Judges 1:14

1:14 One time Acsah ¹  came and charmed her father ²  so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”

Judges 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ³  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ⁴  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ⁵  Have I not sent you?”

Judges 10:10

10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped ⁶  the Baals.”

Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ⁷  you absolutely despised ⁸  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁹ 

Judges 18:24

18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ¹⁰ 

Judges 19:20

19:20 The old man said, “Everything is just fine! ¹¹  I will take care of all your needs. But don’t spend the night in the town square.”

[1:14]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

[6:14]  ³ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

[6:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[10:10]  ⁵ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[15:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

[18:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

[19:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Peace to you.”