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 6:26

6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ³  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

Judges 9:36

9:36 Gaal saw the men ⁴  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ⁵ 

Judges 13:8

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁶  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁷  to visit ⁸  us again, so he can teach ⁹  us how we should raise ¹⁰  the child who will be born.”

Judges 16:12

16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ¹¹  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ¹²  But he tore the ropes ¹³  from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

Judges 16:20

16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ¹⁴  Samson!” He woke up ¹⁵  and thought, ¹⁶  “I will do as I did before ¹⁷  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.

[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.”

[6:26]  ³ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[9:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[13:8]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “the man of God.”

[13:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “come to.”

[13:8]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).

[13:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “what we should do for.”

[16:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:20]  ¹² tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and said.”

[16:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”