Hakim-hakim 8:7

8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, ¹  after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh ²  your skin ³  with ⁴  desert thorns and briers.”

Hakim-hakim 21:22

21:22 When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, ⁵  we’ll say to them, “Do us a favor and let them be, ⁶  for we could not get each one a wife through battle. ⁷  Don’t worry about breaking your oath! ⁸  You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.’” ⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 18:5

18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ¹⁰  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ¹¹ 

Hakim-hakim 15:7

15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this, ¹²  I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” ¹³ 

Hakim-hakim 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ¹⁴  I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) ¹⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 9:15

9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ¹⁶  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ¹⁷  Otherwise ¹⁸  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

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 ¹⁹  is dry, then I will be sure ²⁰  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ²¹  as you promised.”

Hakim-hakim 8:2

8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ²²  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ²³ 

Hakim-hakim 9:20

9:20 But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!”

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. ²⁴  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

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? ²⁵  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

Hakim-hakim 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ²⁶  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ²⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 5:28

5:28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:

‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?

Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses ²⁸  delayed?’

Hakim-hakim 18:4

18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ²⁹  “He hired me and I became his priest.”

Hakim-hakim 18:23

18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ³⁰  turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?”

Hakim-hakim 6:2

6:2 The Midianites ³¹  overwhelmed Israel. ³²  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ³³  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

Hakim-hakim 8:8

8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ³⁴  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 21:15

21:15 The people regretted what had happened to ³⁶  Benjamin because the Lord had weakened ³⁷  the Israelite tribes.

Hakim-hakim 8:35

8:35 They did not treat ³⁸  the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.

Hakim-hakim 10:13

10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped ³⁹  other gods, I will not deliver you again.

Hakim-hakim 21:3

21:3 They said, “Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?” An entire ⁴⁰  tribe has disappeared from Israel today!”

Hakim-hakim 4:21

4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ⁴¹  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ⁴²  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ⁴³  and he died.

Hakim-hakim 15:11

15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”

Hakim-hakim 6:20

6:20 God’s messenger said to him, “Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, ⁴⁴  and pour out the broth.” Gideon did as instructed. ⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 8:1

8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us ⁴⁶  when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him.

Hakim-hakim 8:18

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ⁴⁷  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ⁴⁸ 

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.” ⁴⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 1:7

1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ⁵⁰  food scraps ⁵¹  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ⁵²  They brought him to Jerusalem, ⁵³  where he died.

Hakim-hakim 7:5

7:5 So he brought the men ⁵⁴  down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” ⁵⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 7:20

7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. ⁵⁶  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Hakim-hakim 9:48

9:48 He and all his men ⁵⁷  went up on Mount Zalmon. He ⁵⁸  took an ax ⁵⁹  in his hand and cut off a tree branch. He put it ⁶⁰  on his shoulder and said to his men, “Quickly, do what you have just seen me do!” ⁶¹ 

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! ⁶²  You have brought me disaster! ⁶³  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁶⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ⁶⁵  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ⁶⁶  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Hakim-hakim 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ⁶⁷  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ⁶⁸  fire, and they ⁶⁹  melted away from his hands.

Hakim-hakim 16:24

16:24 When the people saw him, ⁷⁰  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!” ⁷¹ 

Hakim-hakim 19:24

19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ⁷²  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ⁷³  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!”

Hakim-hakim 21:23

21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. ⁷⁴  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ⁷⁵  They went home ⁷⁶  to their own territory, ⁷⁷  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ⁷⁸ 

[8:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Therefore.”

[8:7]  ² sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.

[8:7]  ³ tn Or “flesh.”

[8:7]  ⁴ tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (’et, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.

[21:22]  ⁵ tc The (original) LXX and Vulgate read “to you.”

[21:22]  ⁶ tn The words “and let them be” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “for we did not take each his wife in battle.”

[21:22]  sn Through battle. This probably refers to the battle against Jabesh Gilead, which only produced four hundred of the six hundred wives needed.

[21:22]  ⁸ tn This sentence is not in the Hebrew text. It is supplied in the translation to clarify the logic of the statement.

[21:22]  ⁹ tc Heb “You did not give to them, now you are guilty.” The MT as it stands makes little sense. It is preferable to emend לֹא (lo’, “not”) to לוּא (lu’, “if”). This particle introduces a purely hypothetical condition, “If you had given to them [but you didn’t].” See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 453-54.

[18:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

[15:7]  ¹² tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.

[15:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”

[13:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ¹⁵ tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim), not the Lord (יְהוַה, yÿhvah). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (אֲדוֹנָי, ’adonay) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).

[9:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

[9:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in my shade.”

[9:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “If not.”

[6:37]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ²⁰ tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ²¹ tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[8:2]  ²² tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ²³ sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[13:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “our hand.”

[16:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[17:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

[17:10]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.

[5:28]  ²⁸ tn Heb “chariots.”

[18:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.

[18:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ³² tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ³³ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[8:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

[8:8]  ³⁵ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

[21:15]  ³⁶ tn Or “felt sorry for.”

[21:15]  ³⁷ tn Heb “had made a gaping hole in.” The narrator uses imagery that compares Israel to a wall that has been breached.

[8:35]  ³⁸ tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”

[10:13]  ³⁹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[21:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “one.”

[4:21]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ⁴² tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”

[6:20]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Take the meat…and put [it] on this rock.”

[6:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he did so.”

[8:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “by not summoning us.”

[8:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[16:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”

[1:7]  ⁵⁰ tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

[1:7]  ⁵¹ tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[1:7]  ⁵² tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

[1:7]  ⁵³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”

[7:20]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:48]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “his people.”

[9:48]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Abimelech.” The proper name has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”) due to considerations of English style.

[9:48]  ⁵⁹ tn The Hebrew text has the plural here.

[9:48]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he lifted it and put [it].”

[9:48]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “What you have seen me do, quickly do like me.”

[11:35]  ⁶² 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]  ⁶³ tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[13:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[15:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[16:24]  ⁷⁰ 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]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”

[19:24]  ⁷² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ⁷³ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[21:23]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “did so.”

[21:23]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”

[21:23]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “went and returned.”

[21:23]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “inheritance.”

[21:23]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and lived in them.”