Judges 3:16

3:16 Ehud made himself a sword – it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. ¹  He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.

Judges 4:5

4:5 She would sit ²  under the Date Palm Tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel ³  in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites would come up to her to have their disputes settled. ⁴ 

Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ⁵  you absolutely despised ⁶  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ⁷ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term גֹּמֶד (gomed) denotes a unit of linear measure, perhaps a cubit (the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger – approximately 18 inches [45 cm]). Some suggest it is equivalent to the short cubit (the distance between the elbow and the knuckles of the clenched fist – approximately 13 inches [33 cm]) or to the span (the distance between the end of the thumb and the end of the little finger in a spread hand – approximately 9 inches [23 cm]). See BDB 167 s.v.; HALOT 196 s.v.; B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 142.

[4:5]  ² tn That is, “consider legal disputes.”

[4:5]  ³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “for judgment.”

[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’]).”