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11 (A)the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served the Baals,[a] 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the one who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them, and provoked the Lord.

13 Because they had abandoned the Lord and served Baal and the Astartes,[b] 14 the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel, and he delivered them into the power of plunderers who despoiled them. He sold them into the power of the enemies around them, and they were no longer able to withstand their enemies.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:11 The Baals: the title “Baal,” meaning “lord” or “master,” belonged to a large number of Canaanite, Phoenician, and Syrian deities, including especially the great storm god Hadad Baal, widely revered as lord of the earth. The plural form, which occurs here, was used by the biblical writers to refer to foreign gods in general.
  2. 2:13 The Astartes: Ashtoreth, or Astarte, was an important Canaanite and Phoenician goddess. The plural form used here probably refers to foreign goddesses in general.

II. Stories of the Judges

Othniel. (A)Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; they forgot the Lord, their God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs,[a] and the anger of the Lord flared up against them. He sold them into the power of Cushan-rishathaim,[b] king of Aram Naharaim; and the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:7 The Asherahs: Asherah was an important goddess, whose presence in the cult was represented by a wooden pole, also called an “asherah”; see notes on Ex 34:13 and Dt 7:5. Here the plural is used to refer to goddesses in general.
  2. 3:8 Cushan-rishathaim: this king is not known from other biblical or extrabiblical sources. His title, “king of Aram Naharaim,” indicates that he was a Mesopotamian ruler.

Ehud. 12 Again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so he strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel because they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

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Chapter 4

Deborah and Barak. (A)The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; Ehud was dead. So the Lord sold them into the power of the Canaanite king, Jabin, who reigned in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim.(B)

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Chapter 6

The Call of Gideon. The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven years,

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Chapter 13

The Birth of Samson. (A)The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, who therefore delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years.

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