Judges 14:11

14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ¹ 

Judges 14:20

14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ² 

Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ³  you absolutely despised ⁴  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁵ 

Judges 15:6

15:6 The Philistines asked, ⁶  “Who did this?” They were told, ⁷  “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite ⁸  took Samson’s ⁹  bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. ¹⁰ 

[14:11]  ¹ 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 mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (bÿyir’atam, “because they feared”).

[14:20]  ² tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”

[15:2]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ⁵ 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’]).”

[15:6]  ⁴ tn Or “said.”

[15:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[15:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  ⁸ 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.