Judges 5:22

5:22 The horses’ ¹  hooves pounded the ground; ² 

the stallions galloped madly. ³ 

Judges 5:26

5:26 Her left ⁴  hand reached for the tent peg,

her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.

She “hammered” ⁵  Sisera,

she shattered his skull, ⁶ 

she smashed his head, ⁷ 

she drove the tent peg through his temple. ⁸ 

[5:22]  ¹ tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.

[5:22]  ² tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ³ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[5:26]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.

[5:26]  ⁶ tn Or “head.”

[5:26]  ⁷ tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:26]  ⁸ tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”