שופטים, פרק י׳, פסוק י׳

The Israelites cry out in distress, offering a confession that acknowledges two distinct failures: turning away from God and serving foreign idols. The exact nature of this confession, however, reveals different layers of how the people view their own actions and guilt.

One perspective understands their plea as a straightforward admission of a dual offense. In this view, the people are not just apologizing for a single mistake, but are confessing to two separate and simultaneous evils. They fully acknowledge the weight of their actions, admitting that they completely abandoned God and, at the same time, actively engaged in the worship of the Baals [מצודת דוד].

A different perspective views their confession through a slightly more defensive lens, interpreting their words as a rhetorical question rather than a complete admission of total abandonment. According to this approach, the Israelites admit to their wrongdoing but push back against the idea that they entirely forsook their faith. They wonder aloud if they truly abandoned God just because they participated in idol worship. They argue that their intention was never to replace God completely or sever their relationship with Him. Instead, they mistakenly sought to use the Baals merely as intermediaries to help connect them to Him [מלבי״ם].