3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he 1 raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. 2 The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. 3
5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder 6 –
a girl or two for each man to rape! 7
Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, 8
he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, 9
two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,
for the neck of the plunderer!’ 10
13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God 15 came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. 16 I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
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 22 into the fabric on the loom 23 and secure it with the pin, I will become weak and be like any other man.”
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.
3 tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”
4 tn Heb “he went to her.”
5 tn Heb “fallen, dead.”
6 tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”
7 tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.
8 tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”
9 tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”
10 tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”
11 tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
12 tn Or “Arise.”
13 tn Heb “for as the man is his strength.”
14 tn Heb “arose and killed.”
15 tn Heb “The man of God.”
16 tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”
17 tn Or “said.”
18 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
19 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement with the additional phrase “burned with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons. Some textual witnesses read “burned…her father’s house,” perhaps under the influence of 14:15. On the other hand, the shorter text may have lost this phrase due to haplography.
22 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.
23 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.
24 tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.
25 tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”
26 tn Heb “the man arose to go.”
27 tn Or “young man.”
28 tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”
29 tn Or “declining.”
30 tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”