Discovery BoxJudges 13:14 
Context13:14 She should not drink 1 anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. 2 She should obey everything I commanded her to do.”
Judges 16:7
Context16:7 Samson said to her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh 3 bowstrings 4 that have not been dried, I will become weak and be just like any other man.”
Judges 16:11
Context16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, 5 I will become weak and be just like any other man.”
Judges 21:11
Context21:11 Do this: 6 exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. 7 But spare the lives of any virgins.” So they did as instructed. 8
1 tn Heb “eat.”
2 tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”
3 tn Or “moist.”
4 tn The word refers to a bowstring, probably made from animal tendons. See Ps 11:2; Job 30:11.
5 tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”
6 tn Heb “And this is the thing that you will do.”
7 tn Heb “every woman who is familiar with the bed of a male.”
8 tc Some Greek witnesses (notably Codex Vaticanus [B]) add the words, “‘But the virgins you should keep alive.’ And they did so.” These additional words, which probably represent the original Hebrew text, can be retroverted: וְאֶת־הַבְּתוּלוֹת תְּחַיּוּ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֵן (ve’et-habbÿtulot tÿkhayyu vayya’asu khen). It is likely that a scribe’s eye jumped from the vav (ו) on וְאֶת (vÿ’et) to the initial vav of v. 11, accidentally leaving out the intervening letters. The present translation is based on this reconstruction.
