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Selected Verse: Judges 10:6 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Jud 10:6	Strong Concordance	And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] again [03254] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baalim [01168], and Ashtaroth [06252], and the gods [0430] of Syria [0758], and the gods [0430] of Zidon [06721], and the gods [0430] of Moab [04124], and the gods [0430] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and the gods [0430] of the Philistines [06430], and forsook [05800] the LORD [03068], and served [05647] not him.
	King James	And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
ISRAEL OPPRESSED BY THE PHILISTINES AND AMMONITES. (Jdg 10:6-9) the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord--This apostasy seems to have exceeded every former one in the grossness and universality of the idolatry practised.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

ISRAEL OPPRESSED BY THE PHILISTINES AND AMMONITES. (Jdg 10:6-9)

the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord--This apostasy seems to have exceeded every former one in the grossness and universality of the idolatry practised.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
The gods of Syria - Or "Aram." In the times of the Judges the various tribes of Aramites, or Syrians, were not compacted into one state, nor were they until after the time of Solomon. The national gods of these various Aramean tribes were probably the same; and their worship would be likely to be introduced into the trans-Jordanic tribes. It has been remarked that the Hebrew words for "to divine," "to practice magic," "idolatrous priests," and other like words, are of Syrian origin. The Syriac ritual proved very attractive to king Ahaz Kg2 16:10-12. For the national gods of the Zidonians, Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines, see Kg1 11:5, Kg1 11:7,Kg1 11:33; Sa1 5:2-5.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The third stage in the period of the judges, which extended from the death of Jair to the rise of Samuel as a prophet, was a time of deep humiliation for Israel, since the Lord gave up His people into the hands of two hostile nations at the same time, on account of their repeated return to idolatry; so that the Ammonites invaded the land from the east, and oppressed the Israelites severely for eighteen years, especially the tribes to the east of the Jordan; whilst the Philistines came from the west, and extended their dominion over the tribes on this side, and brought them more and more firmly under their yoke. It is true that Jephthah delivered his people from the oppression of the Ammonites, in the power of the Spirit of Jehovah, having first of all secured the help of God through a vow, and not only smote the Ammonites, but completely subdued them before the Israelites. But the Philistine oppression lasted forty years; for although Samson inflicted heavy blows upon the Philistines again and again, and made them feel the superior power of the God of Israel, he was nevertheless not in condition to destroy their power and rule over Israel. This was left for Samuel to accomplish, after he had converted the people to the Lord their God. Israel's Renewed Apostasy and Consequent Punishment - Jdg 10:6-18 As the Israelites forsook the Lord their God again, and served the gods of the surrounding nations, the Lord gave them up to the power of the Philistines and Ammonites, and left them to groan for eighteen years under the severe oppression of the Ammonites, till they cried to Him in their distress, and He sent them deliverance through Jephthah, though not till He had first of all charged them with their sins, and they had put away the strange gods. This section forms the introduction, not only to the history of Jephthah (Judg 11:1-12:7) and the judges who followed him, viz., Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (Jdg 12:8-15), but also to the history of Samson, who began to deliver Israel out of the power of the Philistines (Judg 13-16). After the fact has been mentioned in the introduction (in Jdg 10:7), that Israel was given up into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites at the same time, the Ammonitish oppression, which lasted eighteen years, is more particularly described in Jdg 10:8, Jdg 10:9. This is followed by the reproof of the idolatrous Israelites on the part of God (Jdg 10:10-16); and lastly, the history of Jephthah is introduced in Jdg 10:17, Jdg 10:18, the fuller account being given in Judg 11. Jephthah, who judged Israel for six years after the conquest and humiliation of the Ammonites (Jdg 12:7), was followed by the judges Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, who judged Israel for seven, ten, and eight years respectively, that is to say, for twenty-five years in all; so that Abdon died forty-nine years (18 + 6 + 25) after the commencement of the Ammonitish oppression, i.e., nine years after the termination of the forty years' rule of the Philistines over Israel, which is described more particularly in Jdg 13:1, for the purpose of introducing the history of Samson, who judged Israel twenty years under that rule (Jdg 15:20; Jdg 16:31), without bringing it to a close, or even surviving it. It was only terminated by the victory which Israel achieved under Samuel at Ebenezer, as described in 1 Sam 7. Jdg 10:6-8 In the account of the renewed apostasy of the Israelites from the Lord contained in Jdg 10:6, seven heathen deities are mentioned as being served by the Israelites: viz., in addition to the Canaanitish Baals and Astartes (see at Jdg 2:11, Jdg 2:13), the gods of Aram, i.e., Syria, who are never mentioned by name; of Sidon, i.e., according to Kg1 11:5, principally the Sidonian or Phoenician Astarte; of the Moabites, i.e., Chemosh (Kg1 11:33), the principal deity of that people, which was related to Moloch (see at Num 21:29); of the Ammonites, i.e., Milcom (Kg1 11:5, Kg1 11:33) (see at Jdg 16:23). If we compare the list of these seven deities with Jdg 10:11 and Jdg 10:12, where we find seven nations mentioned out of whose hands Jehovah had delivered Israel, the correspondence between the number seven in these two cases and the significant use of the number are unmistakeable. Israel had balanced the number of divine deliverances by a similar number of idols which it served, so that the measure of the nation's iniquity was filled up in the same proportion as the measure of the delivering grace of God. The number seven is employed in the Scriptures as the stamp of the works of God, or of the perfection created, or to be created, by God on the one hand, and of the actions of men in their relation to God on the other. The foundation for this was the creation of the world in seven days. - On Jdg 10:7, see Jdg 2:13-14. The Ammonites are mentioned after the Philistines, not because they did not oppress the Israelites till afterwards, but for purely formal reasons, viz., because the historian was about to describe the oppression of the Ammonites first. In Jdg 10:8, the subject is the "children of Ammon," as we may see very clearly from Jdg 10:9. "They (the Ammonites) ground