Discovery BoxJudges 5:26 
Context5:26 Her left 1 hand reached for the tent peg,
her right hand for the workmen’s hammer.
She “hammered” 2 Sisera,
she shattered his skull, 3
she smashed his head, 4
she drove the tent peg through his temple. 5
Judges 9:27
Context9:27 They went out to the field, harvested their grapes, 6 squeezed out the juice, 7 and celebrated. They came to the temple 8 of their god and ate, drank, and cursed Abimelech.
Judges 16:27
Context16:27 Now the temple 9 was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.
Judges 16:29-30
Context16:29 Samson took hold of the two middle pillars that supported the temple 10 and he leaned against them, with his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. 16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard 11 and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. 12
1 tn The adjective “left” is interpretive, based on the context. Note that the next line pictures Jael holding the hammer with her right hand.
2 tn The verb used here is from the same root as the noun “hammer” in the preceding line.
3 tn Or “head.”
4 tn The phrase “his head” (an implied direct object) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
5 tn Heb “she pierced his temple.”
6 tn Heb “vineyards.”
7 tn Heb “stomped” or “trampled.” This refers to the way in which the juice was squeezed out in the wine vats by stepping on the grapes with one’s bare feet. For a discussion of grape harvesting in ancient Israel, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 110-14.
8 tn Heb “house.”
9 tn Heb “house.”
10 tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house was founded.”
11 tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”
12 tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”
