Judges 10:18

10:18 The leaders ¹  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ²  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ³  You must never cut his hair, ⁴  for the child will be dedicated to God ⁵  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁶  of the Philistines.”

Judges 20:31

20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ⁷  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ⁸  They began to strike down their enemy ⁹  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ¹⁰  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ¹¹  about thirty Israelites.

Judges 20:39

20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ¹²  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ¹³  they struck down ¹⁴  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”

[10:18]  ¹ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ² tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[13:5]  ³ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

[13:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ⁵ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[13:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

[20:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “went out to meet.”

[20:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

[20:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

[20:31]  ⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[20:31]  ⁹ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[20:39]  ⁷ tn Heb “turned in the battle.”

[20:39]  ⁸ tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”

[20:39]  ⁹ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.