Discovery BoxJudges 10:8--16:31
Context10:8 They ruthlessly oppressed 1 the Israelites that eighteenth year 2 – that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. 3 Israel suffered greatly. 4
10:10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped 5 the Baals.” 10:11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 10:12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian 6 when they oppressed you? 7 You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. 8 10:13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped 9 other gods, I will not deliver you again. 10:14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!” 10 10:15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, 11 but deliver us today!” 12 10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned 13 and worshiped 14 the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. 15
10:17 The Ammonites assembled 16 and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 10:18 The leaders 17 of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge 18 against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”
11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. 19 11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave 20 him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, 21 because you are another woman’s son.” 11:3 So Jephthah left 22 his half-brothers 23 and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. 24
11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 11:5 When the Ammonites attacked, 25 the leaders 26 of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back 27 from the land of Tob. 11:6 They said, 28 “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave 29 my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, 30 but now we pledge to you our loyalty. 31 Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader 32 of all who live in Gilead.” 33 11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! 34 If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, 35 I will be your leader.” 36 11:10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, 37 if we do not do as you say.” 38 11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement 39 before the Lord in Mizpah.
11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have 40 you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole 41 my land when they 42 came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. 43 Now return it 44 peaceably!”
11:14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 11:15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal 45 the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 11:16 When they left 46 Egypt, Israel traveled 47 through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 11:17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us 48 to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. 49 Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. 50 So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 11:18 Then Israel 51 went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; 52 they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” 53 11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He 54 assembled his whole army, 55 camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 11:21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took 56 all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 11:22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. 57 11:23 Since 58 the Lord God of Israel has driven out 59 the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? 60 11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. 61 11:25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? 62 11:26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? 11:27 I have not done you wrong, 63 but you are doing wrong 64 by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 11:28 But the Ammonite king disregarded 65 the message sent by Jephthah. 66
11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered 67 Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went 68 to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. 69 11:30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 11:31 then whoever is the first to come through 70 the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he 71 will belong to the Lord and 72 I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 11:32 Jephthah approached 73 the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him. 11:33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! 74 The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. 75
11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out 76 to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. 77 She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. 11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! 78 You have brought me disaster! 79 I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” 80 11:36 She said to him, “My father, since 81 you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised. 82 After all, the Lord vindicated you before 83 your enemies, the Ammonites.” 11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish. 84 For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” 85 11:38 He said, “You may go.” He permitted her to leave 86 for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. 87 11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. 88 Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. 89 11:40 Every year 90 Israelite women commemorate 91 the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. 92
12:1 The Ephraimites assembled 93 and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight 94 with the Ammonites without asking 95 us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” 96
12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. 97 I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. 98 12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help, 99 I risked my life 100 and advanced against 101 the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up 102 to fight with me today?” 12:4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, 103 “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” 104 12:5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River 105 opposite Ephraim. 106 Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive 107 said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked 108 him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” 12:6 then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” 109 If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word 110 correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell dead. 12:7 Jephthah led 111 Israel for six years; then he 112 died and was buried in his city in Gilead. 113
12:8 After him Ibzan of Bethlehem 114 led 115 Israel. 12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family, 116 and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons. 117 Ibzan 118 led 119 Israel for seven years; 12:10 then he 120 died and was buried in Bethlehem.
12:11 After him Elon the Zebulunite led 121 Israel for ten years. 122 12:12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
12:13 After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite led 123 Israel. 12:14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel for eight years. 12:15 Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, 124 so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.
13:2 There was a man named Manoah from Zorah, from the Danite tribe. His wife was infertile and childless. 125 13:3 The Lord’s angelic 126 messenger appeared to the woman and said to her, “You 127 are infertile and childless, 128 but you will conceive and have a son. 13:4 Now be careful! Do not drink wine or beer, and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. 129 13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. 130 You must never cut his hair, 131 for the child will be dedicated to God 132 from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power 133 of the Philistines.”
