Discovery BoxJudges 11:9 
Context11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! 1 If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, 2 I will be your leader.” 3
Judges 15:2
Context15:2 Her father said, “I really thought 4 you absolutely despised 5 her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” 6
Judges 15:10
Context15:10 The men of Judah said, “Why are you attacking 7 us?” The Philistines 8 said, “We have come up to take Samson prisoner so we can do to him what he has done to us.”
Judges 15:12-13
Context15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me 9 you will not kill 10 me.” 15:13 They said to him, “We promise! 11 We will only take you prisoner and hand you over to them. We promise not to kill you.” They tied him up with two brand new ropes and led him up from the cliff.
Judges 19:30
Context19:30 Everyone who saw the sight 12 said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since 13 the Israelites left the land of Egypt! 14 Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”
1 tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tn Heb “places them before me.”
3 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.
4 tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
5 tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
6 tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”
7 tn Or “come up against.”
8 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Or “swear to me.”
10 tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.
11 tn Heb “No,” meaning that they will not harm him.
12 tn The words “the sight” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
13 tn Heb “from the day.”
14 tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the (original) LXX has the following additional words: “And he instructed the men whom he sent out, ‘Thus you will say to every male Israelite: “There has never been anything like this from the day the Israelites left Egypt till the present day.”’”
