Hakim-hakim 1:28

1:28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

Hakim-hakim 16:6

16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” ¹ 

Hakim-hakim 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ²  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ³  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ⁴  Have I not sent you?”

Hakim-hakim 14:14

14:14 He said to them,

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

out of the strong one came something sweet.”

They could not solve the riddle for three days.

Hakim-hakim 16:19

16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ⁵  and then called a man in to shave off ⁶  the seven braids of his hair. ⁷  She made him vulnerable ⁸  and his strength left him.

Hakim-hakim 18:26

18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ⁹  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁰  he turned around and went home.

Hakim-hakim 8:21

8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ¹¹  “Come on, ¹²  you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” ¹³  So Gideon killed ¹⁴  Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

Hakim-hakim 14:18

14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ¹⁵ 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

Hakim-hakim 19:5

19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. ¹⁶  But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, ¹⁷  then you can go.”

Hakim-hakim 9:29

9:29 If only these men ¹⁸  were under my command, ¹⁹  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ²⁰  “Muster ²¹  your army and come out for battle!” ²² 

Hakim-hakim 16:15

16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? ²³  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

Hakim-hakim 9:51

9:51 There was a fortified ²⁴  tower ²⁵  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 16:9

16:9 They hid ²⁶  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ²⁷  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ²⁸  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ²⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 7:11

7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave ³⁰  and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. ³¹ 

Hakim-hakim 16:5

16:5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate ³²  him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”

Hakim-hakim 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ³³  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ³⁴  for I have been dedicated to God ³⁵  from the time I was conceived. ³⁶  If my head ³⁷  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Hakim-hakim 16:30

16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ³⁸  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ³⁹ 

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. ⁴⁰  Wait until later in the day to leave!” ⁴¹  So they ate a meal together.

Hakim-hakim 5:21

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them ⁴²  – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong! ⁴³ 

Hakim-hakim 16:28

16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, ⁴⁴  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ⁴⁵  against the Philistines for my two eyes!”

Hakim-hakim 5:22

5:22 The horses’ ⁴⁶  hooves pounded the ground; ⁴⁷ 

the stallions galloped madly. ⁴⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 3:12

Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance

3:12 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. ⁴⁹  The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel ⁵⁰  because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight.

Hakim-hakim 20:22

20:22 The Israelite army ⁵¹  took heart ⁵²  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Hakim-hakim 5:13

5:13 Then the survivors ⁵³  came down ⁵⁴  to the mighty ones; ⁵⁵ 

the Lord’s people came down to me ⁵⁶  as ⁵⁷  warriors.

Hakim-hakim 3:29

3:29 That day they killed about ten thousand Moabites ⁵⁸  – all strong, capable warriors; not one escaped.

Hakim-hakim 4:24

4:24 Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ⁵⁹  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ⁶⁰  him. ⁶¹ 

Hakim-hakim 13:25

13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him ⁶²  in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Hakim-hakim 7:2

7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ⁶³  Israel might brag, ⁶⁴  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ⁶⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 15:19

15:19 So God split open the basin ⁶⁶  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁶⁷  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁶⁸  En Hakkore. ⁶⁹  It remains in Lehi to this very day.

Hakim-hakim 1:35

1:35 The Amorites managed ⁷⁰  to remain in Har Heres, ⁷¹  Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, ⁷²  the Amorites were forced to do hard labor.

Hakim-hakim 3:21

3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s ⁷³  belly.

Hakim-hakim 4:7

4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. ⁷⁴  I will hand him over to you.”

Hakim-hakim 5:31

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!” ⁷⁵ 

And the land had rest for forty years.

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 16:16

16:16 She nagged him ⁷⁶  every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. ⁷⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 16:29

16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple ⁷⁸  and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.

Hakim-hakim 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ⁷⁹  him and he tore the lion ⁸⁰  in two with his bare hands ⁸¹  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Hakim-hakim 14:19

14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes ⁸²  and gave them ⁸³  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ⁸⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ⁸⁵  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁸⁶  fire, and they ⁸⁷  melted away from his hands.

Hakim-hakim 16:13

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ⁸⁸  into the fabric on the loom ⁸⁹  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Hakim-hakim 18:7

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ⁹⁰  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ⁹¹  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ⁹²  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ⁹³  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁹⁴ 

[16:6]  ¹ tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”

[6:14]  ² sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ³ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[16:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

[16:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.

[18:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[8:21]  ¹¹ tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:21]  ¹² tn Or “Arise.”

[8:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”

[8:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “arose and killed.”

[14:18]  ¹⁵ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[19:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

[19:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

[9:29]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.

[9:29]  ²⁰ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ²¹ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ²² tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[16:15]  ²³ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[9:51]  ²⁴ tn Or “strong.”

[9:51]  ²⁵ tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.

[16:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).

[16:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[7:11]  ³⁰ tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”

[7:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”

[16:5]  ³² tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”

[16:17]  ³³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ³⁵ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ³⁶ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:30]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ³⁹ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[19:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

[19:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”

[5:21]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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.

[16:28]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[5:22]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[3:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord” (also later in this verse).

[3:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “strengthened Eglon…against Israel.”

[20:22]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ⁵² tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[5:13]  ⁵³ 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]  ⁵⁴ 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]  ⁵⁵ sn The expression mighty ones probably refers to the leaders of the army.

[5:13]  ⁵⁶ sn The speaker may be Deborah here.

[5:13]  ⁵⁷ 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.

[3:29]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “They struck Moab that day – about ten thousand men.”

[4:24]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “The hand of the Israelites became more and more severe against.”

[4:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “cut off.”

[4:24]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Jabin king of Canaan.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:25]  ⁶² tn Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”

[7:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[15:19]  ⁶⁶ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁶⁹ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[1:35]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “were determined.”

[1:35]  ⁷¹ tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.

[1:35]  ⁷² tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”

[3:21]  ⁷³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[5:31]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”

[16:16]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “forced him with her words.”

[16:16]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”

[16:29]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”

[14:6]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:19]  ⁸² tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ⁸³ tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[15:14]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[16:13]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

[16:13]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

[18:7]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ⁹² tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ⁹³ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ⁹⁴ tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.