and crushed the Israelites in the same year," i.e., the year in which God sold the Israelites into their hands, or in which they invaded the land of Israel. רעץ and רצץ are synonymous, and are simply joined together for the sake of emphasis, whilst the latter calls to mind Deu 28:33. The duration of this oppression is then added: "Eighteen years (they crushed) all the Israelites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites," i.e., of the two Amoritish kings Sihon and Og, who (dwelt) in Gilead. Gilead, being a more precise epithet for the land of the Amorites, is used here in a wider sense to denote the whole of the country on the east of the Jordan, so far as it had been taken from the Amorites and occupied by the Israelites (as in Num 32:29; Deu 34:1 : see at Jos 22:9). Jdg 10:9 They also crossed the Jordan, and made war even upon Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim (the families of the tribe of Ephraim), by which Israel was brought into great distress. ותּצר, as in Jdg 2:15. Jdg 10:10-12 When the Israelites cried in their distress to the Lord, "We have sinned against Thee, namely, that we have forsaken our God and served the Baals," the Lord first of all reminded them of the manifestations of His grace (Jdg 10:11, Jdg 10:12), and then pointed out to them their faithless apostasy and the worthlessness of their idols (Jdg 10:13, Jdg 10:14). וכי, "and indeed that," describes the sin more minutely, and there is no necessity to remove it from the text-an act which is neither warranted by its absence from several MSS nor by its omission from the Sept., the Syriac, and the Vulgate. Baalim is a general term used to denote all the false gods, as in Jdg 2:11. This answer on the part of God to the prayer of the Israelites for help is not to be regarded as having been given through an extraordinary manifestation (theophany), or through the medium of a prophet, for that would certainly have been recorded; but it was evidently given in front of the tabernacle, where the people had called upon the Lord, and either came through the high priest, or else through an inward voice in which God spoke to the hearts of the people, i.e., through the voice of their own consciences, by which God recalled to their memories and impressed upon their hearts first of all His own gracious acts, and then their faithless apostasy. There is an anakolouthon in the words of God. The construction which is commenced with ממּצרים is dropped at וגו וצידונים in Jdg 10:12; and the verb הושׁעתּי, which answers to the beginning of the clause, is brought up afterwards in the form of an apodosis with אתכם ואושׁיעה. "Did I not deliver you (1) from the Egyptians (cf. Ex 1-14); (2) from the Amorites (cf. Num 21:3); (3) from the Ammonites (who oppressed Israel along with the Moabites in the time of Ehud, Jdg 3:12.); (4) from the Philistines (through Shamgar: see Sa1 12:9, where the Philistines are mentioned between Sisera and Moab); (5) from the Sidonians (among whom probably the northern Canaanites under Jabin are included, as Sidon, according to Jdg 18:7, Jdg 18:28, appears to have exercised a kind of principality or protectorate over the northern tribes of Canaan); (6) from the Amalekites (who attacked the Israelites even at Horeb, Exo 17:8., and afterwards invaded the land of Israel both with the Moabites, Jdg 3:13, and also with the Midianites, Jdg 6:3); and (7) from the Midianites?" (see Judg 6-7). The last is the reading of the lxx in Cod. Al. and Vat., viz., Μαδιάμ; whereas Ald. and Compl. read Χαναάν, also the Vulgate. In the Masoretic text, on the other hand, we have Maon. Were this the original and true reading, we might perhaps think of the Mehunim, who are mentioned in Ch2 26:7 along with Philistines and Arabians (cf. Ch1 4:41), and are supposed to have been inhabitants of the city of Maan on the Syrian pilgrim road to the east of Petra (Burckhardt, Syr. pp. 734 and 1035: see Ewald, Gesch. i. pp. 321, 322). But there is very little probability in this supposition, as we cannot possibly see how so small a people could have oppressed Israel so grievously at that time, that the deliverance from their oppression could be mentioned here; whilst it would be very strange that nothing should be said about the terrible oppression of the Midianites and the wonderful deliverance from that oppression effected by Gideon. Consequently the Septuagint (Μαδιάμ) appears to have preserve the original text. Jdg 10:13 Instead of thanking the Lord, however, for these deliverances by manifesting true devotedness to Him, Israel had forsaken Him and served other gods (see Jdg 2:13). Jdg 10:14-16 Therefore the Lord would not save them any more. They might get help from the gods whom they had chosen for themselves. The Israelites should now experience what Moses had foretold in his song (Deu 32:37-38). This divine threat had its proper effect. The Israelites confessed their sins, submitted thoroughly to the chastisement of God, and simply prayed for salvation; nor did they content themselves with merely promising, they put away the strange gods and served Jehovah, i.e., they devoted themselves again with sincerity to His service, and so were seriously converted to the living God. "Then was His (Jehovah's) soul impatient (תּקצר, as in Num 21:4) because of the troubles of Israel;" i.e., Jehovah could no longer look down upon the misery of Israel; He was obliged to help. The change in the purpose of God does not imply any changeableness in the divine nature; it simply concerns the attitude of God towards His people, or the manifestation of the divine love to man. In order to bend the sinner at all, the love of God must withdraw its helping hand and make men feel the consequences of their sin and rebelliousness, that they may forsake their evil ways and turn to the Lord their God. When this end has been attained, the same divine love manifests itself as pitying and helping grace. Punishments and benefits flow from the love of God, and have for their object the happiness and well-being of men. Jdg 10:17-18 These verses form the introduction to the account of the help and deliverance sent by God, and describe the preparation made by Israel to fight against its oppressors. The Ammonites "let themselves be called together," i.e., assembled together (הצּעק, as in Jdg 7:23), and encamped in Gilead, i.e., in that portion of Gilead of which they had taken possession. For the Israelites, i.e., the tribes to the east of the Jordan (according to Jdg 10:18 and Jdg 11:29), also assembled together in Gilead and encamped at mizpeh, i.e., Ramath-mizpeh or Ramoth in Gilead (Jos 13:26; Jos 20:8), probably on the site of the present Szalt (see at Deu 4:43, and the remarks in the Commentary on the Pentateuch, pp. 180f.), and resolved to look round for a man who could begin the war, and to make him the head over all the inhabitants of Gilead (the tribes of Israel dwelling in Perea). The "princes of Gilead" are in apposition to "the people." "The people, namely, the princes of Gilead," i.e., the heads of tribes and families of the Israelites to the east of the Jordan. "Head" is still further defined in Jdg 11:6, Jdg 11:11, as "captain," or "head and captain."

