Hakim-hakim 2:16

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ¹  who delivered them from these robbers. ² 

Hakim-hakim 5:21

5:21 The Kishon River carried them off;

the river confronted them ³  – the Kishon River.

Step on the necks of the strong! ⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 7:10

7:10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant

[2:16]  ¹ tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”

[2:16]  ² tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[5:21]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.