Hakim-hakim 3:24

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ¹  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ²  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ³ 

Hakim-hakim 1:24

1:24 the spies spotted ⁴  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 9:37

9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ⁵  of the land. A unit ⁶  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 5:8

5:8 God chose new leaders, ⁸ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ⁹ 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ¹⁰ 

among forty military units ¹¹  in Israel.

Hakim-hakim 2:7

2:7 The people worshiped ¹²  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ¹³  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ¹⁴  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ¹⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 8:15

8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ¹⁶  Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ¹⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 9:55

9:55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 13:22

13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” ¹⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 14:1

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. ²⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 14:11

14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ²¹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:36

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 

Hakim-hakim 16:1

Samson’s Downfall

16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. ²⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 20:41

20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked ²⁵  because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. ²⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 19:30

19:30 Everyone who saw the sight ²⁷  said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since ²⁸  the Israelites left the land of Egypt! ²⁹  Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”

Hakim-hakim 18:26

18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ³⁰  they were too strong to resist, ³¹  he turned around and went home.

Hakim-hakim 19:17

19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ³²  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?”

Hakim-hakim 13:10

13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, ³³  “Come quickly, ³⁴  the man who visited ³⁵  me the other day has appeared to me!”

Hakim-hakim 9:43

9:43 he took his men ³⁶  and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, ³⁷  he attacked and struck them down. ³⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 14:2

14:2 When he got home, ³⁹  he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. ⁴⁰  Now get her for my wife.”

Hakim-hakim 16:24

16:24 When the people saw him, ⁴¹  they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” ⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ⁴³  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ⁴⁴  said, “Oh no! ⁴⁵  Master, Lord! ⁴⁶  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Hakim-hakim 14:8

14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ⁴⁷  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ⁴⁸  a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey.

Hakim-hakim 13:3

13:3 The Lord’s angelic ⁴⁹  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ⁵⁰  are infertile and childless, ⁵¹  but you will conceive and have a son.

Hakim-hakim 4:22

4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ⁵²  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ⁵³  with the tent peg in his temple.

Hakim-hakim 11:35

11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ⁵⁴  You have brought me disaster! ⁵⁵  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁵⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 18:9

18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ⁵⁷  for ⁵⁸  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ⁵⁹  but don’t hesitate ⁶⁰  to invade and conquer ⁶¹  the land.

Hakim-hakim 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ⁶²  with his concubine and his servant, ⁶³  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ⁶⁴  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ⁶⁵  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ⁶⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 19:3

19:3 her husband came ⁶⁷  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ⁶⁸  He brought with him his servant ⁶⁹  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ⁷⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 12:3

12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ⁷¹  I risked my life ⁷²  and advanced against ⁷³  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ⁷⁴  to fight with me today?”

Hakim-hakim 13:23

13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. ⁷⁵  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

Hakim-hakim 20:36

20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ⁷⁶  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

Hakim-hakim 18:7

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ⁷⁷  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ⁷⁸  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ⁷⁹  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ⁸⁰  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸¹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:48

9:48 He and all his men ⁸²  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁸³  took an ax ⁸⁴  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁸⁵  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁸⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 10:16

10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned ⁸⁷  and worshiped ⁸⁸  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ⁸⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:35

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.

Hakim-hakim 16:23

Samson’s Death and Burial

16:23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.”

Hakim-hakim 16:2

16:2 The Gazites were told, ⁹⁰  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town ⁹¹  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. ⁹²  They relaxed ⁹³  all night, thinking, ⁹⁴  “He will not leave ⁹⁵  until morning comes; ⁹⁶  then we will kill him!”

Hakim-hakim 1:2

1:2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead. ⁹⁷  Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.” ⁹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 20:7

20:7 All you Israelites, ⁹⁹  make a decision here!” ¹⁰⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 7:13

7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ¹⁰¹  The man ¹⁰²  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ¹⁰³  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ¹⁰⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 6:15

6:15 Gideon ¹⁰⁵  said to him, “But Lord, ¹⁰⁶  how ¹⁰⁷  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ¹⁰⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 6:37

6:37 Look, I am putting a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece, and the ground around it ¹⁰⁹  is dry, then I will be sure ¹¹⁰  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ¹¹¹  as you promised.”

Hakim-hakim 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ¹¹²  reporting, “Beware! ¹¹³  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ¹¹⁴  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ¹¹⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 11:26

11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

Hakim-hakim 13:7

13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. ¹¹⁶  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ¹¹⁷  For the child will be dedicated ¹¹⁸  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

Hakim-hakim 19:16

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ¹¹⁹  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ¹²⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 19:24

19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹²¹  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ¹²²  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”

Hakim-hakim 21:19

21:19 However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel ¹²³  (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah.”

Hakim-hakim 13:21

13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. ¹²⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 13:20

13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it ¹²⁵  while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown ¹²⁶  to the ground.

Hakim-hakim 6:12

6:12 The Lord’s messenger appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!”

Hakim-hakim 5:22

5:22 The horses’ ¹²⁷  hooves pounded the ground; ¹²⁸ 

the stallions galloped madly. ¹²⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 7:17

7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! ¹³⁰  I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!

Hakim-hakim 20:40

20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ¹³¹ 

Hakim-hakim 6:28

6:28 When the men of the city got up the next morning, they saw ¹³²  the Baal altar pulled down, the nearby Asherah pole cut down, and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar.

Hakim-hakim 9:46

9:46 When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem ¹³³  heard the news, they went to the stronghold ¹³⁴  of the temple of El-Berith. ¹³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 6:11

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ¹³⁶  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ¹³⁷  was threshing ¹³⁸  wheat in a winepress ¹³⁹  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ¹⁴⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 7:12

7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. ¹⁴¹  Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore.