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The third stage in the period of the judges, which extended from the death of Jair to the rise of Samuel as a prophet, was a time of deep humiliation for Israel, since the Lord gave up His people into the hands of two hostile nations at the same time, on account of their repeated return to idolatry; so that the Ammonites invaded the land from the east, and oppressed the Israelites severely for eighteen years, especially the tribes to the east of the Jordan; whilst the Philistines came from the west, and extended their dominion over the tribes on this side, and brought them more and more firmly under their yoke. It is true that Jephthah delivered his people from the oppression of the Ammonites, in the power of the Spirit of Jehovah, having first of all secured the help of God through a vow, and not only smote the Ammonites, but completely subdued them before the Israelites. But the Philistine oppression lasted forty years; for although Samson inflicted heavy blows upon the Philistines again and again, and made them feel the superior power of the God of Israel, he was nevertheless not in condition to destroy their power and rule over Israel. This was left for Samuel to accomplish, after he had converted the people to the Lord their God.

Israel's Renewed Apostasy and Consequent Punishment - Jdg 10:6-18

As the Israelites forsook the Lord their God again, and served the gods of the surrounding nations, the Lord gave them up to the power of the Philistines and Ammonites, and left them to groan for eighteen years under the severe oppression of the Ammonites, till they cried to Him in their distress, and He sent them deliverance through Jephthah, though not till He had first of all charged them with their sins, and they had put away the strange gods. This section forms the introduction, not only to the history of Jephthah (Judg 11:1-12:7) and the judges who followed him, viz., Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (Jdg 12:8-15), but also to the history of Samson, who began to deliver Israel out of the power of the Philistines (Judg 13-16). After the fact has been mentioned in the introduction (in Jdg 10:7), that Israel was given up into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites at the same time, the Ammonitish oppression, which lasted eighteen years, is more particularly described in Jdg 10:8, Jdg 10:9. This is followed by the reproof of the idolatrous Israelites on the part of God (Jdg 10:10-16); and lastly, the history of Jephthah is introduced in Jdg 10:17, Jdg 10:18, the fuller account being given in Judg 11. Jephthah, who judged Israel for six years after the conquest and humiliation of the Ammonites (Jdg 12:7), was followed by the judges Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, who judged Israel for seven, ten, and eight years respectively, that is to say, for twenty-five years in all; so that Abdon died forty-nine years (18 + 6 + 25) after the commencement of the Ammonitish oppression, i.e., nine years after the termination of the forty years' rule of the Philistines over Israel, which is described more particularly in Jdg 13:1, for the purpose of introducing the history of Samson, who judged Israel twenty years under that rule (Jdg 15:20; Jdg 16:31), without bringing it to a close, or even surviving it. It was only terminated by the victory which Israel achieved under Samuel at Ebenezer, as described in 1 Sam 7.

Jdg 10:6-8

In the account of the renewed apostasy of the Israelites from the Lord contained in Jdg 10:6, seven heathen deities are mentioned as being served by the Israelites: viz., in addition to the Canaanitish Baals and Astartes (see at Jdg 2:11, Jdg 2:13), the gods of Aram, i.e., Syria, who are never mentioned by name; of Sidon, i.e., according to Kg1 11:5, principally the Sidonian or Phoenician Astarte; of the Moabites, i.e., Chemosh (Kg1 11:33), the principal deity of that people, which was related to Moloch (see at Num 21:29); of the Ammonites, i.e., Milcom (Kg1 11:5, Kg1 11:33) (see at Jdg 16:23). If we compare the list of these seven deities with Jdg 10:11 and Jdg 10:12, where we find seven nations mentioned out of whose hands Jehovah had delivered Israel, the correspondence between the number seven in these two cases and the significant use of the number are unmistakeable. Israel had balanced the number of divine deliverances by a similar number of idols which it served, so that the measure of the nation's iniquity was filled up in the same proportion as the measure of the delivering grace of God. The number seven is employed in the Scriptures as the stamp of the works of God, or of the perfection created, or to be created, by God on the one hand, and of the actions of men in their relation to God on the other. The foundation for this was the creation of the world in seven days. - On Jdg 10:7, see Jdg 2:13-14. The Ammonites are mentioned after the Philistines, not because they did not oppress the Israelites till afterwards, but for purely formal reasons, viz., because the historian was about to describe the oppression of the Ammonites first. In Jdg 10:8, the subject is the "children of Ammon," as we may see very clearly from Jdg 10:9. "They (the Ammonites) ground and crushed the Israelites in the same year," i.e., the year in which God sold the Israelites into their hands, or in which they invaded the land of Israel. רעץ and רצץ are synonymous, and are simply joined together for the sake of emphasis, whilst the latter calls to mind Deu 28:33. The duration of this oppression is then added: "Eighteen years (they crushed) all the Israelites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites," i.e., of the two Amoritish kings Sihon and Og, who (dwelt) in Gilead. Gilead, being a more precise epithet for the land of the Amorites, is used here in a wider sense to denote the whole of the country on the east of the Jordan, so far as it had been taken from the Amorites and occupied by the Israelites (as in Num 32:29; Deu 34:1 : see at Jos 22:9).

Jdg 10:9

They also crossed the Jordan, and made war even upon Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim (the families of the tribe of Ephraim), by which Israel was brought into great distress. ותּצר, as in Jdg 2:15.

Jdg 10:10-12

When the Israelites cried in their distress to the Lord, "We have sinned against Thee, namely, that we have forsaken our God and served the Baals," the Lord first of all reminded them of the manifestations of His grace (Jdg 10:11, Jdg 10:12), and then pointed out to them their faithless apostasy and the worthlessness of their idols (Jdg 10:13, Jdg 10:14). וכי, "and indeed that," describes the sin more minutely, and there is no necessity to remove it from the text-an act which is neither warranted by its absence from several MSS nor by its omission from the Sept., the Syriac, and the Vulgate. Baalim is a general term used to denote all the false gods, as in Jdg 2:11. This answer on the part of God to the prayer of the Israelites for help is not to be regarded as having been given through an extraordinary manifestation (theophany), or through the medium of a prophet, for that would certainly have been recorded; but it was evidently given in front of the tabernacle, where the people had called upon the Lord, and either came through the high priest, or else through an inward voice in which God spoke to the hearts of the people, i.e., through the voice of their own consciences, by which God recalled to their memories and impressed upon their hearts first of all His own gracious acts, and then their faithless apostasy. There is an anakolouthon in the words of God. The construction which is commenced with ממּצרים is dropped at וגו וצידונים in Jdg 10:12; and the verb הושׁעתּי, which answers to the beginning of the clause, is brought up afterwards in the form of an apodosis with אתכם ואושׁיעה. "Did I not deliver you (1) from the Egyptians (cf. Ex 1-14); (2) from the Amorites (cf. Num 21:3); (3) from the Ammonites (who oppressed Israel along with the Moabites in the time of Ehud, Jdg 3:12.); (4) from the Philistines (through Shamgar: see Sa1 12:9, where the Philistines are mentioned between Sisera and Moab); (5) from the Sidonians (among whom probably the northern Canaanites under Jabin are included, as Sidon, according to Jdg 18:7, Jdg 18:28, appears to have exercised a kind of principality or protectorate over the northern tribes of Canaan); (6) from the Amalekites (who attacked the Israelites even at Horeb, Exo 17:8., and afterwards invaded the land of Israel both with the Moabites, Jdg 3:13, and also with the Midianites, Jdg 6:3); and (7) from the Midianites?" (see Judg 6-7). The last is the reading of the lxx in Cod. Al. and Vat., viz., Μαδιάμ; whereas Ald. and Compl. read Χαναάν, also the Vulgate. In the Masoretic text, on the other hand, we have Maon. Were this the original and true reading, we might perhaps think of the Mehunim, who are mentioned in Ch2 26:7 along with Philistines and Arabians (cf. Ch1 4:41), and are supposed to have been inhabitants of the city of Maan on the Syrian pilgrim road to the east of Petra (Burckhardt, Syr. pp. 734 and 1035: see Ewald, Gesch. i. pp. 321, 322). But there is very little probability in this supposition, as we cannot possibly see how so small a people could have oppressed Israel so grievously at that time, that the deliverance from their oppression could be mentioned here; whilst it would be very strange that nothing should be said about the terrible oppression of the Midianites and the wonderful deliverance from that oppression effected by Gideon. Consequently the Septuagint (Μαδιάμ) appears to have preserve the original text.

Jdg 10:13

Instead of thanking the Lord, however, for these deliverances by manifesting true devotedness to Him, Israel had forsaken Him and served other gods (see Jdg 2:13).

Jdg 10:14-16

Therefore the Lord would not save them any more. They might get help from the gods whom they had chosen for themselves. The Israelites should now experience what Moses had foretold in his song (Deu 32:37-38). This divine threat had its proper effect. The Israelites confessed their sins, submitted thoroughly to the chastisement of God, and simply prayed for salvation; nor did they content themselves with merely promising, they put away the strange gods and served Jehovah, i.e., they devoted themselves again with sincerity to His service, and so were seriously converted to the living God. "Then was His (Jehovah's) soul impatient (תּקצר, as in Num 21:4) because of the troubles of Israel;" i.e., Jehovah could no longer look down upon the misery of Israel; He was obliged to help. The change in the purpose of God does not imply any changeableness in the divine nature; it simply concerns the attitude of God towards His people, or the manifestation of the divine love to man. In order to bend the sinner at all, the love of God must withdraw its helping hand and make men feel the consequences of their sin and rebelliousness, that they may forsake their evil ways and turn to the Lord their God. When this end has been attained, the same divine love manifests itself as pitying and helping grace. Punishments and benefits flow from the love of God, and have for their object the happiness and well-being of men.

