Hakim-hakim 1:24

1:24 the spies spotted ¹  a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.”

Hakim-hakim 2:20

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ²  He said, “This nation ³  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ⁴  by disobeying me. ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 3:17

3:17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

Hakim-hakim 5:17

5:17 Gilead stayed put ⁶  beyond the Jordan River.

As for Dan – why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? ⁷ 

Asher remained ⁸  on the seacoast,

he stayed ⁹  by his harbors. ¹⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 6:17

6:17 Gideon ¹¹  said to him, “If you really are pleased with me, ¹²  then give me ¹³  a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me.

Hakim-hakim 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ¹⁴  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ¹⁵  said, “Oh no! ¹⁶  Master, Lord! ¹⁷  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Hakim-hakim 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ¹⁸  reporting, “Beware! ¹⁹  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ²⁰  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ²¹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:35-37

9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places. 9:36 Gaal saw the men ²²  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ²³  9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ²⁴  of the land. A unit ²⁵  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ²⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 16:8

16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them.

Hakim-hakim 16:14

16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ²⁷  Samson!” ²⁸  He woke up ²⁹  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

Hakim-hakim 16:27

16:27 Now the temple ³⁰  was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.

Hakim-hakim 17:8

17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ³¹ 

Hakim-hakim 20:8

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ³²  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ³³  Not one of us will return ³⁴  to his house!

Hakim-hakim 21:7

21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? ³⁵  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”

[1:24]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[2:20]  ² tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20]  ³ tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

[5:17]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “lived.”

[5:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “lived” or “settled down.”

[5:17]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word מִפְרָץ (mifrats) is uncertain, but the parallelism (note “seacoast”) suggests “harbors.”

[6:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:17]  ¹² tn Heb “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

[6:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “perform for me.”

[6:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[9:31]  ¹⁸ tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.

[9:31]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ²⁰ tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.

[9:31]  ²¹ tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).

[9:36]  ²² tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ²³ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[9:37]  ²⁴ tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

[9:37]  ²⁵ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ²⁶ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[16:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:14]  ²⁸ tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.

[16:14]  ²⁹ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:27]  ³⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[17:8]  ³¹ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[20:8]  ³² tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ³³ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ³⁴ tn Or “turn aside.”

[21:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”