Hakim-hakim 4:6

4:6 She summoned ¹  Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun!

Hakim-hakim 5:30

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ²  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ³ 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ⁴ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ⁵ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 9:2

9:2 “Tell ⁷  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ⁸  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:5

9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ¹⁰  the seventy legitimate ¹¹  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ¹²  because he hid.

Hakim-hakim 9:18

9:18 But you have attacked ¹³  my father’s family ¹⁴  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ¹⁵  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 12:4

12:4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, ¹⁷  “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ¹⁹  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ²⁰  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Hakim-hakim 14:15

14:15 On the fourth ²¹  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ²²  If you refuse, ²³  we will burn up ²⁴  you and your father’s family. ²⁵  Did you invite us here ²⁶  to make us poor?” ²⁷ 

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 ²⁸  and gave them ²⁹  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ³⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 15:6

15:6 The Philistines asked, ³¹  “Who did this?” They were told, ³²  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ³³  took Samson’s ³⁴  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 16:25

16:25 When they really started celebrating, ³⁶  they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. ³⁷  They made him stand between two pillars.

Hakim-hakim 18:30

18:30 The Danites worshiped ³⁸  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ³⁹  of Gershom, son of Moses, ⁴⁰  and his descendants ⁴¹  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

Hakim-hakim 19:3

19:3 her husband came ⁴²  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ⁴³  He brought with him his servant ⁴⁴  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. ⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 20:10

20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. ⁴⁶  When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.” ⁴⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 20:48

20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ⁴⁸  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ⁴⁹  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ⁵⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 21:10

21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ⁵¹  against Jabesh Gilead. ⁵²  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ⁵³  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

[4:6]  ¹ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[5:30]  ² tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ³ tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ⁶ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”

[9:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ¹¹ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ¹² tn Heb “remained.”

[9:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ¹⁵ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your brother.”

[12:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “because they said.”

[12:4]  ¹⁸ tc Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru pÿlitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’mÿru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”

[13:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[14:15]  ²¹ tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.

[14:15]  ²² tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ²³ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ²⁶ tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (halo’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.

[14:15]  ²⁷ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[14:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[15:6]  ³¹ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ³² tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ³³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ³⁵ 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.

[16:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “When their heart was good.”

[16:25]  ³⁷ tn Heb “before them.”

[18:30]  ³⁸ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ³⁹ tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  ⁴⁰ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

[18:30]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “sons.”

[19:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[20:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “people.”

[20:10]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful [thing] which he [collective = “Benjamin”] did in Israel.” Here “Geba” must be an error for “Gibeah.”

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

[20:48]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”

[21:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[21:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “there.”

[21:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”