Hakim-hakim 1:24

1:24 the spies spotted ¹  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 2:22

2:22 Joshua left those nations ²  to test ³  Israel. I wanted to see ⁴  whether or not the people ⁵  would carefully walk in the path ⁶  marked out by ⁷  the Lord, as their ancestors ⁸  were careful to do.”

Hakim-hakim 4:5

4:5 She would sit ⁹  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ¹⁰  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ¹¹ 

Hakim-hakim 4:7

4:7 I will bring Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to you at the Kishon River, along with his chariots and huge army. ¹²  I will hand him over to you.”

Hakim-hakim 4:15

4:15 The Lord routed ¹³  Sisera, all his chariotry, and all his army with the edge of the sword. ¹⁴  Sisera jumped out of ¹⁵  his chariot and ran away on foot.

Hakim-hakim 4:19

4:19 He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink, because I’m thirsty.” She opened a goatskin container of milk and gave him some milk to drink. Then she covered him up again.

Hakim-hakim 5:8

5:8 God chose new leaders, ¹⁶ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ¹⁷ 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ¹⁸ 

among forty military units ¹⁹  in Israel.

Hakim-hakim 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ²⁰  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²¹  said, “Oh no! ²²  Master, Lord! ²³  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Hakim-hakim 7:21

7:21 They stood in order ²⁴  all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. ²⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 8:8

8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ²⁶  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ²⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 8:20

8:20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! ²⁸  Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, ²⁹  because he was still young.

Hakim-hakim 8:22

Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod

8:22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.” ³⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 8:25

8:25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” ³¹  So they ³²  spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it.

Hakim-hakim 9:27

9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, ³³  squeezed out the juice, ³⁴  and celebrated. They came to the temple ³⁵  of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.

Hakim-hakim 9:29

9:29 If only these men ³⁶  were under my command, ³⁷  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ³⁸  “Muster ³⁹  your army and come out for battle!” ⁴⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 11:3

11:3 So Jephthah left ⁴¹  his half-brothers ⁴²  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁴³ 

Hakim-hakim 11:9

11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁴⁴  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁴⁵  I will be your leader.” ⁴⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 14:5

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ⁴⁷  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ⁴⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 15:13

15:13 They said to him, “We promise! ⁴⁹  We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff.

Hakim-hakim 17:7

Micah Hires a Professional

17:7 There was a young man from Bethlehem ⁵⁰  in Judah. He was a Levite who had been temporarily residing among the tribe of Judah. ⁵¹ 

Hakim-hakim 18:12

18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. ⁵²  It is west ⁵³  of Kiriath Jearim.)

Hakim-hakim 19:6

19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. ⁵⁴  Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!” ⁵⁵ 

[1:24]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[2:22]  ² tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

[2:22]  ³ tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:22]  ⁴ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ⁷ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ⁸ tn Or “fathers.”

[4:5]  ⁹ tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[4:7]  ¹² tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[4:15]  ¹³ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[4:15]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “before Barak.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “got down from.”

[5:8]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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”).

[6:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ²² tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[7:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “each in his place.”

[7:21]  ²⁵ tn Or “fled.”

[8:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

[8:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

[8:20]  ²⁸ tn Or “Arise!”

[8:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”

[8:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:25]  ³¹ tn Heb “We will indeed give.”

[8:25]  ³² tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.

[9:27]  ³³ tn Heb “vineyards.”

[9:27]  ³⁴ tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.

[9:27]  ³⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[9:29]  ³⁶ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.

[9:29]  ³⁸ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[11:3]  ⁴¹ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[11:9]  ⁴⁴ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[14:5]  ⁴⁷ tc The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.

[14:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[15:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.

[17:7]  ⁵⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[17:7]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the tribe of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was temporarily residing there.”

[18:12]  ⁵² tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”

[18:12]  ⁵³ tn Heb “behind.”

[19:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”

[19:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”