There is a change in scene here, perhaps warranting a new paragraph. However, there is no full noun subject, such as “Judah” or “the men of Judah,” so another possibility is to link this verse directly to what precedes.

From there they went against is literally “And he went from there against.” The singular “he” refers collectively to the men of Judah. From there assumes Hebron as their point of departure. For went against, see verse 1.10.

The inhabitants of Debir: Inhabitants renders a Hebrew participle of a verb meaning “reside” or “dwell” (see verse 1.9). Debir was a walled town located to the southwest of. The attack on Hebron involved a military conquest in the higher mountains, while Debir represents their advance into the lower regions or foothills.

The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher: Like Hebron, Debir also had an earlier name. The name Debir seems derived from the Hebrew root d-b-r, meaning “word” or “to speak,” while its former name Kiriath-sepher seems related, meaning “the town of [the] book.” These names probably indicate the town was an important cultural center. Like Hebron, its capture was significant enough to be recorded here. This time Revised Standard Version does not put the historical note in parentheses. Translators should use the strategies of their own language to present such comments, but probably the related comments should be treated in the same way. For formerly see verse 1.10.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .