In the days of … in the days of …: This repetition imitates the Hebrew rhythmic lines that set the time frame for the lines to follow. If at all possible, translators should try to imitate this style. While in Hebrew narrative such clauses are introduced by the waw conjunction, in this poetic context it is absent. In the days of renders the Hebrew literally. If this expression is not acceptable, translators could say “In the time of” or “In the life of.”

Shamgar, son of Anath was the deliverer appearing after Ehud and before Deborah (see verse 3.31). He was one of the leaders who served as a model judge who accomplished positive acts and appeared to have no moral fault. He thus appears here with Jael, another hero who represents courage and victory. Son of Anath provides the ancestry of Shamgar, as would be expected in any epic-like poem. Translators need to find a way of placing this information in the poem without breaking the rhythm. Contemporary English Version provides a good model here:

In the time of Shamgar,
son of Anath,
and now again in Jael’s time….

The phrase in the days of Jael has caused much discussion since it introduces Jael before Deborah. Thus scholars have suggested various ways to change the text to remove this name. One has suggested reading “Jair” in place of Jael, while others have suggested reading Hebrew words meaning “an age,” “eternity,” or even “yoke.” However, there is no reason at all to make these changes. In this song all the heroes are already well known. So this phrase should be rendered as it stands in the Masoretic Text.

Caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways: Because of the political situation, trade and communication from one region to another was interrupted. There is much repetition in these lines, which are literally “the roads ceased, and those who walked the paths walked winding roads.” The Hebrew noun for “road” occurs twice and so does the verb meaning “walk.” The feminine plural marker (-ot in Hebrew) occurs four times with the o sound perhaps evoking the emptiness in the land.

Caravans (literally “the roads”) refers to the groups of camels and donkeys that crossed the land carrying goods from one place to another. Generally these caravans followed fixed routes and consisted of a large number of people and beasts traveling together for mutual protection. The word caravans may not be easy to render in some languages. In some places “trains” or “camel trains” can be used. New American Bible speaks of “slavery caravans,” but there is no reason to believe this kind of commerce was involved. Saying the caravans ceased means that it was too dangerous for people to move about safely. Normal trading had come to a halt. Caravans stopped going to and fro. New Jerusalem Bible says “there were no more caravans.” In many languages where the word caravan does not exist, it will be easier to explain what happened, for example, “people could no longer travel [because of the dangers]” or “trading stopped [since all the main roads were dangerous].” New International Version has “the roads were abandoned.” Contemporary English Version gives a good dynamic model, saying “roads were too dangerous for caravans.” Translators should avoid giving long explanations, but try to evoke the ideas presented. It must be remembered that this is a poem, not a historical description.

And travelers kept to the byways: The main roads were very dangerous, so travelers took smaller roads to avoid thieves and enemies. When the Israelites needed to travel, they deliberately chose the lesser-used paths and avoided the main routes. Travelers renders a very poetic expression in Hebrew, which is “those who walked the paths.” Kept to (literally “walked”) may be rendered “took” or “traveled only on.” Byways is literally “winding roads,” referring to the shortcuts or smaller paths. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version call these paths “back roads.” The Hebrew verb for “winding” (ʿaqalqallot) comes from a root meaning “go around an obstacle” and even sounds like something winding. Taking winding roads probably meant taking roads through the mountains. These trips were long and difficult. Also, if the travelers were met by bandits, there would be no way to escape. It is clear the Israelites suffered greatly during these times.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• “During the time of Shamgar, son of Anath,
and during the time of Jael,
caravans stopped crossing the land,
and travelers used only side roads.

• “During the time of Shamgar,*
during the time of Jael,
roads were too dangerous for people to travel,
and travelers had to take back roads.
* The Hebrew text has “Shamgar, son of Anath.”

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 .