Jdg 10:17-18

These verses form the introduction to the account of the help and deliverance sent by God, and describe the preparation made by Israel to fight against its oppressors. The Ammonites "let themselves be called together," i.e., assembled together (הצּעק, as in Jdg 7:23), and encamped in Gilead, i.e., in that portion of Gilead of which they had taken possession. For the Israelites, i.e., the tribes to the east of the Jordan (according to Jdg 10:18 and Jdg 11:29), also assembled together in Gilead and encamped at mizpeh, i.e., Ramath-mizpeh or Ramoth in Gilead (Jos 13:26; Jos 20:8), probably on the site of the present Szalt (see at Deu 4:43, and the remarks in the Commentary on the Pentateuch, pp. 180f.), and resolved to look round for a man who could begin the war, and to make him the head over all the inhabitants of Gilead (the tribes of Israel dwelling in Perea). The "princes of Gilead" are in apposition to "the people." "The people, namely, the princes of Gilead," i.e., the heads of tribes and families of the Israelites to the east of the Jordan. "Head" is still further defined in Jdg 11:6, Jdg 11:11, as "captain," or "head and captain."

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Forsook the Lord - They grew worse and worse, and so ripened themselves for ruin. Before they worshipped God and idols together, now they forsake God, and wholly cleave to idols.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
And served Baalim - They became universal idolaters, adopting every god of the surrounding nations. Baalim and Ashtaroth may signify gods and goddesses in general. These are enumerated: 1. The gods of Syria; Bel and Saturn, or Jupiter and Astarte. 2. Gods of Zidon; Ashtaroth, Astarte or Venus. 3. The gods of Moab; Chemosh. 4. Gods of the children of Ammon; Milcom. 5. Gods of the Philistines; Dagon. See Kg1 11:33 (note), and Sa1 5:2 (note). These are called gods because their images and places of worship were multiplied throughout the land.

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² When the Philistines [06430] took [03947] the ark [0727] of God [0430], they brought [0935] it into the house [01004] of Dagon [01712], and set [03322] it by [0681] Dagon [01712].
³ And when they of Ashdod [0796] arose early [07925] on the morrow [04283], behold, Dagon [01712] was fallen [05307] upon his face [06440] to the earth [0776] before [06440] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068]. And they took [03947] Dagon [01712], and set [07725] him in his place [04725] again [07725].
⁴ And when they arose early [07925] on the morrow [04283] morning [01242], behold, Dagon [01712] was fallen [05307] upon his face [06440] to the ground [0776] before [06440] the ark [0727] of the LORD [03068]; and the head [07218] of Dagon [01712] and both [08147] the palms [03709] of his hands [03027] were cut off [03772] upon the threshold [04670]; only the stump of Dagon [01712] was left [07604] to him.
⁵ Therefore neither the priests [03548] of Dagon [01712], nor any that come [0935] into Dagon's [01712] house [01004], tread [01869] on the threshold [04670] of Dagon [01712] in Ashdod [0795] unto this day [03117].

³³ Because that they have forsaken [05800] me, and have worshipped [07812] Ashtoreth [06253] the goddess [0430] of the Zidonians [06722], Chemosh [03645] the god [0430] of the Moabites [04124], and Milcom [04445] the god [0430] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and have not walked [01980] in my ways [01870], to do [06213] that which is right [03477] in mine eyes [05869], and to keep my statutes [02708] and my judgments [04941], as did David [01732] his father [01].

⁷ Then did Solomon [08010] build [01129] an high place [01116] for Chemosh [03645], the abomination [08251] of Moab [04124], in the hill [02022] that is before [06440] Jerusalem [03389], and for Molech [04432], the abomination [08251] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].

⁵ For Solomon [08010] went [03212] after [0310] Ashtoreth [06253] the goddess [0430] of the Zidonians [06722], and after [0310] Milcom [04445] the abomination [08251] of the Ammonites [05984].

¹⁰ And king [04428] Ahaz [0271] went [03212] to Damascus [01834] to meet [07125] Tiglathpileser [08407] king [04428] of Assyria [0804], and saw [07200] an altar [04196] that was at Damascus [01834]: and king [04428] Ahaz [0271] sent [07971] to Urijah [0223] the priest [03548] the fashion [01823] of the altar [04196], and the pattern [08403] of it, according to all the workmanship [04639] thereof.
¹¹ And Urijah [0223] the priest [03548] built [01129] an altar [04196] according to all that king [04428] Ahaz [0271] had sent [07971] from Damascus [01834]: so Urijah [0223] the priest [03548] made [06213] it against king [04428] Ahaz [0271] came [0935] from Damascus [01834].
¹² And when the king [04428] was come [0935] from Damascus [01834], the king [04428] saw [07200] the altar [04196]: and the king [04428] approached [07126] to the altar [04196], and offered [05927] thereon.

¹¹ Then Jephthah [03316] went [03212] with the elders [02205] of Gilead [01568], and the people [05971] made [07760] him head [07218] and captain [07101] over them: and Jephthah [03316] uttered [01696] all his words [01697] before [06440] the LORD [03068] in Mizpeh [04709].

⁶ And they said [0559] unto Jephthah [03316], Come [03212], and be our captain [07101], that we may fight [03898] with the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].

⁴³ Namely, Bezer [01221] in the wilderness [04057], in the plain [04334] country [0776], of the Reubenites [07206]; and Ramoth [07216] in Gilead [01568], of the Gadites [01425]; and Golan [01474] in Bashan [01316], of the Manassites [04520].

⁸ And on the other side [05676] Jordan [03383] by Jericho [03405] eastward [04217], they assigned [05414] Bezer [01221] in the wilderness [04057] upon the plain [04334] out of the tribe [04294] of Reuben [07205], and Ramoth [07216] in Gilead [01568] out of the tribe [04294] of Gad [01410], and Golan [01474] in Bashan [01316] out of the tribe [04294] of Manasseh [04519].

