¹ tn “Sheol,” personified here as David’s enemy, is the underworld, place of the dead in primitive Hebrew cosmology.

² sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

⁴ sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (cf. Gen 14:3; Josh 3:16).

¹ sn The prohibition here concerns those who would seek special knowledge through the spirits of the dead, whether the dead in general or dead relatives in particular (i.e., familiar spirits; see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 321, and B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 134). Cf. Lev 20:6 below.

¹ tn Grk “since for this purpose the gospel was preached even to the dead,” referring to the purpose described in the clause to follow in v. 6b.

¹ tn Or “will not abandon my soul to Hades.” Often “Hades” is the equivalent of the Hebrew term Sheol, the place of the dead.

¹ sn The disciples were still not comfortable at this point thinking that this could be Jesus raised from the dead. Instead they thought they saw a spirit.

¹ sn To warn them. The warning would consist of a call to act differently than their dead brother had, or else meet his current terrible fate.

⁴ tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (ethrēnēsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.

² tn That is, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east—namely, across the whole land.

² tc So most Hebrew MSS; one Hebrew MS along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and LXX read: “something that looked like a man’s hand.”

¹ tn The Hebrew word carries the basic idea of “bad, displeasing, injurious” but has the nuance “deadly” when used of weapons (see Ps 144:10).

¹ tn The phrase “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried-up branches that is only good for firewood.

¹ sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.

² tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.

² tn Heb “arrows and death” (so KJV, NASB). This expression can be understood as a nominal hendiadys: “deadly arrows” (so NAB, NIV).

¹ sn Psalm 140. The psalmist asks God to deliver him from his deadly enemies, calls judgment down upon them, and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

¹ sn Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.

¹ sn Because the idols are lifeless, they cannot help their worshipers in times of crisis. Consequently the worshipers end up as dead as the gods in which they trust.