Judges 1:11

1:11 From there they attacked the people of Debir. ¹  (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.)

Judges 1:23

1:23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz),

Judges 8:31

8:31 His concubine, ²  who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ³ 

Judges 13:2

13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. ⁴ 

Judges 13:17-18

13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” ⁵  13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” ⁶ 

Judges 13:24

13:24 Manoah’s wife ⁷  gave birth to a son and named him Samson. ⁸  The child grew and the Lord empowered ⁹  him.

Judges 16:4

16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayya’al) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.

[8:31]  ² sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).

[8:31]  ³ sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “and had not given birth.”

[13:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who your name? For [when] your word comes [to pass], we will honor you.” Manoah apparently gets tongue-tied and uses the wrong pronoun (“who” instead of “what”). He starts to say, “Who are you?” But then he switches to “your name” as if he began the sentence with “what.” See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 222.

[13:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “Why do you ask for my name, for it is incomprehensible?” The Hebrew adjective פִּלְאִי (pile’iy, “wonderful, incomprehensible”) refers to what is in a category of its own and is beyond full human understanding. Note the use of this word in Ps 139:6, where God’s knowledge is described as incomprehensible and unattainable.

[13:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”

[13:24]  ⁷ tn The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”

[13:24]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “blessed.”