Hakim-hakim 2:1

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger ¹  went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. ²  I said, ‘I will never break my agreement ³  with you,

Hakim-hakim 7:25

7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ⁴  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ⁵  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ⁶  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 15:1

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, ⁸  Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. ⁹  He said to her father, ¹⁰  “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” ¹¹  But her father would not let him enter.

Hakim-hakim 19:22

19:22 They were having a good time, ¹²  when suddenly ¹³  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, ¹⁴  surrounded the house and kept beating ¹⁵  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” ¹⁶ 

[2:1]  ¹ sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

[7:25]  ⁴ sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.

[7:25]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).

[15:1]  ⁸ sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

[15:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

[15:1]  ¹⁰ tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

[15:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).

[19:22]  ¹² tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”

[19:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “and look.”

[19:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.

[19:22]  ¹⁵ tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.

[19:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).