Judges 2:17

2:17 But they did not obey¹ their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped² them. They quickly turned aside from the path³ their ancestors⁴ had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.⁵

Judges 4:21

4:21 Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other.⁶ She crept up on him, drove the tent peg through his temple into the ground⁷ while he was asleep from exhaustion,⁸ and he died.

Judges 7:25

7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb.⁹ They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb¹⁰ in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites¹¹ and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River.¹²

Judges 11:18

11:18 Then Israel¹³ went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River;¹⁴ they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border).

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 hair¹⁵ into the fabric on the loom¹⁶ 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.¹⁷ He said to her, “My hair has never been cut,¹⁸ for I have been dedicated to God¹⁹ from the time I was conceived.²⁰ If my head²¹ were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”

Judges 20:31

20:31 The Benjaminites attacked²² the army, leaving the city unguarded.²³ They began to strike down their enemy²⁴ just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel,²⁵ the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down²⁶ about thirty Israelites.

¹tn Or “did not listen to.”

²tn Or “bowed before.”

³tn Or “way [of life].”

⁴tn Or “fathers.”

⁵tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

⁶tn Heb “took a tent peg and put a hammer in her hand.”

⁷tn Heb “and it went into the ground.”

⁸tn Heb “and exhausted.” Another option is to understand this as a reference to the result of the fatal blow. In this case, the phrase could be translated, “and he breathed his last.”

⁹sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.

¹⁰tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹¹tn Heb “Midian.”

¹²tn 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).

¹³tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵tn Heb “head” (also in the following verse). By metonymy the head is mentioned in the Hebrew text in place of the hair on it.

¹⁶tn 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.

¹⁷tn Heb “all his heart.”

¹⁸tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

¹⁹tn 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”).

²⁰tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

²¹tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

²²tn Heb “went out to meet.”

²³tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

²⁴tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

²⁵map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

²⁶tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.