Hakim-hakim 4:21

4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ¹  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ²  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ³  and he died.

Hakim-hakim 6:11

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ⁴  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ⁵  was threshing ⁶  wheat in a winepress ⁷  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 6:19

6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, ⁹  along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food ¹⁰  to him under the oak tree and presented it to him.

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 ¹¹  is dry, then I will be sure ¹²  that you will use me to deliver Israel, ¹³  as you promised.”

Hakim-hakim 7:8

7:8 The men ¹⁴  who were chosen ¹⁵  took supplies ¹⁶  and their trumpets. Gideon ¹⁷  sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; ¹⁸  he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites ¹⁹  were camped down below ²⁰  in the valley.

Hakim-hakim 7:22

7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords ²¹  throughout ²²  the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went ²³  to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Hakim-hakim 9:5

9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ²⁴  the seventy legitimate ²⁵  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ²⁶  because he hid.

Hakim-hakim 9:28

9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ²⁷  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ²⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 11:26

11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

Hakim-hakim 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ²⁹  You must never cut his hair, ³⁰  for the child will be dedicated to God ³¹  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ³²  of the Philistines.”

Hakim-hakim 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ³³  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.) ³⁴ 

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. ³⁵  He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

Hakim-hakim 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ³⁶  him and he tore the lion ³⁷  in two with his bare hands ³⁸  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Hakim-hakim 14:16

14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ³⁹  and said, “You must ⁴⁰  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ⁴¹  a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” ⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 15:12

15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ⁴³  you will not kill ⁴⁴  me.”

Hakim-hakim 15:19

15:19 So God split open the basin ⁴⁵  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁴⁶  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁴⁷  En Hakkore. ⁴⁸  It remains in Lehi to this very day.

Hakim-hakim 16:9

16:9 They hid ⁴⁹  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁵⁰  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ⁵¹  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁵² 

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? ⁵³  Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.”

Hakim-hakim 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁵⁴  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁵⁵  for I have been dedicated to God ⁵⁶  from the time I was conceived. ⁵⁷  If my head ⁵⁸  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Hakim-hakim 17:3

17:3 When he gave back to his mother the eleven hundred pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate ⁵⁹  this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.” ⁶⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 18:1

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ⁶¹  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ⁶² 

Hakim-hakim 18:3

18:3 As they approached ⁶³  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ⁶⁴  of the young Levite. So they stopped ⁶⁵  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ⁶⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 19:3

19:3 her husband came ⁶⁷  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ⁶⁸  He brought with him his servant ⁶⁹  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. ⁷⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ⁷¹  with his concubine and his servant, ⁷²  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ⁷³  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ⁷⁴  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ⁷⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 20:31

20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ⁷⁶  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ⁷⁷  They began to strike down their enemy ⁷⁸  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ⁷⁹  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ⁸⁰  about thirty Israelites.

Hakim-hakim 20:35

20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. ⁸¹ 

Hakim-hakim 20:42

20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook ⁸²  them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. ⁸³ 

Hakim-hakim 21:8

21:8 So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. ⁸⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 21:10

21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ⁸⁵  against Jabesh Gilead. ⁸⁶  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ⁸⁷  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

Hakim-hakim 21:21

21:21 and keep your eyes open. ⁸⁸  When you see ⁸⁹  the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, ⁹⁰  jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin.

[4:21]  ¹ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ² tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ³ 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.”

[6:11]  ⁴ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[6:11]  sn The Lord’s angelic messenger is also mentioned in Judg 2:1.

[6:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ⁷ sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[6:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “Midian.”

[6:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

[6:19]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[6:37]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all the ground.”

[6:37]  ¹² tn Or “know.”

[6:37]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will deliver Israel by my hand.”

[7:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “The people.”

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

[7:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “tents.”

[7:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:8]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

[7:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

[7:22]  ²² tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

[7:22]  ²³ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ²⁵ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:28]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ²⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:5]  ²⁹ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

[13:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ³¹ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[13:5]  ³² tn Heb “hand.”

[13:16]  ³³ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ³⁴ 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).

[13:23]  ³⁵ tn Heb “our hand.”

[14:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:16]  ³⁹ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[15:12]  ⁴³ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[15:19]  ⁴⁵ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁴⁸ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[16:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).

[16:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ⁵² tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[16:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”

[16:17]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[17:3]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.

[17:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “to the LORD from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the end of v. 4, וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.

[18:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ⁶² tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[18:3]  ⁶³ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).

[18:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

[19:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[19:9]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ⁷² tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “went out to meet.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

[20:31]  ⁷⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:31]  ⁸⁰ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:35]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “And the sons of Israel struck down in Benjamin that day 25,100 men, all of these wielding the sword.”

[20:42]  ⁸² tn Heb “clung to”; or “stuck close.”

[20:42]  ⁸³ tn Heb “and those from the cities were striking them down in their midst.”

[21:8]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”

[21:10]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[21:10]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “there.”

[21:10]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”

[21:21]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “and look.”

[21:21]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and look, when.”

[21:21]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “in the dances.”