13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God 134 came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. 135 I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name. 13:7 He said to me, ‘Look, you will conceive and have a son. 136 So now, do not drink wine or beer and do not eat any food that will make you ritually unclean. 137 For the child will be dedicated 138 to God from birth till the day he dies.’”
13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, 139 “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God 140 to visit 141 us again, so he can teach 142 us how we should raise 143 the child who will be born.” 13:9 God answered Manoah’s prayer. 144 God’s angelic messenger visited 145 the woman again while she was sitting in the field. But her husband Manoah was not with her. 13:10 The woman ran at once and told her husband, 146 “Come quickly, 147 the man who visited 148 me the other day has appeared to me!” 13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met 149 the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” 150 He said, “Yes.” 151 13:12 Manoah said, “Now, when your announcement comes true, 152 how should the child be raised and what should he do?” 153 13:13 The Lord’s messenger told 154 Manoah, “Your wife should pay attention to everything I told her. 155 13:14 She should not drink 156 anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. 157 She should obey everything I commanded her to do.” 13:15 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Please stay here awhile, 158 so we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” 159 13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, 160 I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) 161 13:17 Manoah said to the Lord’s messenger, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you when your announcement comes true.” 162 13:18 The Lord’s messenger said to him, “You should not ask me my name, because you cannot comprehend it.” 163 13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. 164 13:20 As the flame went up from the altar toward the sky, the Lord’s messenger went up in it 165 while Manoah and his wife watched. They fell facedown 166 to the ground.
13:21 The Lord’s messenger did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. After all this happened Manoah realized that the visitor had been the Lord’s messenger. 167 13:22 Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, because we have seen a supernatural being!” 168 13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us. 169 He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”
13:24 Manoah’s wife 170 gave birth to a son and named him Samson. 171 The child grew and the Lord empowered 172 him. 13:25 The Lord’s spirit began to control him 173 in Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. 174 14:2 When he got home, 175 he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. 176 Now get her for my wife.” 14:3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our 177 people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” 178 But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, 179 because she is the right one for me.” 180 14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, 181 because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines 182 (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).
14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached 183 the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. 184 14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered 185 him and he tore the lion 186 in two with his bare hands 187 as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.
14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah 188 and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. 189 14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry 190 her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw 191 a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned 192 to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. 193
14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. 194 Samson hosted a party 195 there, for this was customary for bridegrooms 196 to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. 197 14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, 198 I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets 199 of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, 200 you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” 201 14:14 He said to them,
“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;
out of the strong one came something sweet.”
They could not solve the riddle for three days.
14:15 On the fourth 202 day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. 203 If you refuse, 204 we will burn up 205 you and your father’s family. 206 Did you invite us here 207 to make us poor?” 208 14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder 209 and said, “You must 210 hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men 211 a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” 212 14:17 She cried on his shoulder 213 until the party was almost over. 214 Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. 215 Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. 216 14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer, 217
you would not have solved my riddle!”
14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes 218 and gave them 219 to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. 220 14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. 221
15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest, 222 Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride. 223 He said to her father, 224 “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!” 225 But her father would not let him enter. 15:2 Her father said, “I really thought 226 you absolutely despised 227 her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” 228 15:3 Samson said to them, 229 “This time I am justified in doing the Philistines harm!” 230 15:4 Samson went and captured three hundred jackals 231 and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair. 232 15:5 He lit the torches 233 and set the jackals loose in the Philistines’ standing grain. He burned up the grain heaps and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves. 15:6 The Philistines asked, 234 “Who did this?” They were told, 235 “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite 236 took Samson’s 237 bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. 238 15:7 Samson said to them, “Because you did this, 239 I will get revenge against you before I quit fighting.” 240 15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. 241 Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.
