Then Judah went up: Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction. “So” (New Jerusalem Bible) would also be appropriate in this context. The King James Version (King James Version) says “And” while some versions omit this word (Revised English Bible). Curiously, though Judah has joined together with Simeon and Simeon is historically the older brother, Judah alone is mentioned here. This goes counter Jewish culture and many cultures worldwide. But this is in keeping with the story line both at the beginning and end of this book, which puts the emphasis on the tribe of Judah. Contemporary English Version adds the word “Together,” but it is probably better to keep the focus of the Hebrew here.
For went up, see comments on verse 1.1, where the same Hebrew verb is rendered “go up,” with the meaning “attack.”
And the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: The LORD does exactly as he has promised and the Israelites are victorious. The waw conjunction rendered and signals the next event in the time line, even if the actor changes. In some languages a different verb than gave may be needed. In verse 1.2 the LORD gave “the land into his hand.” Here he is delivering Israel’s enemies into their hand. Though Judah is singular, the pronoun used here is the plural their, which could refer to Judah alone or to the combined tribes of Judah and Simeon. We could use plural pronouns throughout and still retain some emphasis on Judah by beginning this verse with “Then they went to battle, and the LORD gave Judah the victory over….”
For the Canaanites, see verse 1.1. The Perizzites are a small group that is part of the larger Canaanite group. They lived alongside the Canaanites at the time of Abram and Lot (Gen 13.7). The LORD promised their land to the Israelites in Gen 15.18-21. The Hebrew root p-r-z seems to refer to someone living in the countryside or an unwalled village, so most scholars think they lived in the wooded regions in Ephraim. However, others think their name is a deformation of the word for “Philistines.” It is important to remember that in English the suffix “-ite” designates an inhabitant of a place, so when transliterating this name, it is better to say “people of Periz,” “Periz inhabitants,” or “Periz-children.” The “-ite” suffix should not be a part of the transliterated name.
And they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek: The pronoun they refers to the two tribes of Judah and Simeon. The Hebrew verb rendered defeated (nakah) is literally “struck.” It is a key verb that also occurs in verse 1.5, 8, 10, 12, as well as throughout the rest of the book. This verb has many meanings in the Old Testament: “hit [on the cheek],” “hit with a slingshot,” or even “thrust through,” as with a fork. However, in this context it means “strike and kill.” Defeated may be too weak. New International Version says “struck down,” while New American Bible has “slew.” Translators should use a word that not only means “defeat” but implies that those defeated died.
The numeral ten thousand represents a huge number, probably a number that cannot be counted. In the book of Judges this number appears frequently (verse 3.29; verse 4.6, 10, 14; verse 7.3; verse 20.34), as one of many numbers that reoccur and seem to have some symbolic significance. Some Asian languages have parallel idioms in which 10,000 represents the highest number anyone can imagine. However, in many languages citing such a number might involve long, complicated expressions with very little significance. If so, translators may use an idiomatic expression, such as “so many they could not count,” “thousands and thousands,” or an appropriate ideophone. Instead of giving word equivalents, many versions use numerals (“10,000”), which are often much easier to read and understand. The Hebrew word for thousand has another meaning, referring to a military unit. Thus it is possible that this phrase refers rather to “ten military units” or “ten companies of soldiers.” However, it seems in this context that the focus is on the vast number of the enemy soldiers who were killed, and most versions maintain the figure here. Ten thousand of them is literally “ten thousand men” (Good News Translation), which probably refers to fighting men or soldiers. Contemporary English Version says “an army of ten thousand.”
The location of the city of Bezek is uncertain. In verse 1 Sam 11.8 Saul leads the people to battle at Bezek, but it is not certain that these two cities are the same. If necessary, Bezek can be identified as a place name by saying “the town of Bezek.”
Some translation models for this verse are:
• So Judah went into battle against the Canaanites and Perizzites and Yahweh gave Judah the victory over them. They defeated ten thousand of their enemies at a place called Bezek.
• Then Judah attacked the people living in Canaan and Periz. The LORD helped Judah strike down 10,000 men at the town of Bezek.
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 .