Judges 3:27

when he was come If Se-îrah was meant, -thither" should have been written. Some indication of the place is needed; the LXX. cod. B adds -unto the land of Israel," shewing that the obscurity was felt. Perhaps the simplest course is to suppose that the original order of words has been disturbed, and to read when he was come to(omit in) the highlands of Ephraim he blew a trumpet. For the summons to arms cf. Jdg 6:34; 1 Samuel 13:3.

the hill country of E .… the hill country Cf. Judges 2:9; Judges 4:5; Judges 7:24; Judges 17:1; Joshua 17:15. The Highlands, which extend continuously from the Great Plain to the S. of Judah, were occupied in the northern half by W. Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin (-the hill country of E."), in the southern half by Judah (-the hill country of J." Joshua 21:11); at this period a line of Canaanite strongholds separated the territories of Joseph and Judah. The country between Ramah and Beth-el lay -in the hill country of E." Judges 4:5; it was the Israelites of this neighbourhood, i.e. the Benjamites, who responded to their clansman's call.