15:9 The Philistines went up and invaded 242 Judah. They arrayed themselves for battle 243 in Lehi. 15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking 244 us?” The Philistines 245 said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.” 15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.” 15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me 246 you will not kill 247 me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise! 248 We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff. 15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered 249 him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in 250 fire, and they 251 melted away from his hands. 15:15 He happened to see 252 a solid 253 jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it 254 and struck down 255 a thousand men. 15:16 Samson then said,
“With the jawbone of a donkey
I have left them in heaps; 256
with the jawbone of a donkey
I have struck down a thousand men!”
15:17 When he finished speaking, he threw the jawbone down 257 and named that place Ramath Lehi. 258
15:18 He was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord and said, “You have given your servant 259 this great victory. But now must I die of thirst and fall into hands of the Philistines?” 260 15:19 So God split open the basin 261 at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength 262 was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring 263 En Hakkore. 264 It remains in Lehi to this very day. 15:20 Samson led 265 Israel for twenty years during the days of Philistine prominence. 266
16:1 Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her. 267 16:2 The Gazites were told, 268 “Samson has come here!” So they surrounded the town 269 and hid all night at the city gate, waiting for him to leave. 270 They relaxed 271 all night, thinking, 272 “He will not leave 273 until morning comes; 274 then we will kill him!” 16:3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. 275 He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. 276 He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. 277
16:4 After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley. 16:5 The rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her and said to her, “Trick him! Find out what makes him so strong and how we can subdue him and humiliate 278 him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred silver pieces.”
16:6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Tell me what makes you so strong and how you can be subdued and humiliated.” 279 16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh 280 bowstrings 281 that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:8 So the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not been dried and they tied him up with them. 16:9 They hid 282 in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, 283 Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. 284 The secret of his strength was not discovered. 285
16:10 Delilah said to Samson, “Look, you deceived 286 me and told me lies! Now tell me how you can be subdued.” 16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, 287 I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, 288 Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) 289 But he tore the ropes 290 from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.
16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair 291 into the fabric on the loom 292 and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.” 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom, fastened it with the pin, and said to him, “The Philistines are here, 293 Samson!” 294 He woke up 295 and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.
16:15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? 296 Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16:16 She nagged him 297 every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. 298 16:17 Finally he told her his secret. 299 He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, 300 for I have been dedicated to God 301 from the time I was conceived. 302 If my head 303 were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, 304 she sent for 305 the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me 306 his secret.” 307 So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap 308 and then called a man in to shave off 309 the seven braids of his hair. 310 She made him vulnerable 311 and his strength left him. 16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, 312 Samson!” He woke up 313 and thought, 314 “I will do as I did before 315 and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him. 16:21 The Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him in bronze chains. He became a grinder in the prison. 16:22 His hair 316 began to grow back after it had been shaved off.
16:23 The rulers of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate. They said, “Our god has handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 16:24 When the people saw him, 317 they praised their god, saying, “Our god has handed our enemy over to us, the one who ruined our land and killed so many of us!” 318
16:25 When they really started celebrating, 319 they said, “Call for Samson so he can entertain us!” So they summoned Samson from the prison and he entertained them. 320 They made him stand between two pillars. 16:26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple. 321 Then I can lean on them.” 16:27 Now the temple 322 was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain. 16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord, 323 remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge 324 against the Philistines for my two eyes!” 16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple 325 and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard 326 and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. 327 16:31 His brothers and all his family 328 went down and brought him back. 329 They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led 330 Israel for twenty years.
[10:8] 1 tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [ra’ats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
[10:8] 2 tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ’esreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
[10:9] 3 tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”
[10:9] 4 tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”
[10:10] 5 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
[10:12] 6 tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”
[10:12] 7 tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the
[10:13] 9 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
[10:14] 10 tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”
[10:15] 11 tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”
[10:15] 12 sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”
[10:16] 13 tn Heb “from their midst.”
[10:16] 14 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
[10:16] 15 tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).
[10:17] 16 tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”
[10:18] 17 tn Heb “the people, the officers.”
