Judges 20:27

Judges 20:27

And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,

a. NLT: The Israelites went up seeking direction from the LORD. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel,

b. NIV: The Israelites went up seeking direction from the LORD. (In those days the Ark of the Covenant of God was in Bethel,

c. YLT: And the sons of Israel ask of Jehovah, -- and there is the ark of the covenant of God in those days,

d. Amplified Bible Classic: And the Israelites inquired of the Lord—for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,

e. Septuagint: for the ark of the Lord God [was] there in those days,

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: The Children of Israel then inquired of HASHEM (the Ark of the Covenant was there in those days,

1. “And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD…”

a. the children [Strong: 1121 * ben bane from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to, (+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, + kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+) people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, + spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.]

b. of Israel [Strong: 3478 * Yisra'el yis-raw-ale' from 8280 and 410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: --Israel.]

c. enquired [Strong: 7592 * sha'al shaw-al' or shael {shaw-ale'}; a primitive root; to inquire; by implication, to request; by extension, to demand:--ask (counsel, on), beg, borrow, lay to charge, consult, demand, desire, X earnestly, enquire, + greet, obtain leave, lend, pray, request, require, + salute, X straitly, X surely, wish.]

d. of the LORD [Strong: 3068 * Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

2. “…(for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,”

a. for the ark [Strong: 727 * 'arown aw-rone' or laron {aw-rone'}; from 717 (in the sense of gathering); a box:--ark, chest, coffin.

b. of the covenant [Strong: 1285 * briyth ber-eeth' from 1262 (in the sense of cutting (like 1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh):--confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league.]

c. of God [Strong: 430 * 'elohiym el-o-heem' plural of 433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:--angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.]

d. [was there in] those [Strong: 1992 * hem haym or (prolonged) hemmah {haym'-maw}; masculine plural from 1981; they (only used when emphatic):--it, like, X (how, so) many (soever, more as) they (be), (the) same, X so, X such, their, them, these, they, those, which, who, whom, withal, ye.]

e. days [Strong: 3117 * yowm yome from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):--age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.]

1). Looking at both verses Judges 20:26, 27, a good number of scholars favor Beth-el over the house of God and as I wrote above, though I can’t read Hebrew, I can compare letters in a clumsy way. The Strong’s cite had the Hebrew words for house and God and for Beth-el which literally means house of God, in their list of words for this verse. Looking through the verse I could not find the Hebrew words house or God, but I did find the Hebrew word for Beth-el. All the translations I regularly cite say Beth-el, the city, not the house of God. It appears many commentators favor Beth-el the city. The problem is there is not a Biblical record of the Tabernacle being moved from Shiloh to Beth-el and then back to Shiloh. Just schools of thought differ. There is a way to go deeper but right now I do not have the time. Perhaps later.