Footnotes

1. Judges 8:4 tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
2. Judges 8:5 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
3. Judges 8:5 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
4. Judges 8:5 tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
5. Judges 8:6 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
6. Judges 8:6 tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Sukkoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).sn The officials of Sukkoth are hesitant to give (or sell) food to Gideon’s forces because they are not sure of the outcome of the battle. Perhaps they had made an alliance with the Midianites which demanded their loyalty.
7. Judges 8:7 tn Heb “Therefore.”
8. Judges 8:7 sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.
9. Judges 8:7 tn Or “flesh.”
10. Judges 8:7 tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (ʾet, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.
11. Judges 8:8 tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”
12. Judges 8:8 tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Sukkoth answered.”
13. Judges 8:9 tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.
14. Judges 8:9 tn Heb “saying.”
15. Judges 8:9 tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”