[10:18] 18 tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”
[11:1] 19 tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”
[11:2] 21 tn Heb “in the house of our father.”
[11:3] 24 tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”
[11:5] 25 tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”
[11:5] 27 tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”
[11:6] 28 tn Heb “to Jephthah.”
[11:7] 29 tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”
[11:8] 30 tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).
[11:8] 31 tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.
[11:8] 32 sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.
[11:8] 33 tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”
[11:9] 34 tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:9] 35 tn Heb “places them before me.”
[11:9] 36 tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.
[11:10] 37 tn Heb “The
[11:10] 38 sn The
[11:11] 39 tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the
[11:12] 40 tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”
[11:13] 41 tn Or “took”; or “seized.”
[11:13] 42 tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).
[11:13] 43 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
[11:13] 44 tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.
[11:15] 45 tn Or “take”; or “seize.”
[11:16] 46 tn Heb “For when they went up from.”
[11:17] 48 tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)
[11:17] 49 tn Heb “did not listen.”
[11:17] 50 tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”
[11:18] 51 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:18] 52 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[11:19] 53 tn Heb “to my place.”
[11:20] 54 tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.
[11:20] 55 tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).
[11:21] 56 tn That is, took as its own possession.
[11:22] 57 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
[11:23] 59 tn Or “dispossessed.”
[11:23] 60 tn Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.
[11:24] 61 tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the
[11:25] 62 tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation.
[11:27] 63 tn Or “sinned against you.”
[11:28] 65 tn Heb “did not listen to.”
[11:28] 66 tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”
[11:29] 68 tn Heb “passed through.”
[11:29] 69 tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”
[11:31] 70 tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.
[11:31] 71 tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.
[11:31] 72 tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the
[11:32] 73 tn Heb “passed over to.”
[11:33] 74 tn Heb “with a very great slaughter.”
[11:33] 75 tn Heb “The Ammonites were humbled before the Israelites.”
[11:34] 76 tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”
[11:34] 77 tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”
[11:35] 78 tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.
[11:35] 79 tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”
[11:35] 80 tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the
[11:36] 81 tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:36] 82 tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the
[11:36] 83 tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”
[11:37] 84 tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”
[11:37] 85 tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”
[11:38] 86 tn Heb “he sent her.”
[11:38] 87 tn Heb “on the hills.” The words “as she walked” are supplied.
[11:39] 88 tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.
[11:39] 89 tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”
[11:40] 90 tn Heb “From days to days,” a Hebrew idiom for “annually.”
[11:40] 91 tn Heb “go to commemorate.” The rare Hebrew verb תָּנָה (tanah, “to tell; to repeat; to recount”) occurs only here and in 5:11.
[11:40] 92 tn The Hebrew text adds, “in the year.” This is redundant (note “every year” at the beginning of the verse) and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:1] 93 tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”
[12:1] 94 tn Heb “cross over to fight.”
[12:1] 95 tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”
[12:1] 96 tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”
[12:2] 97 tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”
[12:3] 99 tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”
[12:3] 100 tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”
[12:3] 101 tn Heb “crossed over to.”
[12:3] 102 tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:4] 103 tn Heb “because they said.”
[12:4] 104 tc Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru pÿlitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’mÿru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”
[12:5] 105 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:5] 106 tn Or “against Ephraim,” that is, so as to prevent Ephraim from crossing.
[12:5] 107 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form here.
[12:6] 109 sn The inability of the Ephraimites to pronounce the word shibboleth the way the Gileadites did served as an identifying test. It illustrates that during this period there were differences in pronunciation between the tribes. The Hebrew word shibboleth itself means “stream” or “flood,” and was apparently chosen simply as a test case without regard to its meaning.
