Judges 6:26

6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ¹  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.”

Judges 7:19

7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp ²  at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. ³ 

Judges 7:25

7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. ⁴  They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb ⁵  in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites ⁶  and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁷ 

Judges 9:7

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁸  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ⁹  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

Judges 9:36

9:36 Gaal saw the men ¹⁰  and said to Zebul, “Look, men are coming down from the tops of the hills.” But Zebul said to him, “You are seeing the shadows on the hills – it just looks like men.” ¹¹ 

Judges 10:18

10:18 The leaders ¹²  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ¹³  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Judges 11:8-9

11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ¹⁴  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ¹⁵  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ¹⁶  of all who live in Gilead.” ¹⁷  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ¹⁸  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ¹⁹  I will be your leader.” ²⁰ 

Judges 11:11

11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ²¹  before the Lord in Mizpah.

Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ²²  You must never cut his hair, ²³  for the child will be dedicated to God ²⁴  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ²⁵  of the Philistines.”

Judges 16:3

16:3 Samson spent half the night with the prostitute; then he got up in the middle of the night and left. ²⁶  He grabbed the doors of the city gate, as well as the two posts, and pulled them right off, bar and all. ²⁷  He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of a hill east of Hebron. ²⁸ 

Judges 16:13

16:13 Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies. Tell me how you can be subdued.” He said to her, “If you weave the seven braids of my hair ²⁹  into the fabric on the loom ³⁰  and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”

Judges 16:17

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ³¹  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ³²  for I have been dedicated to God ³³  from the time I was conceived. ³⁴  If my head ³⁵  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

[6:26]  ¹ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

[7:19]  ² tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

[7:19]  ³ tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

[7:25]  ³ sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.

[7:25]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “Midian.”

[7:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).

[9:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

[9:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

[9:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “the people” (also in vv. 38, 43, 48). These were warriors, so “men” has been used in the translation, since in ancient Israelite culture soldiers would have been exclusively males.

[9:36]  ⁶ tn Heb “the shadow on the hills you are seeing, like men.”

[10:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[11:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ⁹ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ⁸ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ¹⁰ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[11:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord.

[13:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “hand.”

[16:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And Samson lay until the middle of the night and arose in the middle of the night.”

[16:3]  ¹² tn Heb “with the bar.”

[16:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “which is upon the face of Hebron.”

[16:13]  ¹² tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

[16:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “with the web.” For a discussion of how Delilah did this, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 381, and G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 353-54.

[16:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ¹⁵ 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”).

[16:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).