3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he 1 raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. 2 The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. 3
4:6 She summoned 4 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!
13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, 22 “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God 23 to visit 24 us again, so he can teach 25 us how we should raise 26 the child who will be born.”
1 tn Heb “the
2 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 tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”
4 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
7 tn Heb “the
8 tn Heb “a man, a prophet.” Hebrew idiom sometimes puts a generic term before a more specific designation.
9 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”]).
10 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
10 tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”
11 tn Heb “went from his eyes.”
13 tn Heb “The people.”
14 tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
15 tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “tents.”
18 tn Heb “Midian.”
19 tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).
16 tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.
17 tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”
18 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.
19 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
19 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
20 tn Heb “the man of God.”
21 tn Heb “come to.”
22 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”).
23 tn Heb “what we should do for.”
22 tn Heb “all his heart.”
23 tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”
24 tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).
25 tn Heb “all his heart.”
25 tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”
26 tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
27 tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”
30 tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.
31 tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”
32 tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (me’ir mÿtim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (me’ir mÿtom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).
33 tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”
34 tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
35 tn Heb “there.”
36 tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”