Hakim-hakim 2:12

2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ¹  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ²  them and made the Lord angry.

Hakim-hakim 2:18

2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ³  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ⁴  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 3:15

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he ⁶  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. ⁷  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. ⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 3:19

3:19 But he went back ⁹  once he reached ¹⁰  the carved images ¹¹  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ¹²  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ¹³  said, “Be quiet!” ¹⁴  All his attendants left.

Hakim-hakim 4:6

4:6 She summoned ¹⁵  Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun!

Hakim-hakim 5:30

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ¹⁶  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ¹⁷ 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ¹⁸ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ¹⁹ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ²⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 6:11

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ²¹  came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ²²  was threshing ²³  wheat in a winepress ²⁴  so he could hide it from the Midianites. ²⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 6:26

6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ²⁶  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

Hakim-hakim 7:19

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ²⁷  at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. ²⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 11:13

11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ²⁹  my land when they ³⁰  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. ³¹  Now return it ³²  peaceably!”

Hakim-hakim 12:3

12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, ³³  I risked my life ³⁴  and advanced against ³⁵  the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up ³⁶  to fight with me today?”

Hakim-hakim 13:20

13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it ³⁷  while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown ³⁸  to the ground.

Hakim-hakim 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ³⁹  him and he tore the lion ⁴⁰  in two with his bare hands ⁴¹  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 ⁴²  and said, “You must ⁴³  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ⁴⁴  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?” ⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 15:6

15:6 The Philistines asked, ⁴⁶  “Who did this?” They were told, ⁴⁷  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁴⁸  took Samson’s ⁴⁹  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ⁵⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 15:11-12

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.” 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 ⁵¹  you will not kill ⁵²  me.”

Hakim-hakim 15:19

15:19 So God split open the basin ⁵³  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ⁵⁴  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ⁵⁵  En Hakkore. ⁵⁶  It remains in Lehi to this very day.

Hakim-hakim 16:9

16:9 They hid ⁵⁷  in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁵⁸  Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. ⁵⁹  The secret of his strength was not discovered. ⁶⁰ 

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 ⁶¹  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.” ⁶² 

Hakim-hakim 18:2

18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ⁶³  capable men ⁶⁴  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. ⁶⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 18:9

18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ⁶⁶  for ⁶⁷  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ⁶⁸  but don’t hesitate ⁶⁹  to invade and conquer ⁷⁰  the land.

Hakim-hakim 18:28

18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ⁷¹  was far from Sidon ⁷²  and they had no dealings with anyone. ⁷³  The city ⁷⁴  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ⁷⁵  rebuilt the city and occupied it.

Hakim-hakim 21:10

21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors ⁷⁶  against Jabesh Gilead. ⁷⁷  They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords ⁷⁸  the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12]  ² tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:18]  ³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁴ tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.

[3:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:15]  ⁷ tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.

[3:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

[3:19]  ⁹ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ¹⁰ tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ¹² tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Hush!”

[4:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sent and summoned.”

[5:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.

[5:30]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ²⁰ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”

[6:11]  ²¹ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

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

[6:11]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “beating out.”

[6:11]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Midian.”

[6:26]  ²⁶ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[7:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ²⁸ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[11:13]  ²⁹ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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.

[12:3]  ³³ tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

[12:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

[12:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “crossed over to.”

[12:3]  ³⁶ tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:20]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”

[13:20]  ³⁸ tn Heb “on their faces.”

[14:6]  ³⁹ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[15:6]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.

[15:12]  ⁵¹ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ⁵² tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[15:19]  ⁵³ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁵⁶ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[16:9]  ⁵⁷ 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]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:9]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “when it smells fire.”

[16:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “His strength was not known.”

[17:3]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.

[17:3]  ⁶² 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.

[18:2]  ⁶³ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

[18:2]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[18:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁷ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[18:28]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁷² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[18:28]  ⁷³ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

[18:28]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:10]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[21:10]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “there.”

[21:10]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”