Hakim-hakim 13:14

13:14 She should not drink ¹  anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. ²  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.”

Hakim-hakim 19:16

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. ³  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) ⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 19:18

19:18 The Levite ⁵  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ⁶  in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That’s where I’m from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I’m heading home. ⁷  But no one has invited me into their home.

Hakim-hakim 5:14

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ⁸ 

they follow ⁹  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ¹⁰  the ones who march carrying ¹¹  an officer’s staff.

Hakim-hakim 14:4

14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ¹²  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ¹³  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

Hakim-hakim 10:3

10:3 Jair the Gileadite rose up after him; he led Israel for twenty-two years.

Hakim-hakim 13:2

13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. ¹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 18:29

18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. ¹⁵  But the city’s name used to be Laish.

Hakim-hakim 2:10

2:10 That entire generation passed away; ¹⁶  a new generation grew up ¹⁷  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 10:1

Stability Restored

10:1 After Abimelech’s death, ¹⁹  Tola son of Puah, grandson ²⁰  of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar, ²¹  rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country.

Hakim-hakim 10:15

10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, ²²  but deliver us today!” ²³ 

Hakim-hakim 11:39

11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ²⁴  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ²⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 13:13

13:13 The Lord’s messenger told ²⁶  Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. ²⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 17:9

17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ²⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 18:25

18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ²⁹  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ³⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 7:2

7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ³¹  Israel might brag, ³²  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ³³ 

Hakim-hakim 9:54

9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ³⁴  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ³⁵  ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died.

Hakim-hakim 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ³⁶  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ³⁷  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Hakim-hakim 14:15

14:15 On the fourth ³⁸  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ³⁹  If you refuse, ⁴⁰  we will burn up ⁴¹  you and your father’s family. ⁴²  Did you invite us here ⁴³  to make us poor?” ⁴⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 18:2

18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ⁴⁵  capable men ⁴⁶  from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house. ⁴⁷ 

[13:14]  ¹ tn Heb “eat.”

[13:14]  ² tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[19:16]  ³ tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

[19:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

[19:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “I went to Bethlehem in Judah, but [to] the house of the LORD I am going.” The Hebrew text has “house of the LORD,” which might refer to the shrine at Shiloh. The LXX reads “to my house.”

[5:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).

[5:14]  ⁹ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹⁰ tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ¹¹ tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[14:4]  ¹² tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[13:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and had not given birth.”

[18:29]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “arose after them.”

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

[10:1]  ¹⁹ tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.

[10:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”

[10:15]  ²² tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”

[10:15]  ²³ sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”

[11:39]  ²⁴ tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

[11:39]  ²⁵ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[13:13]  ²⁶ tn Or “said to.”

[13:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “To everything I said to the woman she should pay attention.” The Hebrew word order emphasizes “to everything,” probably because Manoah’s wife did not tell her husband everything the angel had said to her (cf. vv. 3-5 with v. 7). If she had, Manoah probably would not have been so confused about the child’s mission.

[17:9]  ²⁸ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[18:25]  ²⁹ tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

[18:25]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

[7:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ³² tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ³³ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[9:54]  ³⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:54]  ³⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[14:15]  ³⁸ tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.

[14:15]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:15]  ⁴² tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ⁴³ tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (halo’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.

[14:15]  ⁴⁴ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[18:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[18:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”