Judges 5:26
5:26 Her left 1 hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered” 2 Sisera,
she shattered his skull, 3
she smashed his head, 4
she drove the tent peg through his temple. 5
Judges 7:20
7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. 6 Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”
Judges 9:16
9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, 7 if you have properly repaid him 8 –
Judges 11:9
11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! 9 If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, 10 I will be your leader.” 11
Judges 11:24
11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. 12
Judges 12:1
Civil Strife Mars the Victory
12:1 The Ephraimites assembled 13 and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight 14 with the Ammonites without asking 15 us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” 16
Judges 16:29
16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple 17 and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other.
1 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
2 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
3 tn Or “head.”
4 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
5 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
6 tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “house.”
8 tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”
9 tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
10 tn Heb “places them before me.”
11 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.
12 tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.
13 tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”
14 tn Heb “cross over to fight.”
15 tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”
16 tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”
17 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”