Discovery BoxJudges 11:39 
Context11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. 1 Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. 2
Judges 20:40
Context20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. 3
1 tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.
2 tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”
3 tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”
