The Angel's Rebuke at Bokim
Judges 2:1-5
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Jud.2.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מן: PREP
- הגלגל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- הבכים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אעלה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ממצרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואביא: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נשבעתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,_,sg
- לאבתיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons+PRON,2,m,pl
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אפר: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,_,sg
- בריתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss1,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 3:8 (verbal): God's promise to bring Israel out of Egypt and into the land he swore to give their ancestors—language closely parallels the angel's declaration in Judges 2:1.
- Exodus 6:4-5 (allusion): References God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His action in bringing Israel out of Egypt, echoing the angel's appeal to the patriarchal oath.
- Deuteronomy 7:9 (verbal): Affirms that the LORD is faithful and keeps his covenant and steadfast love, resonating with the angel's assertion that God will not break his covenant.
- Psalm 105:8-11 (thematic): Speaks of God remembering his covenant forever and giving the land to Abraham's descendants, paralleling the promise and eternal-covenant language in Judges 2:1.
- Joshua 23:14 (structural): Asserts that not one of the good promises the LORD made to Israel failed—echoes the theme of divine faithfulness to the oath referenced by the angel.
Alternative generated candidates
- The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will not break my covenant with you forever."
- The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you."
Jud.2.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתם: CONJ+PRON,2,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תכרתו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ליושבי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,const
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- מזבחותיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUFF,3,m,pl
- תתצון: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- שמעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בקלי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- עשיתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:2–5 (verbal): Directly parallels the prohibition against making covenants with the inhabitants and the command to destroy their altars, images, and sacred places to avoid being led into foreign worship.
- Exodus 34:12–16 (verbal): Warnings not to make covenants with the land's inhabitants for fear they will lead Israel to follow their gods — language and motive closely mirror Judges 2:2.
- Joshua 23:7, 12–13 (verbal): Joshua warns Israel not to make covenants or intermarry with remaining peoples because such ties will cause them to turn to other gods, echoing the injunction and its rationale in Judges 2:2.
- Judges 3:5–7 (structural): Narrative consequence within Judges: Israel lives among the Canaanites, intermarries, and comes to serve their gods — this passage shows what happened when the Judges 2 command was ignored.
- 1 Kings 11:1–8 (thematic): Solomon’s foreign marriages lead him to worship other gods — exemplifies the long-term religious danger of making covenantal/ties with foreign peoples described in Judges 2:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- "You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars." But you did not obey my voice—what is this you have done?
- You were not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you were to tear down their altars. Yet you did not listen to my voice. What is this you have done?
Jud.2.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וגם: CONJ
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אגרש: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
- מפניכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUF,2,m,pl
- והיו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לצדים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואלהיהם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- למוקש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Judges 3:1 (structural): States the same theological rationale: the LORD left some nations among Israel — a continuation of the idea that God did not wholly drive them out.
- Judges 3:4 (thematic): Explains the purpose of leaving the nations 'to prove Israel' and teach warfare—echoes Judges 2:3’s theme that surrounding peoples function as tests/snare.
- Joshua 23:13 (verbal): Warns that the nations left among Israel will become 'snares and traps' to them, using language and imagery very close to Judges 2:3.
- Psalm 106:36 (verbal): Describes Israel serving foreign gods 'which were a snare unto them,' echoing the causal link in Judges 2:3 between remaining peoples/gods and Israel’s downfall.
- Exodus 23:30–33 (allusion): Speaks of God driving out nations 'little by little' and the process of dispossession—provides the legal/historical background that Judges 2:3 presupposes and thus contrasts with the decision not to expel completely.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I also said, "I will not drive them out from before you; they shall be thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."
- And I also said, "I will not drive them out before you; they shall be snares to you, and their gods shall be a snare."
Jud.2.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלאך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- אל: NEG
- כל: DET
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וישאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- קולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,pl
- ויבכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Nehemiah 8:9 (verbal): Public proclamation/reading of God's word leads the assembled people to lift up their voice and weep (similar verb and communal emotional response).
- Ezra 3:12 (thematic): A communal religious event produces mixed cries and weeping among the people—public emotional reaction to a covenantal/ritual moment.
- Jonah 3:5-9 (thematic): A prophet's message prompts the whole city to proclaim a fast, put on sackcloth and repent—massive communal response of contrition to a divine word.
- Judges 10:10-11 (structural): A recurring Judges pattern: Israel cries out in distress, the LORD hears and sends a prophet/judge—parallels the sequence of divine message and public reaction.
Alternative generated candidates
- When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
- When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
Jud.2.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- שם: ADV
- המקום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- בכים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויזבחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- שם: ADV
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Genesis 28:19 (thematic): Jacob names the site 'Bethel' after a theophany — parallels the practice of naming a place in response to a sacred event (Bochim = 'weepers').
- Genesis 35:7 (structural): Jacob builds an altar and 'calls the name of the place' El‑Bethel — mirrors Judges 2:5's combination of sacrifice/altar activity and naming the site.
- Genesis 22:14 (thematic): Abraham names the place 'Yahweh‑yireh' after God's provision at the altar — another instance of naming a location in connection with an act of worship/sacrifice.
- 1 Samuel 7:12 (structural): Samuel sets up a stone 'Ebenezer' and leads communal worship/offerings after deliverance — analogous memorializing through naming plus sacrificial worship at a site.
- Deuteronomy 12:5 (structural): Law concerning the place the LORD will choose for sacrifices — provides a theological background for practices of sacrifice tied to particular place-names, relevant to Judges' note that they 'sacrificed there to the LORD.'
Alternative generated candidates
- They called the name of that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the LORD.
- They named that place Bokim; and there they sacrificed to the LORD.
Then the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will not break my covenant with you forever.”
“And you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars. Yet you did not obey my voice—what is this that you have done?” And I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you; they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’
When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the LORD.