Hakim-hakim 5:26

5:26 Her left ¹  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ²  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ³ 

she smashed his head, ⁴ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 16:19

16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ⁶  and then called a man in to shave off ⁷  the seven braids of his hair. ⁸  She made him vulnerable ⁹  and his strength left him.

[5:26]  ¹ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ² tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ³ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ⁴ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[16:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ⁹ 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.