Judges 9:23

9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility ¹  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal ²  to Abimelech.

Judges 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ³  him and he tore the lion ⁴  in two with his bare hands ⁵  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

¹ tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

² tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³ tn Heb “rushed on.”

⁴ tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”