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932 B
932 B
Whenever they and their livestock and tents came up
The land of Midian was south of the land of Israel, near the Red Sea. It was common to use the phrase "came up" when speaking of traveling from Midian to Israel. AT: "Whenever the Midianites brought their livestock and tents to the land of Israel"
they would come as a swarm of locusts
The Midianites are compared to a swarm of locusts because they came in with a great number of people and their livestock ate everything that grew. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile)
it was impossible to count
This is an exaggeration, a hyperbole, showing the number is very great. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-hyperbole)
Midian weakened
Here "Midian" represents the people of Midian. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
called out to Yahweh
This is an idiom. AT: "prayed to Yahweh for help" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom)