2 Samuel 1:1-27
Konteks1:1 After the death of Saul, 1 when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, 2 he stayed at Ziklag 3 for two days. 1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 4 When he approached David, the man 5 threw himself to the ground. 6
1:3 David asked him, “Where are you coming from?” He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 1:4 David inquired, “How were things going? 7 Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them 8 fell dead. 9 Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!” 1:5 David said to the young man 10 who was telling him this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 11 1:6 The young man who was telling him this 12 said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him. 1:7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, ‘Here I am!’ 1:8 He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m 13 an Amalekite.’ 1:9 He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off! 14 I’m very dizzy, 15 even though I’m still alive.’ 16 1:10 So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. 17 Then I took the crown which was on his head and the 18 bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.” 19
1:11 David then grabbed his own clothes 20 and tore them, as did all the men who were with him. 1:12 They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.
1:13 David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.” 21 1:14 David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 1:15 Then David called one of the soldiers 22 and said, “Come here and strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”
1:17 Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan. 1:18 (He gave instructions that the people of Judah should be taught “The Bow.” 23 Indeed, it is written down in the Book of Yashar.) 24
1:19 The beauty 25 of Israel lies slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
1:20 Don’t report it in Gath,
don’t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon, 26
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!
1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! 27
For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; 28
the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. 29
1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors,
the bow of Jonathan was not turned away.
The sword of Saul never returned 30 empty.
1:23 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved 31 during their lives,
and not even in their deaths were they separated.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
1:24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet 32 as well as jewelry,
who put gold jewelry on your clothes.
1:25 How the warriors have fallen
in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your high places!
1:26 I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!
You were very dear to me.
Your love was more special to me than the love of women.
1:27 How the warriors have fallen!
The weapons of war 33 are destroyed!
Hakim-hakim 5:1-31
Konteks5:1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this victory song: 34
5:2 “When the leaders took the lead 35 in Israel,
When the people answered the call to war –
Praise the Lord!
5:3 Hear, O kings!
Pay attention, O rulers!
I will sing to the Lord! 36
I will sing 37 to the Lord God of Israel!
5:4 O Lord, when you departed 38 from Seir,
when you marched from Edom’s plains,
the earth shook, the heavens poured down,
the clouds poured down rain. 39
5:5 The mountains trembled 40 before the Lord, the God of Sinai; 41
before the Lord God of Israel.
5:6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael caravans 42 disappeared; 43
travelers 44 had to go on winding side roads.
5:7 Warriors 45 were scarce, 46
they were scarce in Israel,
until you 47 arose, Deborah,
until you arose as a motherly protector 48 in Israel.
then fighters appeared in the city gates; 50
but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, 51
among forty military units 52 in Israel.
5:9 My heart went out 53 to Israel’s leaders,
to the people who answered the call to war.
Praise the Lord!
5:10 You who ride on light-colored female donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets, 54
you who walk on the road, pay attention!
5:11 Hear 55 the sound of those who divide the sheep 56 among the watering places;
there they tell of 57 the Lord’s victorious deeds,
the victorious deeds of his warriors 58 in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –
5:12 Wake up, wake up, Deborah!
Wake up, wake up, sing a song!
Get up, Barak!
Capture your prisoners of war, 59 son of Abinoam!
5:13 Then the survivors 60 came down 61 to the mighty ones; 62
the Lord’s people came down to me 63 as 64 warriors.
5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, 65
they follow 66 after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.
From Makir leaders came down,
from Zebulun came 67 the ones who march carrying 68 an officer’s staff.
5:15 Issachar’s leaders were with Deborah,
the men of Issachar 69 supported 70 Barak;
into the valley they were sent under Barak’s command. 71
Among the clans of Reuben there was intense 72 heart searching. 73
5:16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, 74
listening to the shepherds playing their pipes 75 for their flocks? 76
As for the clans of Reuben – there was intense searching of heart.
5:17 Gilead stayed put 77 beyond the Jordan River.
As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? 78
Asher remained 79 on the seacoast,
he stayed 80 by his harbors. 81
5:18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; 82
Naphtali charged on to the battlefields. 83
5:19 Kings came, they fought;
the kings of Canaan fought,
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, 84
but 85 they took no silver as plunder.
5:20 From the sky 86 the stars 87 fought,
from their paths in the heavens 88 they fought against Sisera.
5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;
the river confronted them 89 – the Kishon River.
Step on the necks of the strong! 90
5:22 The horses’ 91 hooves pounded the ground; 92
the stallions galloped madly. 93
5:23 ‘Call judgment down on 94 Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic 95 messenger;
‘Be sure 96 to call judgment down on 97 those who live there,
because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, 98
to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ 99
5:24 The most rewarded 100 of women should be Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite!
She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.
5:25 He asked for water,
and she gave him milk;
in a bowl fit for a king, 101
she served him curds.
5:26 Her left 102 hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered” 103 Sisera,
she shattered his skull, 104
she smashed his head, 105
she drove the tent peg through his temple. 106
5:27 Between her feet he collapsed,
he fell limp 107 and was lifeless; 108
between her feet he collapsed and fell limp,
in the spot where he collapsed,
there he fell limp – violently murdered! 109
5:28 Through the window she looked;
Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:
‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?
Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses 110 delayed?’
5:29 The wisest of her ladies 111 answer;
indeed she even thinks to herself,
5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder 112 –
a girl or two for each man to rape! 113
Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, 114
he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, 115
two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,
for the neck of the plunderer!’ 116
5:31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!
But may those who love you shine
like the rising sun at its brightest!” 117
And the land had rest for forty years.
[1:1] 1 sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.
[1:1] 2 sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).
[1:1] 3 sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.
[1:2] 4 sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
[1:2] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.
[1:2] 6 tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”
[1:4] 7 tn Heb “What was the word?”
[1:4] 8 tn Heb “from the people.”
[1:4] 9 tn Heb “fell and died.”
[1:5] 10 tn In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.
[1:5] 11 tc Instead of the MT “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’” the Syriac Peshitta reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”
[1:6] 12 tc The Syriac Peshitta and one
[1:8] 13 tc The present translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[1:9] 14 tn As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [AB], 59) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. NLT “put me out of my misery.”
[1:9] 15 tn Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 59-60. The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.
[1:9] 16 tn The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the MT has sustained corruption in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the MT to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [AB], 57, n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the LXX lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew
[1:10] 17 tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”
[1:10] 18 tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsÿ’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).
[1:10] 19 sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.
[1:11] 20 tc The present translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[1:13] 21 tn The Hebrew word used here refers to a foreigner whose social standing was something less than that of native residents of the land, but something more than that of a nonresident alien who was merely passing through.
[1:18] 23 tn Heb “be taught the bow.” The reference to “the bow” is very difficult here. Some interpreters (e.g., S. R. Driver, P. K. McCarter, Jr.) suggest deleting the word from the text (cf. NAB, TEV), but there does not seem to be sufficient evidence for doing so. Others (cf. KJV) understand the reference to be elliptical, meaning “the use of the bow.” The verse would then imply that with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan having occurred, a period of trying warfare is about to begin, requiring adequate preparation for war on the part of the younger generation. Various other views may also be found in the secondary literature. However, it seems best to understand the word here to be a reference to the name of a song (i.e., “The Bow”), most likely the poem that follows in vv. 19-27 (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT); NIV “this lament of the bow.” To make this clear the words “the song of” are supplied in the translation.
[1:18] 24 sn The Book of Yashar is a noncanonical writing no longer in existence. It is referred to here and in Josh 10:12-13 and 1 Kgs 8:12-13. It apparently was “a collection of ancient national poetry” (so BDB 449 s.v. יָשָׁר).
[1:19] 25 sn The word beauty is used figuratively here to refer to Saul and Jonathan.
[1:20] 26 sn The cities of Gath and Ashkelon are mentioned here by synecdoche of part for the whole. As major Philistine cities they in fact represent all of Philistia. The point is that when the sad news of fallen Israelite leadership reaches the Philistines, it will be for these enemies of Israel the occasion of great joy rather than grief.
[1:21] 27 tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).
[1:21] 28 tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (ga’al). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.
[1:21] 29 tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew
[1:22] 30 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is used here to indicate repeated past action.
[1:23] 31 tn Heb “beloved and dear.”
[1:24] 32 sn Clothing of scarlet was expensive and beyond the financial reach of most people.
[1:27] 33 sn The expression weapons of war may here be a figurative way of referring to Saul and Jonathan.
[5:1] 34 tn The words “this victory song” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:2] 35 tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression בִּפְרֹעַ פְּרָעוֹת (bifroa’ pÿra’ot) is uncertain. Numerous proposals are offered by commentators. (For a survey of opinions, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 223-27.) The next line refers to the people who responded to Barak’s summons to war, so a reference to the leaders who issued the summons would provide a natural poetic parallel. In v. 9 the leaders (חוֹקְקֵי, khoqÿqey) of the people and these same volunteers stand in poetic parallelism, so it is reasonable to assume that the difficult Hebrew term פְּרַעוֹת (pÿra’ot, v. 2a) is synonymous with חוֹקְקֵי (khoqÿqey) of v. 9 (see Lindars, 227).
[5:3] 36 tn Heb “I, to the
[5:5] 40 tn Or “quaked.” The translation assumes the form נָזֹלּוּ (nazollu) from the root זָלַל (zalal, “to quake”; see HALOT 272 s.v. II זלל). The LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum also understood the word this way. (See Isa 63:19 and 64:2 for other occurrences of this form.) Some understand here the verb נָזַל (nazul, “to flow [with torrents of rain water]”).
[5:5] 41 tn Heb “this one of Sinai.” The phrase is a divine title, perhaps indicating that the
[5:6] 42 tc The translation assumes the form אֳרְחוֹת (’orÿkhot, “caravans”) rather than אֳרָחוֹת (’orakhot, “roadways”) because it makes a tighter parallel with “travelers” in the next line.
[5:6] 44 tn Heb “Ones walking on paths.”
[5:7] 45 tn The meaning of the Hebrew noun פְרָזוֹן (fÿrazon) is uncertain. Some understand the meaning as “leaders” or “those living in rural areas.” The singular noun appears to be collective (note the accompanying plural verb). For various options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 237-38.
[5:7] 47 tn The translation assumes that the verb is an archaic second feminine singular form. Though Deborah is named as one of the composers of the song (v. 1), she is also addressed within it (v. 12). Many take the verb as first person singular, “I arose” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV).
[5:7] 48 tn Heb “mother.” The translation assumes that the image portrays Deborah as a protector of the people. It is possible that the metaphor points to her prophetic role. Just as a male prophet could be called “father,” so Deborah, a prophetess, is called “mother” (B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239).
[5:8] 49 tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.
[5:8] 50 tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)
[5:8] 51 tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).
[5:8] 52 tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).
[5:9] 53 tn The words “went out” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:10] 54 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִדִּין (middin, “saddle blankets”) in this context is uncertain.
[5:11] 55 tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:11] 56 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.
[5:11] 57 tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
[5:11] 58 tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.
[5:12] 59 tn Heb “take captive your captives.” (The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative here.)
[5:13] 60 tn This probably refers to those who responded to the call for war. They were “survivors” of the Canaanite oppression (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 250).
[5:13] 61 tn The translation assumes a repointing of the verb as a perfect or imperfect/preterite form of יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”). The form as pointed in the MT appears to be from רָדָה (radah, “to rule”). See GKC 188 §69.g. The same form, translated “came down,” occurs in the next line as well.
[5:13] 62 sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.
[5:13] 63 sn The speaker may be Deborah here.
[5:13] 64 tn The translation assumes the preposition ב (bet) prefixed to “warriors” has the force of “in the capacity of.” For this use of the preposition, see GKC 379 §119.i.
[5:14] 65 tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).
[5:14] 66 tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 67 tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
[5:14] 68 tn Or possibly “who carry.”
[5:15] 69 tn Heb “Issachar.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:15] 70 tn Or “was true to.”
[5:15] 71 tn Heb “at his feet.”
[5:15] 73 tc The great majority of Hebrew
[5:16] 74 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִשְׁפְּתַיִם (mishpÿtayim) is uncertain. Some understand the word to mean “campfires.”
[5:16] 76 tn Heb “listening to the pipe playing for the flocks.”
[5:17] 77 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] sn Apparently the people of Gilead remained on the other side of the river and did not participate in the battle.
[5:17] 78 tn Heb “Dan, why did he live as a resident alien, ships.” The verb גּוּר (gur) usually refers to taking up residence outside one’s native land. Perhaps the Danites, rather than rallying to Barak, were content to move to the Mediterranean coast and work in the shipyards. For further discussion, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 262.
[5:17] 80 tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”
[5:17] 81 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”
[5:18] 82 tn Heb “Zebulun was a people which despised its life even unto death.”
[5:18] 83 tn Heb “Naphtali was on the heights of the field.”
[5:19] 84 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[5:19] 85 tn The contrastive conjunction “but” is interpretive.
[5:20] 86 tn Or “from heaven.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[5:20] 87 tn The MT takes “the stars” with what follows rather than with the first colon of v. 20. But for metrical reasons it seems better to move the atnach and read the colon as indicated in the translation.
[5:20] 88 tn The words “in the heavens” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[5:21] 89 tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.
[5:21] 90 tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (’oz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.
[5:22] 91 tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.
[5:22] 92 tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:22] 93 tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.
[5:23] 94 tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”
[5:23] 95 tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.
[5:23] 96 tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.
[5:23] 97 tn Heb “[to] curse.”
[5:23] 98 tn Heb “to the help of the
[5:23] 99 tn Or “along with the other warriors.”
[5:25] 101 tn Or “for mighty ones.”
[5:26] 102 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
[5:26] 103 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
[5:26] 105 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[5:26] 106 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
[5:27] 107 tn Heb “he fell.” The same Hebrew expression occurs two more times in this verse.
[5:27] 108 tn Heb “and he lay.
[5:27] 109 tn Or “dead, murdered.”
[5:29] 111 tn Or “princesses.”
[5:30] 112 tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”
[5:30] 113 tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.
[5:30] 114 tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”
[5:30] 115 tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”
[5:30] 116 tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”
[5:31] 117 tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”