²⁶ And from Heshbon [02809] unto Ramathmizpeh [07434], and Betonim [0993]; and from Mahanaim [04266] unto the border [01366] of Debir [01688];

²⁹ Then the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] came upon Jephthah [03316], and he passed over [05674] Gilead [01568], and Manasseh [04519], and passed over [05674] Mizpeh [04708] of Gilead [01568], and from Mizpeh [04708] of Gilead [01568] he passed over [05674] unto the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].

¹⁸ And the people [05971] and princes [08269] of Gilead [01568] said [0559] one [0376] to another [07453], What man [0376] is he that will begin [02490] to fight [03898] against the children [01121] of Ammon [05983]? he shall be head [07218] over all the inhabitants [03427] of Gilead [01568].

²³ And the men [0376] of Israel [03478] gathered themselves together [06817] out of Naphtali [05321], and out of Asher [0836], and out of all Manasseh [04519], and pursued [07291] after [0310] the Midianites [04080].

¹⁷ Then the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] were gathered together [06817], and encamped [02583] in Gilead [01568]. And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] assembled themselves together [0622], and encamped [02583] in Mizpeh [04709].
¹⁸ And the people [05971] and princes [08269] of Gilead [01568] said [0559] one [0376] to another [07453], What man [0376] is he that will begin [02490] to fight [03898] against the children [01121] of Ammon [05983]? he shall be head [07218] over all the inhabitants [03427] of Gilead [01568].

⁴ And they journeyed [05265] from mount [02022] Hor [02023] by the way [01870] of the Red [05488] sea [03220], to compass [05437] the land [0776] of Edom [0123]: and the soul [05315] of the people [05971] was much discouraged [07114] because of the way [01870].

³⁷ And he shall say [0559], Where are their gods [0430], their rock [06697] in whom they trusted [02620],
³⁸ Which did eat [0398] the fat [02459] of their sacrifices [02077], and drank [08354] the wine [03196] of their drink offerings [05257]? let them rise up [06965] and help [05826] you, and be your protection [05643].

¹⁴ Go [03212] and cry [02199] unto the gods [0430] which ye have chosen [0977]; let them [01992] deliver [03467] you in the time [06256] of your tribulation [06869].
¹⁵ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto the LORD [03068], We have sinned [02398]: do [06213] thou unto us whatsoever seemeth [05869] good [02896] unto thee; deliver [05337] us only, we pray thee, this day [03117].
¹⁶ And they put away [05493] the strange [05236] gods [0430] from among [07130] them, and served [05647] the LORD [03068]: and his soul [05315] was grieved [07114] for the misery [05999] of Israel [03478].

¹³ And they forsook [05800] the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baal [01168] and Ashtaroth [06252].

¹³ Yet ye have forsaken [05800] me, and served [05647] other [0312] gods [0430]: wherefore I will deliver [03467] you no more [03254].

⁴¹ And these written [03789] by name [08034] came [0935] in the days [03117] of Hezekiah [03169] king [04428] of Judah [03063], and smote [05221] their tents [0168], and the habitations [04583] that were found [04672] there, and destroyed [02763] them utterly unto this day [03117], and dwelt [03427] in their rooms: because there was pasture [04829] there for their flocks [06629].

⁷ And God [0430] helped [05826] him against the Philistines [06430], and against the Arabians [06163] that dwelt [03427] in Gurbaal [01485], and the Mehunims [04586].

³ And so it was, when Israel [03478] had sown [02232], that the Midianites [04080] came up [05927], and the Amalekites [06002], and the children [01121] of the east [06924], even they came up [05927] against them;

¹³ And he gathered [0622] unto him the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] and Amalek [06002], and went [03212] and smote [05221] Israel [03478], and possessed [03423] the city [05892] of palm trees [08558] [05899].

⁸ Then came [0935] Amalek [06002], and fought [03898] with Israel [03478] in Rephidim [07508].

²⁸ And there was no deliverer [05337], because it was far [07350] from Zidon [06721], and they had no business [01697] with any man [0120]; and it was in the valley [06010] that lieth by Bethrehob [01050]. And they built [01129] a city [05892], and dwelt [03427] therein.

⁷ Then the five [02568] men [0582] departed [03212], and came [0935] to Laish [03919], and saw [07200] the people [05971] that were therein [07130], how they dwelt [03427] careless [0983], after the manner [04941] of the Zidonians [06722], quiet [08252] and secure [0982]; and there was no magistrate [03423] [06114] in the land [0776], that might put them to shame [03637] in any thing [01697]; and they were far [07350] from the Zidonians [06722], and had no business [01697] with any man [0120].

⁹ And when they forgat [07911] the LORD [03068] their God [0430], he sold [04376] them into the hand [03027] of Sisera [05516], captain [08269] of the host [06635] of Hazor [02674], and into the hand [03027] of the Philistines [06430], and into the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Moab [04124], and they fought [03898] against them.

¹² And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] again [03254] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068]: and the LORD [03068] strengthened [02388] Eglon [05700] the king [04428] of Moab [04124] against Israel [03478], because they had done [06213] evil [07451] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068].

³ And the LORD [03068] hearkened [08085] to the voice [06963] of Israel [03478], and delivered up [05414] the Canaanites [03669]; and they utterly destroyed [02763] them and their cities [05892]: and he called [07121] the name [08034] of the place [04725] Hormah [02767].

¹² The Zidonians [06722] also, and the Amalekites [06002], and the Maonites [04584], did oppress [03905] you; and ye cried [06817] to me, and I delivered [03467] you out of their hand [03027].

¹¹ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baalim [01168]:

¹⁴ Go [03212] and cry [02199] unto the gods [0430] which ye have chosen [0977]; let them [01992] deliver [03467] you in the time [06256] of your tribulation [06869].

