Judges 1:14

1:14 One time Acsah¹ came and charmed her father² so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”

Judges 4:11

4:11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away³ from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law. He lived⁴ near the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

Judges 6:32

6:32 That very day Gideon’s father named him Jerub-Baal,⁵ because he had said, “Let Baal fight with him, for it was his altar that was pulled down.”

Judges 9:5

9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers,⁶ the seventy legitimate⁷ sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped,⁸ because he hid.

Judges 11:7

11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave⁹ my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?”

Judges 11:36-37

11:36 She said to him, “My father, since¹⁰ you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.¹¹ After all, the Lord vindicated you before¹² your enemies, the Ammonites.” 11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish.¹³ For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.”¹⁴

Judges 11:39

11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin.¹⁵ Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel.¹⁶

Judges 14:4

14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing,¹⁷ because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines¹⁸ (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

Judges 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered¹⁹ him and he tore the lion²⁰ in two with his bare hands²¹ as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought²² you absolutely despised²³ her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!”²⁴

Judges 16:31

16:31 His brothers and all his family²⁵ went down and brought him back.²⁶ They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led²⁷ Israel for twenty years.

Judges 19:5-6

19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave.²⁸ But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy,²⁹ then you can go.” 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together.³⁰ Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time!”³¹

Judges 19:8

19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy.³² Wait until later in the day to leave!”³³ So they ate a meal together.

¹tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

³tn Or “separated.”

⁴tn Heb “pitched his tent.”

⁵tn Heb “He called him on that day Jerub-Baal.” The name means, at least by popular etymology, “Let Baal fight!”

⁶tn Heb “his brothers.”

⁷tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁸tn Heb “remained.”

⁹tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”

¹⁰tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

¹¹tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

¹²tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

¹³tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

¹⁴tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”

¹⁵tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

¹⁶tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

¹⁷tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

¹⁸tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

¹⁹tn Heb “rushed on.”

²⁰tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

²²tn 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.

²³tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

²⁴tn 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’]).”

²⁵tn Heb “and all the house of his father.”

²⁶tn Heb “and lifted him up and brought up.”

²⁷tn Traditionally, “judged.”

²⁸tn Heb “and he arose to go.”

²⁹tn Heb “Sustain your heart [with] a bit of food.”

³⁰tn Heb “And they sat and ate, the two of them together, and they drank.”

³¹tn Heb “Be willing and spend the night so that your heart might be good.”

³²tn Heb “Sustain your heart.” He is once more inviting him to stay for a meal.

³³tn Heb “Wait until the declining of the day.”