Judges 3:24

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 

Judges 7:20

7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. ⁴  Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Judges 8:27

8:27 Gideon used all this to make ⁵  an ephod, ⁶  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ⁷  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ⁸  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁹  You must never cut his hair, ¹⁰  for the child will be dedicated to God ¹¹  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ¹²  of the Philistines.”

Judges 19:24-25

19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest’s ¹³  concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. ¹⁴  But don’t do such a disgraceful thing to this man!” 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite ¹⁵  grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. ¹⁶  They raped ¹⁷  her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn.

¹ tn Heb “his.”

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

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.

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁷ tn Heb “made it into.”

⁸ sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

⁹ tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

¹⁰ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

¹¹ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

¹² 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”).

¹³ tn Heb “hand.”

¹³ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the visiting Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Levite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “and he caused [her] to go outside to them.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “knew,” in the sexual sense.