no independent spirit noun is inserted. |
machaira | Dagger (3:21–22); knife (19:29) | Context governs the weapon/tool term. Dismemberment does not require the distinct English sword. |
Material decisions and remaining questions
Greek Judges A and B. Judges circulates in substantially different Greek forms. The NETS introduction explains the A/B distinction [I]. This volume follows the publisher’s displayed running text, corresponding to A at diagnostic checks in chapters 1, 3, 5, and 21. It does not combine the more familiar wording of another Greek form with this base. A/B here refers to textual forms, not to direct collation of Codex Alexandrinus or Vaticanus.
Resolved provisional Hebrew substitute. V1 drafted Judges 11 from Mechon Mamre pointed Hebrew [H-S]. All forty verses have now been compared personally with the preferred BHS publisher presentation [H]; the substitution check required no English change. Historical provenance remains recorded, and no full apparatus review is implied.
Written and read forms. The rendering follows checked qere readings at 7:21, 11:37, 13:17, 16:18, and 19:3. Notes or source declarations identify the relevant presentation. The suspended nun at 18:30 is treated in attributed reception; the selected main text is not silently changed to Moses.
Familiar and differing names. Othniel, Kenaz, Ehud, Shamgar, Eglon, Laish, and other secure identities use familiar English spelling in both columns. Greek Eglom is represented by Eglon; Laisa/Lais names the city Laish. Potentially substantive Greek forms remain visible, particularly Kariatharboksepher, Rechab, Jobab, Ephrathah, and uncertain poetic or geographical forms.
Agency and negatives. The negative at Greek 1:18, Judah rather than YHWH at 1:22, Joshua rather than YHWH at 3:1, and Eglon as returning subject at 3:19 are retained. The comparison categories reflect their narrative consequences.
Difficult poetry. Chapter 5 preserves parallel lines where the English permits and retains conspicuous Hebrew–Greek differences. Its uncertain lexical and syntactical decisions are marked locally. No conjectural ancient wording was inserted into either column.
Vows and victims. Jephthah’s vow remains a burnt-offering vow, and the daughter’s fate is not rewritten into an unmentioned institution. Rashi’s criticism is attributed. The violence against the concubine, the narrator’s and husband’s differing presentations, and the seizure of women in chapter 21 are preserved without euphemistic removal.
Death and testimony in chapter 19. Greek 19:28 expressly states that the woman had died before transport. Hebrew says she did not answer there; the narrator calls her murdered at 20:4, followed by the husband’s report in 20:5. The note does not claim that 20:5 is the first Hebrew statement of death.
Numbers and inherited tensions. The forty/fifty years at 3:11, the twenty-six/twenty-five thousand at 20:15, and the twenty-five thousand one hundred / twenty-five thousand within chapter 20 remain as given. Row counts do not count one sustained contrast repeatedly as independent manuscript evidence.
Reception and headings. Selected Rashi and Ambrose passages are attributed and sourced; apostolic remembrance is distinguished from editorial canonical associations. Three published Roman selections are verified. Other complete reading units are editorial proposals; their Christ-centered titles do not claim calendar authority.
Classification. Each row receives one governing category under the updated framework. Same allows corresponding idiom; Similar notes modest expression; Different marks meaningful detail; Divergent marks added or absent material; Disparate marks major meaning or consequence. Provisional lexical judgments remain provisional even when classified.
Version and future review. V2 records the completed final editorial review of the full declared running texts, translations, existing notes, and cited reception. Difficult readings remain explicitly provisional. No external scholarly approval, manuscript collation, or full critical-apparatus review is claimed.
Remaining review questions
1. Consult the relevant critical apparatus for written/read forms and textual variants. The previously outstanding running-text comparison of BHS chapter 11 is complete.
2. Compare the publisher’s entire Judges text with the printed Rahlfs–Hanhart A and B forms and the appropriate critical apparatus. The diagnostic A checks do not constitute that full collation.
3. Further assess the difficult clauses in 1:15, 19, 36; 3:2, 31; 17:3–4; and especially the poetry of 5:2, 7–16, 22, 26, 30. Retained borrowed forms and provisional glosses remain open. At 3:22 the blade sense of phlox has been resolved with lexical evidence; the rare Hebrew excretion clause remains provisional.
4. Review the ornaments of 8:26, the constructions at 18:18 and 20:33, 43, and the ritual expressions at 20:26 and 21:4 against additional primary lexical and textual evidence.
5. Review the visit/inspection wording at 21:3, consolation at 21:6, 15, double geography at 21:19, and difficult liability argument at 21:22. The last passage’s persons and tense remain source-specific.
6. Expand the attributed Jewish and Christian reception and verify additional liturgical traditions if the project requires them. This volume’s selective notes and three Roman selections are not an exhaustive history of interpretation or worship.
Classification totals and Disparate index
Totals count comparison rows. They are not percentages of disagreement between manuscripts, counts of unique variants, or a ranking of theological difference. The same sustained contrast may govern adjacent rows.
Category | Rows | Share of 618 comparison rows |
|---|---|---|
Same | 246 | 39.8% |
Similar | 134 | 21.7% |
Different | 152 | 24.6% |
Divergent | 64 | 10.4% |
Disparate | 22 | 3.6% |
Total | 618 | 100.0% |
Rows classified Disparate
This index gives the governing reason in the verse note. Follow the row to read both full translations and any qualifications. Several difficult lexical and syntactical judgments remain explicitly provisional.
