1:4 The men of Judah attacked, 1 and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.
14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes 13 and gave them 14 to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. 15
1 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
2 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “heads.”
4 tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).
5 tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).
5 tn Heb “was on him.”
6 tn Heb “his hand was strong against Cushan-Rishathaim.”
6 tn That is, took as its own possession.
7 tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
8 sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.
8 tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”
9 tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”
10 tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”