Judges 16:14

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, ¹  Samson!” ²  He woke up ³  and tore away the pin of the loom and the fabric.

Judges 4:21

4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. ⁴  She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground ⁵  while he was asleep from exhaustion, ⁶  and he died.

Judges 5:26

5:26 Her left ⁷  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ⁸  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ⁹ 

she smashed his head, ¹⁰ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ¹¹ 

Judges 4:22

4:22 Now Barak was chasing Sisera. Jael went out to welcome him. She said to him, “Come here and I will show you the man you are searching for.” He went with her into the tent, ¹²  and there he saw Sisera sprawled out dead ¹³  with the tent peg in his temple.

[16:14]  ¹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:14]  ² 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]  ³ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

[4:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”

[5:26]  ⁷ tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.

[5:26]  ⁸ tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ⁹ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”

[4:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he went to her.”

[4:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fallen, dead.”