² tn This is a Hiphil participle of בִּין (bin; “to understand”). In the Hiphil it means to act with skill or understanding, or to give understanding, i.e., to explain or teach.

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Joram and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his strength which he demonstrated, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

¹ tn Heb “and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their rebellious acts by which they rebelled against you, and grant them mercy before their captors so they will show them mercy.”

² tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

² tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

³ sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).

¹ tn Heb “As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly; he did not turn aside a thing from all which the Lord commanded Moses.”

¹ tn The verb simply says “they called,” but it is a feminine plural. And so the women who engaged in immoral acts with Hebrew men invited them to their temple ritual.

³ sn In the light of subsequent events one should not take too seriously that Balaam referred to Yahweh as his God. He is referring properly to the deity for which he is acting as the agent.

² tn The verb רָעַע (raʿaʿ) means “to act or do evil.” Evil here is in the sense of causing pain or trouble. So the causative stem in our passage means “to treat wickedly.”

³ tn Heb “it is his uncleanness.” The last clause resumes the point of the first clause in this verse, while the material in between acts as parenthetic clarification. This verse introduces the regulations that follow in vv. 4ff.

¹ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.

¹ tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys: לֹא תֹאסִפוּן לָתֵת (loʾ toʾsifun latet, “you must not add to give”). The imperfect tense acts adverbially, and the infinitive becomes the main verb of the clause: “you must no longer give.”

² sn Leah seems to regard the act of giving her servant Zilpah to her husband as a sacrifice, for which (she believes) God is now rewarding her with the birth of a son.

¹ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes and saw.” The expression draws attention to the act of looking, indicating that Lot took a good look. It also calls attention to the importance of what was seen.

¹ tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).

¹ sn Having decided refers here to the decision of the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:6-21). Mention of this previous decision reminds the reader that the issue here is somewhat different: It is not whether Gentiles must first become Jews before they can become Christians (as in Acts 15), but whether Jews who become Christians should retain their Jewish practices. Sensitivity to this issue would suggest that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians might engage in different practices.

² tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apechō). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.