4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor 1 and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. 2
“Blessed be Abram by 3 the Most High God,
Creator 4 of heaven and earth. 5
31:31 Give 6 her credit for what she has accomplished, 7
and let her works praise her 8 in the city gates. 9
1 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
2 tn Heb “for there was peace between.”
3 tn The preposition לְ (lamed) introduces the agent after the passive participle.
4 tn Some translate “possessor of heaven and earth” (cf. NASB). But cognate evidence from Ugaritic indicates that there were two homonymic roots ָקנָה (qanah), one meaning “to create” (as in Gen 4:1) and the other “to obtain, to acquire, to possess.” While “possessor” would fit here, “creator” is the more likely due to the collocation with “heaven and earth.”
5 tn The terms translated “heaven” and “earth” are both objective genitives after the participle in construct.
6 tn The first word of the twenty-second line begins with ת (tav), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
7 tn Heb “Give her from the fruit of her hands.” The expression “the fruit of her hands” employs two figures. The word “fruit” is a figure known as hypocatastasis, an implied comparison, meaning “what she produces.” The word “hand” is a metonymy of cause, meaning her efforts to produce things. So the line is saying essentially “give her her due.” This would either mean give her credit for what she has done (the option followed by the present translation; cf. TEV) or reward her for what she has done (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).
8 sn Psalm 111 began with the imperative יָה הָלְלוּ (halÿlu yah, “praise the
9 tn “Gates” is a metonymy of subject. It refers to the people and the activity that occurs in the gates – business dealings, legal transactions, and social meetings. The term “city” is supplied in the translation for clarity. One is reminded of the acclaim given to Ruth by Boaz: “for all the gate of my people knows that you are a noble woman [אֵשֶׁת חַיִל, ’eshet khayil]” (Ruth 3:11).
10 tn Grk “And coming to her.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 tn Grk “And coming to her, he said”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn Grk “coming to her, he said.” The participle εἰσελθών (eiselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
13 tn The address, “favored one” (a perfect participle, Grk “Oh one who is favored”) points to Mary as the recipient of God’s grace, not a bestower of it. She is a model saint in this passage, one who willingly receives God’s benefits. The Vulgate rendering “full of grace” suggests something more of Mary as a bestower of grace, but does not make sense here contextually.
14 tc Most
15 tn Grk “and she.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
16 tn Grk “and she exclaimed with a great cry and said.” The verb εἶπεν (eipen, “said”) has not been included in the translation since it is redundant in contemporary English.
17 sn The commendation Blessed are you among women means that Mary has a unique privilege to be the mother of the promised one of God.
18 tn Grk “fruit,” which is figurative here for the child she would give birth to.