Hakim-hakim 1:14

1:14 One time Acsah ¹  came and charmed her father ²  so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”

Hakim-hakim 1:18

1:18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. ³ 

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. ⁴  I will hand him over to you.”

Hakim-hakim 6:33

Gideon Summons an Army and Seeks Confirmation

6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east ⁵  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ⁶  and camped in the Jezreel Valley.

Hakim-hakim 8:6

8:6 The officials of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give ⁷  bread to your army?” ⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 10:8

10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed ⁹  the Israelites that eighteenth year ¹⁰  – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead.

Hakim-hakim 11:20

11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He ¹¹  assembled his whole army, ¹²  camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

Hakim-hakim 14:5

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ¹³  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ¹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 19:17

19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler ¹⁵  in the town square, the old man said, “Where are you heading? Where do you come from?”

Hakim-hakim 20:15

20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 20:34

20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ¹⁷  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 21:1

600 Brides for 600 Brothers

21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.”

[1:14]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

[1:18]  ³ tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “horde”; “multitude.”

[6:33]  ⁵ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

[6:33]  ⁶ tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:6]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).

[8:6]  sn The officials of Succoth are hesitant to give (or sell) food to Gideon’s forces because they are not sure of the outcome of the battle. Perhaps they had made an alliance with the Midianites which demanded their loyalty.

[10:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.

[10:8]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.

[11:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.

[11:20]  ¹² tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).

[14:5]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[19:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the man, the traveler.”

[20:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “besides from the ones living in Gibeah they mustered seven hundred choice men.”

[20:34]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “heavy”; or “severe.”

[20:34]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”