Asher did not drive out the inhabitants …: As in the previous verse, there is no Hebrew waw conjunction to begin this verse. A new paragraph can begin here with “As for the tribe of Asher, they did not…,” “The tribe of Asher, too, did not…,” or “Neither were the people of Asher able to….” Asher was Jacob’s eighth son, born to Leah’s servant Zilpah (Gen 30.12-13). The territory assigned to the descendants of Asher was located to the northwest of Zebulun, on the coastal plain extending from Mount Carmel north toward present-day. For did not drive out, see verse 1.19; for inhabitants see verse 1.11.

Though the warriors from the tribe of Asher attacked a number of towns (seven are listed here), they were not able to drive out the inhabitants from any of them. It is possible that they were not as capable in battle as the local people (verse 1.19). Interestingly, in this verse the typical Hebrew repetition is absent, since inhabitants is only mentioned twice with the first two cities, rather than all of them.

The seven towns joined together by the Hebrew waw conjunction are:

Acco: a coastal town a few kilometers north of Carmel
Sidon: another coastal town 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Tyre
Ahlab: a town in Asherite territory also mentioned in verse 19.29
Achzib: a town 13 kilometers (8 miles) north of Acco
Helbah: an unknown town
Aphik: a town thought to be near present-day Haifa
Rehob: an unknown town

Translators will have to transliterate each of these names. There is a textual problem concerning the name Ahlab. In verse 19.29 the Hebrew has “Meheleb,” but Revised Standard Version writes “Mahalab.” Here Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends “Mahlab,” so translators will have to decide which form to follow.

Translators should use a natural way of conjoining names in their language. Some languages will say “and” while others will prefer “or,” as in Revised Standard Version. In some languages it may be better to begin this verse with the names of the towns as follows:

• Not in Acco, not in Sidon, nor Mahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik or Rehob, in none of these places were the people of Asher able to drive out any of the inhabitants.

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 .