Hakim-hakim 1:7

1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up ¹  food scraps ²  under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” ³  They brought him to Jerusalem, ⁴  where he died.

Hakim-hakim 2:1

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger ⁵  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. ⁶  I said, ‘I will never break my agreement ⁷  with you,

Hakim-hakim 2:20

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ⁸  He said, “This nation ⁹  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ¹⁰  by disobeying me. ¹¹ 

Hakim-hakim 3:20

3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ¹²  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ¹³  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ¹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 3:28

3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” ¹⁵  They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River ¹⁶  opposite Moab, ¹⁷  and did not let anyone cross.

Hakim-hakim 6:8

6:8 he ¹⁸  sent a prophet ¹⁹  to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought you up from Egypt ²⁰  and took you out of that place of slavery. ²¹ 

Hakim-hakim 6:13

6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, ²²  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ²³  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ²⁴  ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

Hakim-hakim 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ²⁵  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²⁶  said, “Oh no! ²⁷  Master, Lord! ²⁸  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Hakim-hakim 6:25

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. ²⁹  Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

Hakim-hakim 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ³⁰  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ³¹  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³²  will die by morning! ³³  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ³⁴  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 6:39

6:39 Gideon said to God, “Please do not get angry at me, when I ask for just one more sign. ³⁶  Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make only the fleece dry, while the ground around it is covered with dew.” ³⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 7:2

7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ³⁸  Israel might brag, ³⁹  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ⁴⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 7:5

7:5 So he brought the men ⁴¹  down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” ⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 7:7

7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army ⁴³  and I will hand Midian over to you. ⁴⁴  The rest of the men should go home.” ⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 7:13-15

7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. ⁴⁶  The man ⁴⁷  said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw ⁴⁸  a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” ⁴⁹  7:14 The other man said, ⁵⁰  “Without a doubt this symbolizes ⁵¹  the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ⁵²  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”

Hakim-hakim 8:5

8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give ⁵³  some loaves of bread to the men ⁵⁴  who are following me, ⁵⁵  because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

Hakim-hakim 8:15

8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! ⁵⁶  Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” ⁵⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 8:21

8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, ⁵⁸  “Come on, ⁵⁹  you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” ⁶⁰  So Gideon killed ⁶¹  Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.

Hakim-hakim 9:7

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁶²  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ⁶³  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

Hakim-hakim 9:15

9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose ⁶⁴  me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches! ⁶⁵  Otherwise ⁶⁶  may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

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? ⁶⁷  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ⁶⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 9:38

9:38 Zebul said to him, “Where now are your bragging words, ⁶⁹  ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the men ⁷⁰  you insulted? ⁷¹  Go out now and fight them!”

Hakim-hakim 9:54

9:54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons, ⁷²  “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say, ⁷³  ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died.

Hakim-hakim 11:9

11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁷⁴  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁷⁵  I will be your leader.” ⁷⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 11:13

11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ⁷⁷  my land when they ⁷⁸  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ⁷⁹  Now return it ⁸⁰  peaceably!”

Hakim-hakim 11:35

11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ⁸¹  You have brought me disaster! ⁸²  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ⁸³ 

Hakim-hakim 12:5-6

12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River ⁸⁴  opposite Ephraim. ⁸⁵  Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive ⁸⁶  said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked ⁸⁷  him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 12:6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” ⁸⁸  If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word ⁸⁹  correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead.

Hakim-hakim 13:7-8

13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁹⁰  So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. ⁹¹  For the child will be dedicated ⁹²  to God from birth till the day he dies.’”

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁹³  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁹⁴  to visit ⁹⁵  us again, so he can teach ⁹⁶  us how we should raise ⁹⁷  the child who will be born.”

Hakim-hakim 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ⁹⁸  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.) ⁹⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 14:12

14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, ¹⁰⁰  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ¹⁰¹  of clothes.

Hakim-hakim 14:16

14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ¹⁰²  and said, “You must ¹⁰³  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ¹⁰⁴  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?” ¹⁰⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 14:18

14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ¹⁰⁶ 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

Hakim-hakim 15:1

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, ¹⁰⁷  Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. ¹⁰⁸  He said to her father, ¹⁰⁹  “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” ¹¹⁰  But her father would not let him enter.

Hakim-hakim 15:11

15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”

Hakim-hakim 15:18

15:18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant ¹¹¹  this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines?” ¹¹² 

Hakim-hakim 16:13

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ¹¹³  into the fabric on the loom ¹¹⁴  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Hakim-hakim 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ¹¹⁵  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ¹¹⁶  for I have been dedicated to God ¹¹⁷  from the time I was conceived. ¹¹⁸  If my head ¹¹⁹  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Hakim-hakim 16:28

16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, ¹²⁰  remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge ¹²¹  against the Philistines for my two eyes!”

Hakim-hakim 16:30

16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ¹²²  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ¹²³ 

Hakim-hakim 17:2

17:2 He said to his mother, “You know ¹²⁴  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ¹²⁵  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ¹²⁶  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ¹²⁷  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ¹²⁸  you, my son!”

Hakim-hakim 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹²⁹  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ¹³⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ¹³¹  with his concubine and his servant, ¹³²  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ¹³³  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ¹³⁴  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ¹³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 19:11

19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late ¹³⁶  and the servant ¹³⁷  said to his master, “Come on, let’s stop at ¹³⁸  this Jebusite city and spend the night in it.”

Hakim-hakim 19:18

19:18 The Levite ¹³⁹  said to him, “We are traveling from Bethlehem ¹⁴⁰  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. ¹⁴¹  But no one has invited me into their home.