[12:6] 110 tn Heb “and could not prepare to speak.” The precise meaning of יָכִין (yakhin) is unclear. Some understand it to mean “was not careful [to say it correctly]”; others emend to יָכֹל (yakhol, “was not able [to say it correctly]”) or יָבִין (yavin, “did not understand [that he should say it correctly]”), which is read by a few Hebrew
[12:7] 111 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[12:7] 112 tn Heb “Jephthah the Gileadite.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[12:7] 113 tc The Hebrew text has “in the cities of Gilead.” The present translation has support from some ancient Greek textual witnesses.
[12:8] 114 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[12:8] 115 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[12:9] 116 tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.
[12:9] 117 tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”
[12:9] 118 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.
[12:9] 119 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[12:10] 120 tn Heb “Ibzan.” The pronoun “he” is used in the translation in keeping with English style, which tends to use a proper name first in a sentence followed by a pronoun rather than vice versa.
[12:11] 121 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[12:11] 122 tn Heb “…led Israel. He led Israel for ten years.”
[12:13] 123 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[13:1] 124 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[13:2] 125 tn Heb “and had not given birth.”
[13:3] 126 tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive (also in vv. 6, 9).
[13:3] 127 tn Heb “Look, you.”
[13:3] 128 tn Heb “and have not given birth.”
[13:4] 129 tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
[13:5] 130 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] 131 tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”
[13:5] 132 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”).
[13:6] 134 tn Heb “The man of God.”
[13:6] 135 tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”
[13:7] 136 tn See the note on the word “son” in 13:5, where this same statement occurs.
[13:7] 137 tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
[13:7] 138 tn Traditionally “a Nazirite.”
[13:8] 139 tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:8] 140 tn Heb “the man of God.”
[13:8] 142 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] 143 tn Heb “what we should do for.”
[13:9] 144 tn Heb “God listened to the voice of Manoah.”
[13:10] 146 tn Heb “and said to him.” This phrase has not been translated for stylistic reasons.
[13:11] 150 tn Heb “the woman.”
[13:12] 152 tn Heb “Now, [when] your word comes [to pass].”
[13:12] 153 tn Heb “what will be the child’s rule [i.e., way of life] and his work?”
[13:13] 155 tn Heb “To everything I said to the woman she should pay attention.” The Hebrew word order emphasizes “to everything,” probably because Manoah’s wife did not tell her husband everything the angel had said to her (cf. vv. 3-5 with v. 7). If she had, Manoah probably would not have been so confused about the child’s mission.
[13:14] 157 tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
[13:15] 158 tn Heb “Please allow us to detain you.”
[13:15] 159 tn Heb “so we can prepare before you a young goat of the goats.”
[13:16] 160 tn Heb “If you detain me.”
[13:16] 161 tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the
[13:17] 162 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] 163 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.
[13:19] 164 tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the
[13:20] 165 tn Heb “in the flame from the altar.”
[13:20] 166 tn Heb “on their faces.”
[13:21] 167 tn Heb “Then Manoah knew that he was the
[13:22] 168 tn Or “seen God.” Some take the Hebrew term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) as the divine name (“God”) here, but this seems unlikely since v. 21 informs us that Manoah realized this was the
[13:23] 169 tn Heb “our hand.”
[13:24] 170 tn Heb “the woman.” For clarity this has been specified in the translation as “Manoah’s wife.”
[13:24] 171 tn The name appears to mean “sun-like” or “solar.”
[13:24] 172 tn Traditionally, “blessed.”
[13:25] 173 tn Or “move him to action”; or “stir him.”
[14:1] 174 tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
[14:2] 175 tn Heb “and he went up.”
[14:2] 176 tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”
[14:3] 177 tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.
[14:3] 178 tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”
[14:3] 179 tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 357.
[14:3] 180 tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”
[14:4] 181 tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”
[14:4] 182 tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”
[14:5] 183 tc The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.
[14:5] 184 tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”
[14:6] 185 tn Heb “rushed on.”
[14:6] 186 tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:6] 187 tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”
[14:7] 188 tn Heb “He went down.”
