1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. 1 They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites 2 living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.
4:6 She summoned 3 Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali. She said to him, “Is it not true that the Lord God of Israel is commanding you? Go, march to Mount Tabor! Take with you ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun!
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
He said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my heifer, 21
you would not have solved my riddle!”
18:7 So the five men journeyed on 30 and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there 31 were living securely, like the Sidonians do, 32 undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. 33 They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 34
19:22 They were having a good time, 37 when suddenly 38 some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, 39 surrounded the house and kept beating 40 on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.” 41
1 tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
2 tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “sent and summoned.”
4 tn Heb “men from among his servants.”
5 tn Heb “house.”
6 tn Heb “so he did it at night.”
7 tn Heb “too many people.”
8 tn Heb “test them for you there.”
9 tn Heb “he should go with you.”
10 tn Heb also has “to you.”
11 tn Heb “he should not go.”
12 tn Heb “the
13 tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.
14 tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
15 tn Or “strong.”
16 tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.
17 tn Heb “on him.”
18 tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”
19 tn Heb “the sons of my people.”
20 tn Heb “Should I tell you?”
21 sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.
22 tn Heb “all his heart.”
23 tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”
24 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”).
25 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
26 tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).
27 tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”
28 tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”
29 tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”
30 tn Or “went.”
31 tn Heb “who were in its midst.”
32 tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”
33 tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”
34 tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.
35 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”
36 tn Heb “brothers.”
37 tn Heb “they were making their heart good.”
38 tn Heb “and look.”
39 tn Heb “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were. It is not certain if all the men of the city are in view, or just a group of troublemakers. In 20:5 the town leaders are implicated in the crime, suggesting that all the men of the city were involved. If so, the implication is that the entire male population of the town were good-for-nothings.
40 tn The Hitpael verb form appears to have an iterative force here, indicating repeated action.
41 tn Heb “so we can know him.” On the surface one might think they simply wanted to meet the visitor and get to know him, but their hostile actions betray their double-talk. The old man, who has been living with them long enough to know what they are like, seems to have no doubts about the meaning of their words (see v. 23).
42 tn Or “people.”
43 tn Heb “to do at their arrival in Geba of Benjamin according to all the disgraceful [thing] which he [collective = “Benjamin”] did in Israel.” Here “Geba” must be an error for “Gibeah.”