Judges 3:24

3:24 When Ehud had left, Eglon’s ¹  servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself ²  in the well-ventilated inner room.” ³ 

Judges 8:18

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ⁴  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ⁵ 

Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ⁶  You must never cut his hair, ⁷  for the child will be dedicated to God ⁸  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁹  of the Philistines.”

Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ¹⁰  you absolutely despised ¹¹  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ¹² 

[3:24]  ¹ tn Heb “his.”

[3:24]  ² tn Heb “covering his feet” (i.e., with his outer garments while he relieves himself).

[3:24]  ³ tn The Hebrew expression translated “well-ventilated inner room” may refer to the upper room itself or to a bathroom attached to or within it.

[8:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[13:5]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[15:2]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ¹² 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’]).”