[14:7] 189 tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”
[14:8] 191 tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”
[14:9] 192 tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
[14:9] 193 sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.
[14:10] 194 tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”
[14:10] 195 tn Or “[wedding] feast.”
[14:10] 196 tn Heb “the young men.”
[14:11] 197 tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kir’otam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some
[14:12] 198 tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”
[14:13] 200 tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”
[14:13] 201 tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”
[14:15] 202 tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.
[14:15] 203 tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”
[14:15] 205 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:15] 207 tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew
[14:15] 208 tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.
[14:16] 210 tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”
[14:16] 211 tn Heb “the sons of my people.”
[14:16] 212 tn Heb “Should I tell you?”
[14:17] 214 tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.
[14:17] 215 tn Heb “because she forced him.”
[14:17] 216 tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”
[14:18] 217 sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
[14:19] 218 tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”
[14:19] 219 tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”
[14:19] 220 tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”
[14:20] 221 tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”
[15:1] 222 sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.
[15:1] 223 tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”
[15:1] 224 tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).
[15:1] 225 tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).
[15:2] 226 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] 227 tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
[15:2] 228 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’]).”
[15:3] 229 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the singular “to him.”
[15:3] 230 tn Heb “I am innocent this time from the Philistines when I do with them harm.”
[15:4] 231 tn Traditionally, “foxes.”
[15:4] 232 tn Heb “He turned tail to tail and placed one torch between the two tails in the middle.”
[15:5] 233 tn Heb “He set fire to the torches.”
[15:6] 235 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
[15:6] 236 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:6] 237 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:6] 238 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
[15:7] 239 tn The Niphal of נָקָם (naqam, “to avenge, to take vengeance”) followed by the preposition ב (bet) has the force “to get revenge against.” See 1 Sam 18:25; Jer 50:15; Ezek 25:12.
[15:7] 240 tn Heb “and afterward I will stop.”
[15:8] 241 tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.
[15:9] 243 tn Or “spread out.” The Niphal of נָטָשׁ (natash) has this same sense in 2 Sam 5:18, 22.
[15:10] 244 tn Or “come up against.”
[15:10] 245 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:12] 246 tn Or “swear to me.”
[15:12] 247 tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.
[15:13] 248 tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.
[15:14] 249 tn Heb “rushed on.”
[15:14] 250 tn Heb “burned with.”
[15:14] 251 tn Heb “his bonds.”
[15:15] 252 tn Heb “he found.”
[15:15] 253 tn Heb “fresh,” i.e., not decayed and brittle.
[15:15] 254 tn Heb “he reached out his hand and took it.”
[15:15] 255 tn The Hebrew text adds “with it.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:16] 256 tn The precise meaning of the second half of the line (חֲמוֹר חֲמֹרָתָיִם, khamor khamoratayim) is uncertain. The present translation assumes that the phrase means, “a heap, two heaps” and refers to the heaps of corpses littering the battlefield. Other options include: (a) “I have made donkeys of them” (cf. NIV; see C. F. Burney, Judges, 373, for a discussion of this view, which understands a denominative verb from the noun “donkey”); (b) “I have thoroughly skinned them” (see HALOT 330 s.v. IV cj. חמר, which appeals to an Arabic cognate for support); (c) “I have stormed mightily against them,” which assumes the verb חָמַר (khamar, “to ferment; to foam; to boil up”).
[15:17] 257 tn Heb “from his hand.”
[15:17] 258 sn The name Ramath Lehi means “Height of the Jawbone.”
[15:18] 259 tn Heb “you have placed into the hand of your servant.”
[15:18] 260 tn Heb “the uncircumcised,” which in context refers to the Philistines.
[15:19] 261 tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.
[15:19] 263 tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[15:19] 264 sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”
[15:20] 265 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
[15:20] 266 tn Heb “in the days of the Philistines.”
[16:1] 267 tn Heb “and he went in to her.” The idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations.