Hakim-hakim 19:23

19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!

Hakim-hakim 20:18

20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel ¹⁴²  and asked God, ¹⁴³  “Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?” ¹⁴⁴  The Lord said, “Judah should lead.”

Hakim-hakim 20:23

20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, “Should we ¹⁴⁵  again march out to fight ¹⁴⁶  the Benjaminites, our brothers?” ¹⁴⁷  The Lord said, “Attack them!” ¹⁴⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 20:28

20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord ¹⁴⁹  in those days), “Should we ¹⁵⁰  once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, ¹⁵¹  or should we ¹⁵²  quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them ¹⁵³  over to you.”

[1:7]  ¹ tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

[1:7]  ² tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[1:7]  ³ tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

[1:7]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:1]  ⁵ sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

[3:20]  ¹² tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

[3:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

[3:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “throne.”

[3:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

[3:28]  ¹⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[3:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

[6:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the Lord”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.

[6:8]  ²⁰ tc Some ancient witnesses read “from the land of Egypt.” מֵאֶרֶץ (me’erets, “from the land [of]”) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton (note the following מִמִּצְרַיִם [mimmitsrayim, “from Egypt”]).

[6:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

[6:13]  ²² tn Heb “But my lord.”

[6:13]  ²³ tn Heb “all this.”

[6:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “saying.”

[6:22]  ²⁵ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ²⁷ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:25]  ²⁹ tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

[6:31]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ³¹ tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ³² tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ³³ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

[6:31]  ³⁴ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ³⁵ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

[6:39]  ³⁶ tn Heb “Let your anger not rage at me, so that I might speak only this once.”

[6:39]  ³⁷ tn Heb “let the fleece alone be dry, while dew is on all the ground.”

[7:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ³⁹ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[7:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the people.”

[7:5]  ⁴² tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”

[7:7]  ⁴³ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

[7:7]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

[7:7]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

[7:13]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

[7:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:13]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

[7:13]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

[7:14]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[7:14]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

[7:15]  ⁵² tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[8:5]  ⁵³ tn Or perhaps, “sell.”

[8:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.

[8:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “who are at my feet.”

[8:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:15]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”

[8:15]  sn Gideon changes their actual statement (see v. 6) by saying exhausted men rather than “army.” In this way he emphasizes the crisis his men were facing and highlights the insensitivity of the men of Succoth.

[8:21]  ⁵⁸ tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “Arise.”

[8:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”

[8:21]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “arose and killed.”

[9:7]  ⁶² tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[9:7]  ⁶³ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

[9:15]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

[9:15]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “in my shade.”

[9:15]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “If not.”

[9:28]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:38]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “is your mouth that says.”

[9:38]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “the people.”

[9:38]  ⁷¹ tn Or “despised.”

[9:54]  ⁷² tn The Hebrew text adds, “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:54]  ⁷³ tn The Hebrew text adds, “concerning me.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[11:9]  ⁷⁴ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁷⁶ 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.

[11:13]  ⁷⁷ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ⁸⁰ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:35]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[11:35]  ⁸² tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ⁸³ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[12:5]  ⁸⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:5]  ⁸⁵ tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.

[12:5]  ⁸⁶ tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.

[12:5]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “say to.”

[12:6]  ⁸⁸ sn The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.

[12:6]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין (yakhin) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל (yakhol, “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין (yavin, “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew mss.

[13:7]  ⁹⁰ tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.

[13:7]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”

[13:7]  ⁹² tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”

[13:8]  ⁹³ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:8]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “the man of God.”

[13:8]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “come to.”

[13:8]  ⁹⁶ tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).

[13:8]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “what we should do for.”

[13:16]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ⁹⁹ 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).

[14:12]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

[14:12]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “changes.”

[14:16]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[14:18]  ¹⁰⁶ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[15:1]  ¹⁰⁷ sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

[15:1]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

[15:1]  ¹⁰⁹ tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

[15:1]  ¹¹⁰ 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”).

[15:18]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”

[15:18]  ¹¹² tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.

[16:13]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

[16:13]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

[16:17]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ¹¹⁷ 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]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:28]  ¹²⁰ tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

[16:28]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

[16:30]  ¹²² tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ¹²³ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[17:2]  ¹²⁴ tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[17:2]  ¹²⁵ tn Heb “taken.”

[17:2]  ¹²⁶ tn Heb “took.”

[17:2]  ¹²⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.

[17:2]  ¹²⁸ tn Traditionally, “bless.”

[17:10]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

[17:10]  ¹³⁰ tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.

[19:9]  ¹³¹ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ¹³² tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ¹³³ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ¹³⁴ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ¹³⁵ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[19:11]  ¹³⁶ tn Heb “and the day was descending greatly.”

[19:11]  ¹³⁷ tn Or “young man.”

[19:11]  ¹³⁸ tn Heb “turn aside” (also in the following verse).

[19:18]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:18]  ¹⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[19:18]  ¹⁴¹ 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.”

[20:18]  ¹⁴² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:18]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “They arose and went up to Bethel and asked God, and the Israelites said.”

[20:18]  ¹⁴⁴ tn Heb “Who should go up for us first for battle against the sons of Benjamin?”

[20:23]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ¹⁴⁶ tn Heb “approach for battle.”

[20:23]  ¹⁴⁷ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:23]  ¹⁴⁸ tn Heb “Go up against him” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Heb “standing before him.”

[20:28]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹⁵¹ tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹⁵² tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

[20:28]  ¹⁵³ tn Heb “him” (collective singular).