Hakim-hakim 3:28

3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ¹  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ²  opposite Moab, ³  and did not let anyone cross.

Hakim-hakim 6:5

6:5 When they invaded ⁴  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ⁵  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ⁶  They came to devour ⁷  the land.

Hakim-hakim 6:26

6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ⁸  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

Hakim-hakim 6:28

6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw ⁹  the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar.

Hakim-hakim 7:2

7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ¹⁰  Israel might brag, ¹¹  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 8:18

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ¹³  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ¹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 9:5

9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ¹⁵  the seventy legitimate ¹⁶  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ¹⁷  because he hid.

Hakim-hakim 9:27

9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ¹⁸  squeezed out the juice, ¹⁹  and celebrated. They came to the temple ²⁰  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

Hakim-hakim 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ²¹  reporting, “Beware! ²²  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ²³  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ²⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 9:36

9:36 Gaal saw the men ²⁵  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.” ²⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 9:49

9:49 So each of his men also cut off a branch and followed Abimelech. They put the branches ²⁷  against the stronghold and set fire to it. ²⁸  All the people ²⁹  of the Tower of Shechem died – about a thousand men and women.

Hakim-hakim 9:51

9:51 There was a fortified ³⁰  tower ³¹  in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.

Hakim-hakim 11:34

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ³²  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ³³  She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.

Hakim-hakim 12:5

12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ³⁴  opposite Ephraim. ³⁵  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ³⁶  said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ³⁷  him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”

Hakim-hakim 15:6

15:6 The Philistines asked, ³⁸  “Who did this?” They were told, ³⁹  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁴⁰  took Samson’s ⁴¹  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ⁴³  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁴⁴  fire, and they ⁴⁵  melted away from his hands.

Hakim-hakim 16:2

16:2 The Gazites were told, ⁴⁶  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ⁴⁷  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ⁴⁸  They relaxed ⁴⁹  all night, thinking, ⁵⁰  “He will not leave ⁵¹  until morning comes; ⁵²  then we will kill him!”

Hakim-hakim 16:12

16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁵³  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ⁵⁴  But he tore the ropes ⁵⁵  from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

Hakim-hakim 16:20

16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ⁵⁶  Samson!” He woke up ⁵⁷  and thought, ⁵⁸  “I will do as I did before ⁵⁹  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.

Hakim-hakim 18:1

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ⁶⁰  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ⁶¹ 

Hakim-hakim 18:9

18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ⁶²  for ⁶³  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ⁶⁴  but don’t hesitate ⁶⁵  to invade and conquer ⁶⁶  the land.

Hakim-hakim 19:5

19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ⁶⁷  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ⁶⁸  then you can go.”

Hakim-hakim 19:8

19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy. ⁶⁹  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ⁷⁰  So they ate a meal together.

Hakim-hakim 19:10

19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left ⁷¹  and traveled as far as ⁷²  Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). ⁷³  He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. ⁷⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 20:48

20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ⁷⁵  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ⁷⁶  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ⁷⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 21:8

21:8 So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. ⁷⁸ 

[3:28]  ¹ tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[3:28]  ² tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ³ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.

[6:26]  ⁸ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[6:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.

[7:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ¹² tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[8:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[9:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ¹⁶ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.

[9:27]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[9:31]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[9:49]  ²⁷ tn The words “the branches” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:49]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they kindled over them the stronghold with fire.”

[9:49]  ²⁹ tn Or “men,” but the word seems to have a more general sense here, as the conclusion to the sentence suggests.

[9:51]  ³⁰ tn Or “strong.”

[9:51]  ³¹ tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

[11:34]  ³² tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ³³ tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[12:5]  ³⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:5]  ³⁵ tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.

[12:5]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.

[12:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “say to.”

[15:6]  ³⁸ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.

[15:14]  ⁴³ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁶ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.

[16:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

[16:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “were silent.”

[16:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “saying.”

[16:2]  ⁵¹ tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[16:2]  ⁵² tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[16:12]  ⁵³ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”

[18:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[18:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ⁶³ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[19:5]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

[19:8]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

[19:8]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”

[19:10]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “and he arose and went.”

[19:10]  ⁷² tn Heb “to the front of.”

[19:10]  ⁷³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:10]  ⁷⁴ tc Some ancient witnesses add “and his servant.”

[20:48]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”

[20:48]  ⁷⁶ tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (me’ir mÿtim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (me’ir mÿtom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).

[20:48]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”

[21:8]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”