Discovery BoxJudges 1:16 
Context1:16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, 1 located in the Negev. 2 They went and lived with the people of Judah. 3
Judges 1:33
Context1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. 4 They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites 5 living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.
Judges 2:18
Context2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people 6 from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them 7 when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. 8
Judges 5:11
Context5:11 Hear 9 the sound of those who divide the sheep 10 among the watering places;
there they tell of 11 the Lord’s victorious deeds,
the victorious deeds of his warriors 12 in Israel.
Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –
Judges 5:23
Context5:23 ‘Call judgment down on 13 Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic 14 messenger;
‘Be sure 15 to call judgment down on 16 those who live there,
because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, 17
to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ 18
Judges 5:30
Context5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder 19 –
a girl or two for each man to rape! 20
Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, 21
he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, 22
two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,
for the neck of the plunderer!’ 23
Judges 6:13
Context6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, 24 but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster 25 overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, 26 ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”
Judges 7:22
Context7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords 27 throughout 28 the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went 29 to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
Judges 7:24
Context7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. 30 Take control of the fords of the streams 31 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” 32 When all the Ephraimites had assembled, 33 they took control of the fords 34 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.
Judges 9:51
Context9:51 There was a fortified 35 tower 36 in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower.
Judges 11:2
Context11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave 37 him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, 38 because you are another woman’s son.”
Judges 11:13
Context11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole 39 my land when they 40 came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. 41 Now return it 42 peaceably!”
Judges 14:9
Context14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned 43 to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. 44
Judges 14:15
Context14:15 On the fourth 45 day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. 46 If you refuse, 47 we will burn up 48 you and your father’s family. 49 Did you invite us here 50 to make us poor?” 51
Judges 15:6
Context15:6 The Philistines asked, 52 “Who did this?” They were told, 53 “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because the Timnite 54 took Samson’s 55 bride and gave her to his best man.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father. 56
Judges 15:11
Context15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”
Judges 16:9
Context16:9 They hid 57 in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, 58 Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. 59 The secret of his strength was not discovered. 60
Judges 16:12
Context16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, 61 Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) 62 But he tore the ropes 63 from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.
Judges 18:1
Context18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place 64 to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. 65
Judges 18:19
Context18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser 66 and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” 67
Judges 20:45
Context20:45 The rest 68 turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites 69 caught 70 five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels 71 all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more.
1 tc Part of the Greek
2 tn Heb “[to] the Desert of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
3 tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).
4 tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
5 tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
6 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.
9 tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
10 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.
11 tn Or perhaps “repeat.”
12 tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.
13 tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”
14 tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.
15 tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.
16 tn Heb “[to] curse.”
17 tn Heb “to the help of the
18 tn Or “along with the other warriors.”
19 tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”
20 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.
21 tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”
22 tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”
23 tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”
24 tn Heb “But my lord.”
25 tn Heb “all this.”
26 tn Heb “saying.”
27 tn Heb “the
28 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.
29 tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
30 tn Heb “to meet Midian.”
31 tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”
32 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).
33 tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”
34 tn Heb “they captured the waters.”
35 tn Or “strong.”
36 tn Or “fortress.” The same Hebrew term occurs once more in this verse and twice in v. 52.
37 tn Heb “bore.”
38 tn Heb “in the house of our father.”
39 tn Or “took”; or “seized.”
40 tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).
41 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
42 tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.
43 tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.
44 sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.
45 tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.
46 tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”
47 tn Heb “lest.”
48 tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
49 tn Heb “house.”
50 tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew
51 tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.
52 tn Or “said.”
53 tn Heb “and they said.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.
54 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Timnite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
55 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Samson) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56 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.
57 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting for her.” The grammatically singular form וְהָאֹרֵב (vÿha’orev) is collective here, referring to the rulers as a group (so also in v. 16).
58 tn Heb “are upon you.”
59 tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
60 tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
61 tn Heb “are upon you.”
62 tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”
63 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
64 tn Heb “an inheritance.”
65 tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”
66 tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.
67 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?”
68 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the rest [of the Benjaminites]) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
69 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
70 tn Heb “gleaned.” The word is an agricultural term which pictures Israelites picking off the Benjaminites as easily as one picks grapes from the vine.
71 tn Heb “stuck close after them.”
