Hakim-hakim 3:24-25

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ¹  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ²  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ³  3:25 They waited so long they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. Finally they took the key and opened the doors. ⁴  Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor! ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 6:15

6:15 Gideon ⁶  said to him, “But Lord, ⁷  how ⁸  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 9:3

9:3 His mother’s relatives ¹⁰  spoke on his behalf to ¹¹  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ¹²  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ¹³  they said, “He is our close relative.” ¹⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 9:31

9:31 He sent messengers to Abimelech, who was in Arumah, ¹⁵  reporting, “Beware! ¹⁶  Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers are coming ¹⁷  to Shechem and inciting the city to rebel against you. ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 9:36

9:36 Gaal saw the men ¹⁹  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ²⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 11:34

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ²¹  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ²²  She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.

Hakim-hakim 13:3

13:3 The Lord’s angelic ²³  messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You ²⁴  are infertile and childless, ²⁵  but you will conceive and have a son.

Hakim-hakim 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ²⁶  you absolutely despised ²⁷  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ²⁸ 

[3:24]  ¹ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ² tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ³ tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.

[3:25]  ⁴ tn The words “the doors” are supplied.

[3:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”

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

[6:15]  ⁷ tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.

[6:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “with what.”

[6:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[9:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and all these words.”

[9:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

[9:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “our brother.”

[9:31]  ¹⁵ tn The form בְּתָרְמָה (bÿtarmah) in the Hebrew text, which occurs only here, has traditionally been understood to mean “secretly” or “with deception.” If this is correct, it is derived from II רָמָה (ramah, “to deceive”). Some interpreters object, pointing out that this would imply Zebul was trying to deceive Abimelech, which is clearly not the case in this context. But this objection is unwarranted. If retained, the phrase would refer instead to deceptive measures used by Zebul to avoid the suspicion of Gaal when he dispatched the messengers from Shechem. The present translation assumes an emendation to “in Arumah” (בָּארוּמָה, ba’rumah), a site mentioned in v. 41 as the headquarters of Abimelech. Confusion of alef and tav in archaic Hebrew script, while uncommon, is certainly not unimaginable.

[9:31]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Look!”

[9:31]  ¹⁷ tn The participle, as used here, suggests Gaal and his brothers are in the process of arriving, but the preceding verses imply they have already settled in. Perhaps Zebul uses understatement to avoid the appearance of negligence on his part. After all, if he made the situation sound too bad, Abimelech, when he was informed, might ask why he had allowed this rebellion to reach such a stage.

[9:31]  ¹⁸ tn The words “to rebel” are interpretive. The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb צוּר (tsur) is unclear here. It is best to take it in the sense of “to instigate; to incite; to provoke” (see Deut 2:9, 19 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178).

[9:36]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[11:34]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ²² tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[13:3]  ²³ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).

[13:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Look, you.”

[13:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and have not given birth.”

[15:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ²⁷ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”