Source reference(s) | Governing textual consequence |
|---|---|
MT 1:18 | Hebrew affirms capture of three cities; Greek denies possession and adds Ashdod. The opposite assertion is preserved rather than harmonized. |
MT 1:19 | Hebrew gives iron chariots as the obstacle; the selected Greek has Rechab as an agent who separated it. Greek syntax and the uncertain name are retained provisionally; they are not converted into the Hebrew military explanation. |
MT 1:22 | The accompanying party is YHWH in Hebrew and Judah in Greek, materially changing the statement’s agency. |
MT 3:1 | The one leaving the nations is YHWH in Hebrew and Joshua in Greek. |
MT 3:19 | Hebrew’s returning subject is Ehud; Greek explicitly names Eglon. The changed actor affects the narrative movement and is retained. |
MT 4:21 | Hebrew locates the blow at the temple and describes sleep and exhaustion; Greek locates it at the jaw and depicts convulsions between her knees. The physical account differs substantially. |
MT 5:6 | Roads cease in Hebrew, but kings cease in Greek; the opening description of disorder therefore differs substantially. |
MT 5:8 | Greek has barley bread where Hebrew describes warfare at the gates. Its elliptical covering-of-lances clause is difficult; the rendering preserves the wording without restoring the Hebrew question about shield and spear. |
MT 5:11 | The difficult Hebrew watering-place scene and righteous deeds for villagers differ from Greek musicians, rejoicing, and righteous people gaining strength. Hebrew meḥatsetsem has also been understood as archers; the adopted dividing sense remains provisional. |
MT 5:13 | Hebrew’s descent of the remnant and people becomes a question about strength and a prayer for humbling the stronger. The Hebrew verbal construction is difficult; descent is adopted provisionally. |
MT 5:14 | The source texts give substantially different descriptions of the tribes’ actions. The Greek’s compressed syntax, including from me and its final scepter phrase, is retained provisionally rather than conformed to the Hebrew military muster. |
MT 5:22 | Hebrew depicts pounding hoofs and galloping; Greek depicts severed heels and retains the uncertain form Amadarōth. The physical imagery differs markedly. |
MT 5:26 | Greek specifies the left hand, has an obscure cutting phrase in place of the mallet, and again has jaw rather than temple. The cutting phrase is provisional; its words have not been replaced with the Hebrew tool. |
MT 5:30 | Hebrew includes captive women, literally a womb, two wombs, in the imagined spoil. Greek instead has an obscure phrase about befriending friends. Both close with textiles, but Greek explicitly places a piece around his neck. The Hebrew final necks-of-spoil expression remains difficult. |
MT 6:32 | Hebrew gives Gideon a personal name with an explanation; Greek uses a neuter object and the designation Tribunal of Baal. The different naming assertion is not harmonized. |
MT 8:12 | The Hebrew outcome is panic throughout the camp; Greek asserts its destruction. |
MT 9:28 | Hebrew commands service to Hamor’s men; Greek describes Zebul and Hamor’s men as slaves. Greek also asks about the son of Shechem. The political assertion differs substantially. |
MT 15:19 | Hebrew is rendered as a hollow at the place Lehi; Greek expressly names the jawbone’s wound. The source of the water is depicted differently. En-hakkore means Spring of the Caller; Greek gives an invoked or called-upon spring designation. |
MT 18:7 | The difficult Hebrew clause is rendered as absence of oppression or coercive rule; Greek describes inability to speak. Hebrew anyone also differs from Greek Syria. The classification is provisional because the Hebrew clause’s syntax is disputed. |
MT 18:30 | Hebrew displays Manasseh; the selected Greek text has Moses, making the priest’s ancestry substantially different in significance. Greek also adds Micah’s name. The suspended Hebrew nun and Moses-related reception are discussed separately, without silently deleting a letter from the base text. |
MT 19:2 | Hebrew zanah attributes sexual unfaithfulness; Greek ōrgisthē attributes anger. The reason and moral characterization of her departure differ substantially. |
MT 21:14 | Hebrew closes with the failure to obtain enough women; Greek closes with their pleasure. Greek also specifies the return to Israel, while Hebrew expressly recalls that the women were kept alive. |
Version record
V1 • 7 September 2026. First complete Judges volume under the updated reference guide: independent source translations; all Hebrew verses and Greek numbered units accounted for; expanded Disparate criterion; Christ-centered heading hierarchy; three verified Roman lectionary selections; attributed reception; the Hebrew chapter substitution and open questions disclosed. Whole-book coverage and rendered layout checked. No external scholarly approval or critical apparatus review claimed.
V2 • 11 September 2026. Full final editorial review: all 618 Hebrew and 618 Greek units, 89 comparison blocks, both translations, and the existing textual and reception notes. Corrected source clause coverage, names, number and contextual vocabulary; updated notes, categories and terminology. BHS chapter 11 substitution check completed. Rashi, Ambrose and the three Roman selections verified at the cited locations; NETS and NA28 access limits distinguished from historical V1 consultation. The selected Greek A-form and unresolved readings remain explicit.