And afterward renders an important time marker in Hebrew, here signaling a lapse in time between the siege of Jerusalem and the next military campaign. If possible, translators should find an appropriate term that is stronger than “And” or “Then” (Revised English Bible). We might say “[Some time] later” or “After a while.”

The men of Judah is literally “the sons/children of Judah,” as in verse 1.8. If this verse and the next one are grouped together with 1.8, a pronoun can replace this noun phrase. As elsewhere, though warriors from Simeon seem to be present (verse 1.3), the narrator continues to put the emphasis on Judah, and translators should respect this style.

Went down to fight against the Canaanites: Here the verb went down (yarad in Hebrew) is used in the same way as the verb “go up” in verse 1.1, that is, referring to going into battle. However, since Jerusalem is set in the mountains, it is possible there is a directional meaning as well. We might say they “went [out] to fight.” For the Canaanites, see verse 1.1. This is a kind of cover term for the various tribal groups who lived in the land of Canaan.

Who dwelt in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland: The Canaanites were spread out all over the region. Dwelt renders a very important Hebrew root y-sh-b, meaning “inhabit,” “live,” or “dwell.” Here it seems to refer to permanent residency or occupation of the land. As will be seen (verse 2.3), the Canaanite presence in the Promised Land is the principal problem facing the Israelites. This verb is repeated again and again throughout this section, emphasizing the enemy’s presence and the Israelites’ incapacity to drive them out from the land they are supposed to conquer.

The hill country (literally “the mountain”) refers to the central range of mountains extending from Shechem, south through Jerusalem and Hebron. Later in this verse reference is made to the lowland or an area of small rolling hills. It may be necessary to use a word like “mountains” here, reserving the word “hills” for the lowland. In some languages this kind of terrain is not known, so translators may need to contrast “big hills” and “small hills” or “high land” and “low land.”

The Negeb, meaning “the south,” refers to the desert or very dry area in the southern part of Canaan. However, many versions keep the transliteration Negeb in the text, since this is the name of the region to this day. Though it might be possible to render the word as “the south,” the proper name Negeb evokes a hot, dry, and inhospitable place. So translators might decide to make this explicit by saying “the Negeb, the dry area in the south of the country,” “the southern desert,” or “the dry lands to the south.” Good News Translation has “the dry country to the south,” which is a good model to follow.

Many languages have difficulty identifying directions or compass points. East and west are less troublesome than north and south, since they are often described with reference to the rising and setting of the sun. For example, English pidgin languages have words like “sunkumup” and “sungodan.” However, north and south pose more of a problem, especially in some island communities where directions are given only in reference to the sea. The Old Testament makes reference to all points of the compass, so translators will need to take the time to identify the vocabulary needed to express these notions.

The lowland is an area located to the west of the Jerusalem-Hebron line, leading down to the coastal plain. Clouds coming in from the west provide it with good amounts of rain, and so it is very good farming land, which attracted a large population. Additionally, the major roads from the coast passed through the valleys of this region to reach the hills, including the ancient highway from Egypt to Mesopotamia. Thus the area was prime land and greatly valued. Though some older versions, as well as Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, transliterate the Hebrew word shefelah here (which comes from the root meaning “be low”), most versions speak of “foothills to/in the west.” If the word “foothill” does not exist, a descriptive phrase can be used. Indeed, for all three areas we might say “the region of the high mountains, the region of the small mountains, and the dry desert to the south.” (The order here has been switched because, in English, it seems more logical to group the mountainous regions together before mentioning the desert.)

Translators are encouraged to provide a map that can be printed within the book of Judges. This will go a long way in helping readers understand the many geographical references in this book.

Some possible translation models for this verse are:

• After a while, the men of Judah went out to wage war against the Canaanites living in the mountains. They also fought against those living in the small hill area to the west and in the Negev Desert to the south.

• Sometime later, the people of Judah went to fight against the people of Canaan living in the region of mountains, those in the Southern Desert, and those in the low hills to the west.

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 .