Judges 7:17

7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do!

Judges 9:37

9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center of the land. A unit is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.”

Judges 13:10

13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, “Come quickly, the man who visited me the other day has appeared to me!”

Judges 3:20

3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, 10 

Judges 6:19

6:19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat, 11  along with unleavened bread made from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. He brought the food 12  to him under the oak tree and presented it to him.

Judges 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God 13  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. 14  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Judges 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered 15  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in 16  fire, and they 17  melted away from his hands.

Judges 16:2

16:2 The Gazites were told, 18  “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town 19  and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. 20  They relaxed 21  all night, thinking, 22  “He will not leave 23  until morning comes; 24  then we will kill him!”

Judges 19:16

19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. 25  The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) 26 

Judges 19:23

19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, “No, my brothers! Don’t do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don’t do such a disgraceful thing!

Judges 21:8

21:8 So they asked, “Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?” Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. 27 

Judges 19:22

19:22 They were having a good time, 28  when suddenly 29  some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, 30  surrounded the house and kept beating 31  on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” 32 


tn Or “look.”

tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

tn Heb “head.”

tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

tn Heb “Look.”

tn Heb “came to.”

tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

tn Or “throne.”

tn Heb “a kid from among the goats.”

tn The words “the food” are not in the Hebrew text (an implied direct object). They are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

tn Heb “The man of God.”

tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

tn Heb “rushed on.”

tn Heb “burned with.”

tn Heb “his bonds.”

tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”

tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.

10 tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”

11 tn Heb “were silent.”

12 tn Heb “saying.”

13 tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

14 tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

tn Heb “And look, an old man was coming from his work, from the field in the evening.”

10 tn Heb “And the men of the place were Benjaminites.”

10 tn Heb “Look, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.”

11 tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”

12 tn Heb “and look.”

13 tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.

14 tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.

15 tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).