¹³ Yet ye have forsaken [05800] me, and served [05647] other [0312] gods [0430]: wherefore I will deliver [03467] you no more [03254].

¹² The Zidonians [06722] also, and the Amalekites [06002], and the Maonites [04584], did oppress [03905] you; and ye cried [06817] to me, and I delivered [03467] you out of their hand [03027].

¹¹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians [04714], and from the Amorites [0567], from the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and from the Philistines [06430]?

¹⁵ Whithersoever they went out [03318], the hand [03027] of the LORD [03068] was against them for evil [07451], as the LORD [03068] had said [01696], and as the LORD [03068] had sworn [07650] unto them: and they were greatly [03966] distressed [03334].

⁹ Moreover the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] passed over [05674] Jordan [03383] to fight [03898] also against Judah [03063], and against Benjamin [01144], and against the house [01004] of Ephraim [0669]; so that Israel [03478] was sore [03966] distressed [03334].

⁹ And the children [01121] of Reuben [07205] and the children [01121] of Gad [01410] and the half [02677] tribe [07626] of Manasseh [04519] returned [07725], and departed [03212] from the children [01121] of Israel [03478] out of Shiloh [07887], which is in the land [0776] of Canaan [03667], to go [03212] unto the country [0776] of Gilead [01568], to the land [0776] of their possession [0272], whereof they were possessed [0270], according to the word [06310] of the LORD [03068] by the hand [03027] of Moses [04872].

¹ And Moses [04872] went up [05927] from the plains [06160] of Moab [04124] unto the mountain [02022] of Nebo [05015], to the top [07218] of Pisgah [06449], that is over against [06440] Jericho [03405]. And the LORD [03068] shewed [07200] him all the land [0776] of Gilead [01568], unto Dan [01835],

²⁹ And Moses [04872] said [0559] unto them, If the children [01121] of Gad [01410] and the children [01121] of Reuben [07205] will pass with you over [05674] Jordan [03383], every man armed [02502] to battle [04421], before [06440] the LORD [03068], and the land [0776] shall be subdued [03533] before [06440] you; then ye shall give [05414] them the land [0776] of Gilead [01568] for a possession [0272]:

³³ The fruit [06529] of thy land [0127], and all thy labours [03018], shall a nation [05971] which thou knowest [03045] not eat up [0398]; and thou shalt be only oppressed [06231] and crushed [07533] alway [03117]:

⁸ And that year [08141] they vexed [07492] and oppressed [07533] the children [01121] of Israel [03478]: eighteen [08083] [06240] years [08141], all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] that were on the other side [05676] Jordan [03383] in the land [0776] of the Amorites [0567], which is in Gilead [01568].

¹³ And they forsook [05800] the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baal [01168] and Ashtaroth [06252].
¹⁴ And the anger [0639] of the LORD [03068] was hot [02734] against Israel [03478], and he delivered [05414] them into the hands [03027] of spoilers [08154] that spoiled [08155] them, and he sold [04376] them into the hands [03027] of their enemies [0341] round about [05439], so that they could [03201] not any longer [05750] stand [05975] before [06440] their enemies [0341].

⁷ And the anger [0639] of the LORD [03068] was hot [02734] against Israel [03478], and he sold [04376] them into the hands [03027] of the Philistines [06430], and into the hands [03027] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].

¹² The Zidonians [06722] also, and the Amalekites [06002], and the Maonites [04584], did oppress [03905] you; and ye cried [06817] to me, and I delivered [03467] you out of their hand [03027].

²³ Then the lords [05633] of the Philistines [06430] gathered them together [0622] for to offer [02076] a great [01419] sacrifice [02077] unto Dagon [01712] their god [0430], and to rejoice [08057]: for they said [0559], Our god [0430] hath delivered [05414] Samson [08123] our enemy [0341] into our hand [03027].

⁵ For Solomon [08010] went [03212] after [0310] Ashtoreth [06253] the goddess [0430] of the Zidonians [06722], and after [0310] Milcom [04445] the abomination [08251] of the Ammonites [05984].

²⁹ Woe [0188] to thee, Moab [04124]! thou art undone [06], O people [05971] of Chemosh [03645]: he hath given [05414] his sons [01121] that escaped [06412], and his daughters [01323], into captivity [07622] unto Sihon [05511] king [04428] of the Amorites [0567].

⁵ For Solomon [08010] went [03212] after [0310] Ashtoreth [06253] the goddess [0430] of the Zidonians [06722], and after [0310] Milcom [04445] the abomination [08251] of the Ammonites [05984].

¹³ And they forsook [05800] the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baal [01168] and Ashtaroth [06252].

¹¹ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baalim [01168]:

³¹ Then his brethren [0251] and all the house [01004] of his father [01] came down [03381], and took [05375] him, and brought him up [05927], and buried [06912] him between Zorah [06881] and Eshtaol [0847] in the buryingplace [06913] of Manoah [04495] his father [01]. And he judged [08199] Israel [03478] twenty [06242] years [08141].

²⁰ And he judged [08199] Israel [03478] in the days [03117] of the Philistines [06430] twenty [06242] years [08141].

¹ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] again [03254] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068]; and the LORD [03068] delivered [05414] them into the hand [03027] of the Philistines [06430] forty [0705] years [08141].

⁷ And Jephthah [03316] judged [08199] Israel [03478] six [08337] years [08141]. Then died [04191] Jephthah [03316] the Gileadite [01569], and was buried [06912] in one of the cities [05892] of Gilead [01568].

