Judges 2:5 kjv
And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
Judges 2:5 nkjv
Then they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the LORD.
Judges 2:5 niv
and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
Judges 2:5 esv
And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.
Judges 2:5 nlt
So they called the place Bokim (which means "weeping"), and they offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
Judges 2 5 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Weeping/Repentance | ||
| Joel 2:12 | "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart...with weeping." | Calls for heart-felt return with weeping. |
| Ps 126:5-6 | Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping… | Tears leading to future joy/restoration. |
| Ezr 10:1 | Ezra, prostrate before the house of God, wept bitterly… | Public weeping of sorrow over sin. |
| Jer 9:1 | Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears… | Prophet's lament for widespread disobedience. |
| 2 Cor 7:10 | For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation... | Distinction between godly sorrow and worldly grief. |
| Lk 19:41 | When he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it... | Jesus' weeping over hardened hearts of Jerusalem. |
| Ps 6:6 | I am weary with my groaning; every night I flood my bed with tears... | Individual lament and sorrow before God. |
| Sacrifice/Worship | ||
| Lev 1:2-3 | When any of you brings an offering... burnt offering from the herd. | Mosaic instructions for burnt offerings to God. |
| Deut 12:5-6 | ...to the place that the LORD your God will choose...there you shall bring your sacrifices... | Centralization of Israelite worship and sacrifice. |
| 1 Sam 15:22 | Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings... as in obeying the voice of the LORD? | Emphasizes obedience over mere ritual sacrifice. |
| Ps 51:17 | The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. | Internal repentance is true sacrifice. |
| Rom 12:1 | I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice... | New Covenant call to live sacrificially for God. |
| Heb 10:4-7 | For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins… | Old Covenant sacrifices were a foreshadow of Christ. |
| Covenant/Disobedience/Consequences | ||
| Judg 2:1-3 | The Angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim…rebuking them for breaking covenant. | Immediate context of the Angel's rebuke and broken covenant. |
| Deut 28:15 | "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God... all these curses shall come upon you." | Covenant curses for disobedience. |
| Josh 23:15-16 | If you transgress the covenant... the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you... | Joshua's warning about covenant fidelity. |
| 1 Kgs 9:6-7 | But if you turn aside from following me... I will cut off Israel from the land... | Warning about dire consequences for apostasy. |
| Jer 7:23-26 | ...but they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck… | Persistent disobedience despite God's commands. |
| Heb 3:17-19 | ...And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell... | Disobedience in the wilderness prevented entry into rest. |
| Naming Significant Places | ||
| Gen 28:19 | He called the name of that place Bethel... | Naming places based on divine encounters or events. |
| Exod 17:7 | He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah... | Naming for remembrance of specific events (testing/contention). |
| Josh 7:26 | And so to this day that place is called the Valley of Achor (Trouble). | Place named to commemorate national sin and consequence. |
Judges 2 verses
Judges 2 5 Meaning
Judges 2:5 details the immediate response of the Israelites to the Angel of the Lord's rebuke for their disobedience. The place where this spiritual confrontation occurred was named "Bochim," meaning "weepers," to memorialize their collective sorrow and repentance. Following this outpouring of grief, the people offered sacrifices to the Lord, indicating a communal act of worship, possibly atonement, and a renewed commitment to their covenant with God.
Judges 2 5 Context
Judges 2:5 stands as a pivotal moment immediately after the Angel of the Lord delivers a severe rebuke to Israel in Judges 2:1-4. The rebuke concerns their failure to obey God's command to drive out the Canaanites from the land and their sin of making covenants with these nations and serving their gods. The Angel reminds them that God would not now drive out the inhabitants, leaving them as thorns in Israel's side and their gods as a snare. The preceding verses recount Israel's collective weeping ("raised their voices and wept") in response to this prophetic message of judgment. Therefore, Judges 2:5 describes Israel's immediate, sorrowful, and ritualistic response to the divine chastisement. This brief moment of remorse and apparent repentance occurs just as the book transitions from the generation that knew Joshua and the Lord's works (Judg 2:7) to the next generation, who did not know the Lord or His works (Judg 2:10). Historically, it reflects a society in flux, moving away from centralized leadership towards tribal autonomy, with recurring spiritual compromise foreshadowing the cyclical sin and deliverance pattern that defines the book of Judges.