Hakim-hakim 3:4

3:4 They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses. ¹⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ¹⁴³  you absolutely despised ¹⁴⁴  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ¹⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 16:19

16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ¹⁴⁶  and then called a man in to shave off ¹⁴⁷  the seven braids of his hair. ¹⁴⁸  She made him vulnerable ¹⁴⁹  and his strength left him.

Hakim-hakim 18:18

18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ¹⁵⁰  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

Hakim-hakim 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ¹⁵¹  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ¹⁵²  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Hakim-hakim 16:18

16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ¹⁵³  she sent for ¹⁵⁴  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ¹⁵⁵  his secret.” ¹⁵⁶  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.

Hakim-hakim 21:21

21:21 and keep your eyes open. ¹⁵⁷  When you see ¹⁵⁸  the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, ¹⁵⁹  jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin.

[3:24]  ¹ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ² tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ³ tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “saw.”

[9:37]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ⁷ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[5:8]  ⁸ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

[5:8]  ⁹ tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

[5:8]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

[2:7]  ¹² tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[8:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”

[8:15]  sn Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying exhausted men rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensitivity of the men of Succoth.

[9:55]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “each to his own place.”

[13:22]  ¹⁹ tn Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the Lord’s messenger, not God himself. Of course, he may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Another option, the one followed in the translation, understands Manoah to be referring to a lesser deity. The term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) is sometimes used of an individual deity other than the Lord (see BDB 43 s.v. 2.a). One cannot assume that Manoah was a theologically sophisticated monotheist.

[14:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kir’otam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (bÿyir’atam, “because they feared”).

[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.”

[16:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.

[20:41]  ²⁵ tn Or “were terrified.”

[20:41]  ²⁶ tn Heb “disaster touched against them.”

[19:30]  ²⁷ tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[19:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from the day.”

[19:30]  ²⁹ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”

[18:26]  ³⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ³¹ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[19:17]  ³² tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”

[13:10]  ³³ tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

[13:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Look.”

[13:10]  ³⁵ tn Heb “came to.”

[9:43]  ³⁶ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:43]  ³⁷ tn Heb “And he saw and, look, the people were coming out of the city.”

[9:43]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he arose against them and struck them.”

[14:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and he went up.”

[14:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[16:24]  ⁴¹ tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.

[16:24]  ⁴² tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[6:22]  ⁴³ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[14:8]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[13:3]  ⁴⁹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[4:22]  ⁵² tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ⁵³ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”

[11:35]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[11:35]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[18:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ⁵⁸ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[19:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ⁶³ tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[12:3]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ⁷² tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ⁷³ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ⁷⁴ tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:23]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “our hand.”

[20:36]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “gave place to.”

[18:7]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ⁸¹ 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.

[9:48]  ⁸² tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ⁸⁴ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[10:16]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “from their midst.”

[10:16]  ⁸⁸ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[10:16]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).

[16:2]  ⁹⁰ tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

[16:2]  ⁹¹ 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]  ⁹² tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

[16:2]  ⁹³ tn Heb “were silent.”

[16:2]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[16:2]  ⁹⁵ tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[16:2]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[1:2]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

[1:2]  ⁹⁸ 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.”

[20:7]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “Look, all of you sons of Israel.”

[20:7]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “give for yourselves a word and advice here.”

[7:13]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

[7:13]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:13]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

[7:13]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

[6:15]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.

[6:15]  ¹⁰⁷ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[6:37]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ¹¹⁰ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[9:31]  ¹¹² 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]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ¹¹⁴ 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]  ¹¹⁵ 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).

[13:7]  ¹¹⁶ tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.

[13:7]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:7]  ¹¹⁸ tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”

[19:16]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

[19:16]  ¹²⁰ tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

[19:24]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ¹²² tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[21:19]  ¹²³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:21]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the Lord’s messenger.”

[13:20]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”

[13:20]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “on their faces.”

[5:22]  ¹²⁷ 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]  ¹²⁸ tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[7:17]  ¹³⁰ tn Or “look.”

[20:40]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”

[6:28]  ¹³² tn Heb “look!” The narrator uses this word to invite his audience/readers to view the scene through the eyes of the men.

[9:46]  ¹³³ sn Perhaps the Tower of Shechem was a nearby town, distinct from Shechem proper, or a tower within the city.

[9:46]  ¹³⁴ tn Apparently this rare word refers here to the most inaccessible area of the temple, perhaps the inner sanctuary or an underground chamber. It appears only here and in 1 Sam 13:6, where it is paired with “cisterns” and refers to subterranean or cave-like hiding places.

[9:46]  ¹³⁵ sn The name El-Berith means “God of the Covenant.” It is probably a reference to the Canaanite high god El.

[6:11]  ¹³⁶ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  sn The Lord’s angelic messenger is also mentioned in Judg 2:1.

[6:11]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.

[6:11]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ¹³⁹ sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[6:11]  ¹⁴⁰ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:12]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

[3:4]  ¹⁴² tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”

[15:2]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

[16:19]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ¹⁴⁷ 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]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ¹⁴⁹ 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.

[18:18]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[13:6]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[16:18]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ¹⁵⁴ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ¹⁵⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ¹⁵⁶ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[21:21]  ¹⁵⁷ tn Heb “and look.”

[21:21]  ¹⁵⁸ tn Heb “and look, when.”

[21:21]  ¹⁵⁹ tn Heb “in the dances.”