¹⁰ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] cried [02199] unto the LORD [03068], saying [0559], We have sinned [02398] against thee, both because we have forsaken [05800] our God [0430], and also served [05647] Baalim [01168].
¹¹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians [04714], and from the Amorites [0567], from the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and from the Philistines [06430]?
¹² The Zidonians [06722] also, and the Amalekites [06002], and the Maonites [04584], did oppress [03905] you; and ye cried [06817] to me, and I delivered [03467] you out of their hand [03027].
¹³ Yet ye have forsaken [05800] me, and served [05647] other [0312] gods [0430]: wherefore I will deliver [03467] you no more [03254].
¹⁴ Go [03212] and cry [02199] unto the gods [0430] which ye have chosen [0977]; let them [01992] deliver [03467] you in the time [06256] of your tribulation [06869].
¹⁵ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto the LORD [03068], We have sinned [02398]: do [06213] thou unto us whatsoever seemeth [05869] good [02896] unto thee; deliver [05337] us only, we pray thee, this day [03117].
¹⁶ And they put away [05493] the strange [05236] gods [0430] from among [07130] them, and served [05647] the LORD [03068]: and his soul [05315] was grieved [07114] for the misery [05999] of Israel [03478].

⁸ And after [0310] him Ibzan [078] of Bethlehem [01035] judged [08199] Israel [03478].
⁹ And he had thirty [07970] sons [01121], and thirty [07970] daughters [01323], whom he sent [07971] abroad [02351], and took [0935] in thirty [07970] daughters [01323] from abroad [02351] for his sons [01121]. And he judged [08199] Israel [03478] seven [07651] years [08141].
¹⁰ Then died [04191] Ibzan [078], and was buried [06912] at Bethlehem [01035].
¹¹ And after [0310] him Elon [0356], a Zebulonite [02075], judged [08199] Israel [03478]; and he judged [08199] Israel [03478] ten [06235] years [08141].
¹² And Elon [0356] the Zebulonite [02075] died [04191], and was buried [06912] in Aijalon [0357] in the country [0776] of Zebulun [02074].
¹³ And after [0310] him Abdon [05658] the son [01121] of Hillel [01985], a Pirathonite [06553], judged [08199] Israel [03478].
¹⁴ And he had forty [0705] sons [01121] and thirty [07970] nephews [01121] [01121], that rode [07392] on threescore and ten [07657] ass colts [05895]: and he judged [08199] Israel [03478] eight [08083] years [08141].
¹⁵ And Abdon [05658] the son [01121] of Hillel [01985] the Pirathonite [06553] died [04191], and was buried [06912] in Pirathon [06552] in the land [0776] of Ephraim [0669], in the mount [02022] of the Amalekites [06003].

⁶ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] did [06213] evil [07451] again [03254] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], and served [05647] Baalim [01168], and Ashtaroth [06252], and the gods [0430] of Syria [0758], and the gods [0430] of Zidon [06721], and the gods [0430] of Moab [04124], and the gods [0430] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and the gods [0430] of the Philistines [06430], and forsook [05800] the LORD [03068], and served [05647] not him.
⁷ And the anger [0639] of the LORD [03068] was hot [02734] against Israel [03478], and he sold [04376] them into the hands [03027] of the Philistines [06430], and into the hands [03027] of the children [01121] of Ammon [05983].
⁸ And that year [08141] they vexed [07492] and oppressed [07533] the children [01121] of Israel [03478]: eighteen [08083] [06240] years [08141], all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] that were on the other side [05676] Jordan [03383] in the land [0776] of the Amorites [0567], which is in Gilead [01568].
⁹ Moreover the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] passed over [05674] Jordan [03383] to fight [03898] also against Judah [03063], and against Benjamin [01144], and against the house [01004] of Ephraim [0669]; so that Israel [03478] was sore [03966] distressed [03334].
¹⁰ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] cried [02199] unto the LORD [03068], saying [0559], We have sinned [02398] against thee, both because we have forsaken [05800] our God [0430], and also served [05647] Baalim [01168].
¹¹ And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto the children [01121] of Israel [03478], Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians [04714], and from the Amorites [0567], from the children [01121] of Ammon [05983], and from the Philistines [06430]?
¹² The Zidonians [06722] also, and the Amalekites [06002], and the Maonites [04584], did oppress [03905] you; and ye cried [06817] to me, and I delivered [03467] you out of their hand [03027].
¹³ Yet ye have forsaken [05800] me, and served [05647] other [0312] gods [0430]: wherefore I will deliver [03467] you no more [03254].
¹⁴ Go [03212] and cry [02199] unto the gods [0430] which ye have chosen [0977]; let them [01992] deliver [03467] you in the time [06256] of your tribulation [06869].
¹⁵ And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto the LORD [03068], We have sinned [02398]: do [06213] thou unto us whatsoever seemeth [05869] good [02896] unto thee; deliver [05337] us only, we pray thee, this day [03117].
¹⁶ And they put away [05493] the strange [05236] gods [0430] from among [07130] them, and served [05647] the LORD [03068]: and his soul [05315] was grieved [07114] for the misery [05999] of Israel [03478].
¹⁷ Then the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] were gathered together [06817], and encamped [02583] in Gilead [01568]. And the children [01121] of Israel [03478] assembled themselves together [0622], and encamped [02583] in Mizpeh [04709].
¹⁸ And the people [05971] and princes [08269] of Gilead [01568] said [0559] one [0376] to another [07453], What man [0376] is he that will begin [02490] to fight [03898] against the children [01121] of Ammon [05983]? he shall be head [07218] over all the inhabitants [03427] of Gilead [01568].

² When the Philistines [06430] took [03947] the ark [0727] of God [0430], they brought [0935] it into the house [01004] of Dagon [01712], and set [03322] it by [0681] Dagon [01712].