Discovery BoxJudges 16:9 
Context16:9 They hid 1 in the bedroom and then she said to him, “The Philistines are here, 2 Samson!” He snapped the bowstrings as easily as a thread of yarn snaps when it is put close to fire. 3 The secret of his strength was not discovered. 4
Judges 16:17
Context16:17 Finally he told her his secret. 5 He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, 6 for I have been dedicated to God 7 from the time I was conceived. 8 If my head 9 were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.”
1 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).
2 tn Heb “are upon you.”
3 tn Heb “when it smells fire.”
4 tn Heb “His strength was not known.”
5 tn Heb “all his heart.”
6 tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”
7 tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).
8 tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”
9 tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).
