Hakim-hakim 1:2

1:2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead. ¹  Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.” ² 

Hakim-hakim 1:8

1:8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

Hakim-hakim 3:2

3:2 He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war. ³ 

Hakim-hakim 3:26

3:26 Now Ehud had escaped while they were delaying. When he passed the carved images, he escaped to Seirah.

Hakim-hakim 15:17

15:17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down ⁴  and named that place Ramath Lehi. ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 15:20

15:20 Samson led ⁶  Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. ⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 16:4

16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

[1:2]  ² tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (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.”

[3:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war – only those who formerly did not know them.”

[3:2]  sn The stated purpose for leaving the nations (to teach the subsequent generations…how to conduct holy war) seems to contradict 2:22 and 3:4, which indicate the nations were left to test Israel’s loyalty to the Lord. However, the two stated purposes can be harmonized. The willingness of later generations to learn and engage in holy war would measure their allegiance to the Lord (see B. G. Webb, Judges [JSOTSup], 114-15).

[15:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “from his hand.”

[15:17]  ⁵ sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”

[15:20]  ⁶ tn Traditionally, “judged.”

[15:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”