Judges 2 5 Word analysis
- Therefore (וַיִּקְרְאוּ - va-yiq're'u): Literally "And they called." The connective "and" functions as "therefore" in this context, showing a direct consequence of the collective weeping mentioned in the preceding verse.
- they called: Signifies a communal, unified action. It reflects a collective decision of the people rather than an individual act.
- the name of that place: Highlights the memorializing significance. Naming a place for a noteworthy event or experience was a common practice in ancient Israel.
- Bochim (בֹּכִים): From the Hebrew root bakhah (בָּכָה), meaning "to weep." "Bochim" is a masculine plural participle, meaning "weepers" or "places of weeping." This name served as a perpetual reminder of their sin, their divine rebuke, and their lament.
- and there: Reinforces the specific geographic location where this profound spiritual encounter and collective response took place.
- they sacrificed: From the Hebrew root zavach (זָבַח), meaning "to slaughter" or "to sacrifice." This action signifies an official act of worship prescribed by the Mosaic Law. It indicated an effort towards atonement, recommitment, and re-establishment of favor with God.
- to the Lord (לַיהוָה - la-YHWH): Clearly identifies the recipient of the sacrifice. This emphasizes that their turning was to the true God of Israel, YHWH, in contrast to the forbidden gods of the surrounding Canaanite nations they had been warned against serving.
Words-Group analysis
- "Therefore they called the name of that place Bochim": This phrase directly links their profound emotional response of weeping to the naming of the site. It served as a lasting memorial, constantly reminding them (or those who heard the name) of the specific divine encounter and their national failure that led to their lament. It marked a solemn moment of corporate grief.
- "and there they sacrificed to the Lord": This segment reveals a ritualistic and religious act of repentance or re-dedication. The sacrifices to YHWH indicated an attempt to atone for their sins and reaffirm their covenant allegiance, distinguishing their worship from that of the pagan nations. It was a formal acknowledgment of divine authority and a prescribed method of seeking reconciliation and communion with God under the Old Covenant.
Judges 2 5 Bonus section
- The Irony of Bochim: The name "Bochim" foreshadows the recurring theme of sorrow and lament throughout the Book of Judges, a cycle of oppression that repeatedly brings the Israelites to tears, though not always to true, lasting repentance.
- The Brevity of Repentance: The profound weeping and sacrificial worship at Bochim, while seemingly sincere at the moment, proved to be tragically transient. This highlights a fundamental problem of the Judges era: the people’s repentance often only emerged from distress and was not rooted in a deep, abiding love for YHWH and His commandments.
- God's Patient Rebuke: The Lord did not abandon His people after their failure but sent His messenger to reveal their sin, allowing for a moment of response. This demonstrated His continued faithfulness and desire for their restoration, even amidst their consistent turning away.
Judges 2 5 Commentary
Judges 2:5 records Israel's immediate, solemn response to the Angel of the Lord's rebuke. The naming of "Bochim" indelibly marked the place of their national sorrow, a memorial to their broken covenant and the resultant divine displeasure. Their subsequent sacrifices to the Lord signified an outward act of worship and a communal attempt at re-consecration, acknowledging YHWH as their God and seeking His favor through prescribed means. While their tears and sacrifices were appropriate religious expressions of repentance, the ongoing narrative of Judges implies this sorrow was not followed by sustained, radical obedience. It was a momentary spiritual high that lacked the deep heart transformation necessary to break free from the cyclical pattern of sin and judgment. For example, similar outward acts of repentance without true heart change are observed later with King Saul's sacrifices (1 Sam 15:22-23) or in Jeremiah's condemnation of superficial temple worship (Jer 7:1-11), reminding us that God seeks obedience and a broken spirit over mere ritual.