[16:2] 268 tc Heb “To the Gazites, saying.” A verb is missing from the MT; some ancient Greek witnesses add “it was reported.”
[16:2] 269 tn Heb “And they surrounded.” The rest of the verse suggests that “the town” is the object, not “the house.” Though the Gazites knew Samson was in the town, apparently they did not know exactly where he had gone. Otherwise, they would could have just gone into or surrounded the house and would not have needed to post guards at the city gate.
[16:2] 270 tn Heb “and they lay in wait for him all night in the city gate.”
[16:2] 271 tn Heb “were silent.”
[16:2] 273 tn The words “He will not leave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[16:2] 274 tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”
[16:3] 275 tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”
[16:3] 276 tn Heb “with the bar.”
[16:3] 277 tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”
[16:5] 278 tn Heb “subdue him in order to humiliate him.”
[16:6] 279 tn Heb “how you can be subdued in order to be humiliated.”
[16:7] 281 tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
[16:9] 282 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).
[16:9] 283 tn Heb “are upon you.”
[16:9] 284 tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
[16:9] 285 tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
[16:10] 286 tn See Gen 31:7; Exod 8:29 [8:25 HT]; Job 13:9; Isa 44:20; Jer 9:4 for other uses of this Hebrew word (II תָּלַל, talal), which also occurs in v. 13.
[16:11] 287 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
[16:12] 288 tn Heb “are upon you.”
[16:12] 289 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”
[16:12] 290 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:13] 291 tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.
[16:13] 292 tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.
[16:14] 293 tn Heb “are upon you.”
[16:14] 294 tc The MT of vv. 13b-14a reads simply, “He said to her, ‘If you weave the seven braids of my head with the web.’ And she fastened with the pin and said to him.” The additional words in the translation, “and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.’ 16:14 So she made him go to sleep, wove the seven braids of his hair into the fabric on the loom,” which without doubt represent the original text, are supplied from the ancient Greek version. (In both vv. 13b and 14a the Greek version has “to the wall” after “with the pin,” but this is an interpretive addition that reflects a misunderstanding of ancient weaving equipment. See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 353-54.) The Hebrew textual tradition was accidentally shortened during the copying process. A scribe’s eye jumped from the first instance of “with the web” to the second, causing him to leave out inadvertently the intervening words.
[16:14] 295 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:15] 296 tn Heb “when your heart is not with me.”
[16:16] 297 tn Heb “forced him with her words.”
[16:16] 298 tn Heb “and his spirit was short [i.e., impatient] to the point of death.”
[16:17] 299 tn Heb “all his heart.”
[16:17] 300 tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”
[16:17] 301 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”).
[16:17] 302 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
[16:17] 303 tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).
[16:18] 304 tn Heb “all his heart.”
[16:18] 305 tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”
[16:18] 306 tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).
[16:18] 307 tn Heb “all his heart.”
[16:19] 308 tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.
[16:19] 309 tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.
[16:19] 310 tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.
[16:19] 311 tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.
[16:20] 312 tn Heb “are upon you.”
[16:20] 313 tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:20] 314 tn Heb “and said.”
[16:20] 315 tn Heb “I will go out as before.”
[16:22] 316 tn Heb “the hair of his head.”
[16:24] 317 tn Most interpret this as a reference to Samson, but this seems premature, since v. 25 suggests he was not yet standing before them. Consequently some prefer to see this statement as displaced and move it to v. 25 (see C. F. Burney, Judges, 387). It seems more likely that the pronoun refers to an image of Dagon.
[16:24] 318 tn Heb “multiplied our dead.”
[16:25] 319 tn Heb “When their heart was good.”
[16:25] 320 tn Heb “before them.”
[16:26] 321 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”
[16:28] 323 tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).
[16:28] 324 tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”
[16:29] 325 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”
[16:30] 326 tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”
[16:30] 327 tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”
[16:31] 328 tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”
